Hans-Valentin Hube (29 October 1890 – 21 April 1944) was a German general during World War II who commanded armoured forces in the invasions of Poland, France and the Soviet Union. In the course of the war, Hube led the 16th Infantry Division, XIV Panzer Corps, and the 1st Panzer Army rising to the rank of . He died in an air crash on 21 April 1944. Early career Hans-Valentin Hube was born on 29 October 1890, in Naumburg an der Saale, German Empire. Hube volunteered for military service in the Prussian Army in 1909, and served during World War I where he saw action during the Race to the Sea, and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class and the Knight's Cross of the House Order of Hohenzollern. He had an arm amputated as a result of injuries sustained at the battle of Verdun. In 1918, following the end of the war which ended with the German Empire's defeat and subsequent collapse, Hube briefly served with the right-wing Freikorps paramilitary during the instability. Hube joined the Reichswehr, the successor of the Imperial German Army after the establishment of the Weimar Republic, and continued his army service in the Wehrmacht after the founding of Nazi Germany, reaching the rank of Oberst in 1936. World War II Hube took part in the invasion of Poland and the Battle of France as a regimental commander. During the war with France he issued a pamphlet to his soldiers stating "the deployment of black and colored troops against the German army contradicts the conception of the white race's master role towards the colored people" and that it is "a shame and dishonor, all the more so because our division has had to wage the hardest fights against the Negroes". Hube was appointed commander of 16th Infantry Division in June 1940. As commander of the 16th Panzer Division, he took part in Operation Barbarossa as part of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt's Army Group South. For this action during the campaign, Hube received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. On 16 January 1942, he was awarded the Oak leaves to the Knight's Cross for his actions in the Battle of Kiev. Hube then led the division during Fall Blau and the Battle of Stalingrad. On 16 September 1942, Hube was given command of XIV Panzer Corps, the parent formation of the 16th Panzer Division.