Gotthard Heinrici

Gotthard Heinrici , born the December 25th 1886 and dead the December 13rd 1971, was a Général of the Wehrmacht during the Second world war.

Personal life

There are few details about the personal life of Heinrici: born in Gumbinnen, in Germany, the Christmas Day 1886, he was cousin of Gerd von Rundstedt and married to Gertrude Heinrici, with Jewish half, although its family received a certificate of German blood of Adolf Hitler itself.

Heinrici had two enfants : a girl and a boy. Wire of a protesting minister, Heinrici was a religious man who went to the church regularly. His report/ratio with the religion returned it inpopulaire among the hierarchy Nazi and was badly seen by Hermann Göring and Hitler, most probably because of its refusal to join the Parti national-Socialist the German workers.

Military career

The family of Heinrici counts soldiers since the 12th century and Gotthard Heinrici continued the tradition by joining the 95 {{E}} regiment of infantry the March 8th 1905 at the 19 years age. He sees the engagements of near on the Eastern faces and Westerners lasting First World War and gains many rewards there, including the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz to be wounded with the combat and the second and first class of the Croix of iron respectively in 1914 and 1915. In the Great War, Heinrici takes part in particular in the Bataille of Tannenberg.

The Second world war

Heinrici serves during all the Second world war on the two faces. It there gains the reputation of one of the best defensive tacticians of the Wehrmacht and is famous for its tenacity. For this reason, its officers and men called it Unser Giftzwerg (“our small tough”).

During the Blitzkrieg in France, Heinrici orders the 12th body and succeeds in crossing the Ligne Maginot the June 14th 1940. During the Operation Barbarossa in 1941, Heinrici is used in the 2nd army of Panzer S under the orders as Heinz Guderian and as a ordering general of the 43e army corps, it receives the Croix of Knight.

The January 26th 1942, Heinrici has the command of 4th making directly vis-a-vis Moscow. It holds 10 weeks, its forces largely exceeded of number (sometimes to 12 against 1). There, it develops one of its strategies more célèbres : when it knew that a Soviet attack was imminent, it withdrew its troops of the frontline until the Soviet artillery stopping is finished then redéploiyait them immediately unscathed.

Heinrici had been victim of the Poison gas during the First World War and towards the end of 1943 Hermann Göring places it in a convalescent home at Karlovy Vary due to “bad health”. It is in fact a punishment to have refused to put fire at Smolensk according to the policy Nazi of the “burned ground”. At the summer 1944, after 8 months of imposed rest, it is placed at the orders of the 1st body of Panzer S and of the 1st Hungarian army in Hungary. It is withdrawn in Czechoslovakia but combat with so much of tenacity that one allots to him the Épées with the sheets of oak of his Croix of Knight the March 3rd 1945.

Throughout the war, Heinrici was opposed to the policy “burned ground” of Hitler according to which all was to be destroyed not to fall into the hands from the enemy. It supports the Minister for the armament Albert Speer to safeguard Berlin total destruction. When it is briefly named responsible for the defense of Berlin, the first order of Heinrici is that “nothing is voluntarily destroyed”.

The March 20th 1945, Heinrici replaces Himmler with the command of the group of army of the the Vistula, in responsibility of defend large Berlin against the Soviet offensive with the access of the Oder river. April 16th, 1,5 million Soviet soldiers attack the troops of Heinrici on the rivers Oder and Neisse. Heinrici into practice puts its tactic of withdrawal in the mountains then of return to the positions after the bombardment. but the Soviet troops are too many and too powerful. In three days, the lines of heinrici are inserted. It decides the retirement, going against the orders of Hitler, which had not authorized it.

The April 28th, whereas the Anglo-American ones had stopped in Elba, Heinrici was making pass a maximum of soldiers and civilians towards the west, to escape the Russians. But, while going against the orders of Hitler, that whose the marshal Wilhelm Keitel realized, ordering German armed forces. The two men verbally clashed at the edge of the road, whereas Heinrici was accompanied by its assistant the general Hasso von Manteuffel, ordering 3rd armor-plated army (Panzer). Keitel shouted, reproached its " désertion" in Heinrici, said to him that it should have shot deserters, etc before raising it of its command and to intimate the order to him to go in a barracks and to be shut down there. In wood, officers of Manteuffel awaited the weapon with the fist, ready to leap to protect their general and Heinrici if Keitel and of the S brought anything. Manteuffel was seen giving the command of the group of army of the Vistula, but declined the offer. Heinrici set out again, but received the warnings of a young officer, aide-de-camp of Rommel, which told him the last day of Rommel, when the generals Burghof and Maisel came to ask him to commit suicide (October 1944), requiring of him not to go to the place indicated to be shut down.

Decorations

Knight of the Cross of iron : September 18th, 1941, general of infantry, ordering of army corps on the face of the East
Sheets of oaks (No 333) : November 24th, 1943, Generaloberst, commander-in-chief of IVe armed on the face with the East
Swords (No 136) : March 3rd, 1945, Generaloberst, commander-in-chief of the Anger armed with Panzers on the face of the East
Cross of knight with swords in the order of the royal house of Hohenzollern : August 9th, 1918.
Cross of iron of 1st class (1914) v: July 24th, 1915.
Cross of iron of 2nd class (1914) : September 27th, 1914.
Bar of 1939 for the Prussian iron Cross (1914) : 16 May 1940.
Bar of 1939 for the Prussian iron Cross of 2nd class (1914) : 13 May 1940.
Military Cross of Charles-Edouard of Saxony-Cobourg-Gotha
Medal of Charles-Edouard of Saxony-Cobourg-Gotha of 2nd class with Swords and Date
Knight of 2nd class with Swords about the Vigilance of the house of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach, or Order of the Falcon-White
Knight of 2nd class with Swords about the ducal house of Saxony-Ernestine
Cross of Reuß honor, 3rd class with Swords
Cross of honor of Schwarzburg, 3rd class with Swords
Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg
Cross of honor of the combatants of 1914-1918
Medal of the service of long life in the armed forces, 1st class (Cross of the 25 years of service)
Medal of the service of long life in the armed forces, 2nd class (12 year old Medal of service)
Cross of the Austrian military merit, 3rd class with decorations of war
Medal for the winter campaign in Russia, 1941/1942

Occupied military rows

Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier (July 19th, 1905)
Fähnrich (December 19th, 1905)
Leutnant (August 18th, 1906)
Oberleutnant (February 17th, 1914)
Hauptmann (June 18th, 1915)
Major (February 1st, 1926)
Oberstleutnant (August 1st, 1930)
Oberst (March 1st, 1933)
Generalmajor (January 1st, 1936)
Generalleutnant (March 1st, 1938)
General DER Infantry (June 1st, 1940)
Generaloberst (January 30th, 1943)

After war

Heinrici is captured by the British forces the May 28th 1945 and is held with Island Farm where it remained, put aside transfer a three weeks in a camp to the the United States in October 1947, until its release estimated with the May 19th 1948.

After the war, the writings and the letters of the diary of Heinrici were gathered in one entitled book Morals and behavior young stag are like those in the Thirty Years' War .

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