At the outbreak of
World War II he participated in the
Poland campaign in 1939 with the
Sturzkampfgeschwaders 1 (StG 1—1st Dive Bomber Wing). This unit also participated in the
Battle of France and in the
Operation Weserübung. Hozzel was the first
Stuka pilot to be awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 8 May 1940. He,
Oberleutnant Elmar Schaefer,
Leutnant Martin Möbus, and
Unteroffizier Gerhard Grenzel, received this award for the destruction of the French
destroyer Bison and the British destroyer . Hozzel was appointed commander of
Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 on 16 October 1941. With SG 2, he fought in the
Battle of Stalingrad, the
Geschwader flew 12,000 combat missions in this engagement. It was then tasked to form "
Gefechtsverband Hozzel" from parts of the
Stuka-Geschwaders 1, 2 and 77 participating in the battles around
Dnipropetrovsk. Hozzel was awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves () on 14 April 1943. He finished the war in a staff position of
Luftflotte 1. He had been tasked with its leadership in the
Courland Pocket and went into Soviet captivity as a
prisoner of war. He was repatriated on 16 January 1956. Later in 1956 he joined the
Bundeswehr and retired as
Brigadegeneral on 30 September 1969. ==Awards==