GeneralOberst Gotthard Heinrici - summary

[MAGNA]

Generaloberst Gotthard Heinrici

Born 21 December 1886 at Gumbinnen
Died 13 December 1971.

Heinrici was a professional soldier who is acknowledged as a master of defensive warfare. His service in both World Wars was exemplary and the number of awards he gained is impressive.

The list includes;

the Knight's Cross (1941) with swords (1945) and oak leaves (1943)

the Prussian Iron cross 1st class (1915)
the Prussian Iron cross 2nd class (1914)
the Prussian Royal Hohenzollern House order - Knight's cross with swords (1918)

Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Carl Eduard War Cross
(rare award - only 97 issued in the entirety of World War One)
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Duke Carl Eduard Medal, 2nd Class with Swords and Date
(rare again - only 344 issued in the same war)

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach House Order of Vigilance or the White Falcon, Knight 2nd Class with Swords
Saxe-Ernestine Ducal House Order, Knight 2nd Class with Swords
Reuß Honor Cross, 3rd Class with Swords
Schwarzburg Honor Cross, 3rd Class with Swords
Hamburg Hanseatic Cross
Cross of Honor for Combatants 1914-1918
Armed Forces Long Service Award, 1st Class (25-year Service Cross)
Armed Forces Long Service Award, 3rd Class (12-year Service Medal)
Austrian Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with War Decoration
Medal for the Winter Campaign in Russia 1941/1942 (“East Medal”)

Heinrici joined the 95th infantry regiment in 1905 to begin his professional career.

By February 1914 he was an oberleutnant.
By November 1914 he was regimental adjutant of the 95th.
1915 Company leader - later Battalion leader in the 95th.
August 1916 - transferred to a General staff position in XXIV reserve corps.

Various staff positions until the end of the war where he was the operations officer for the General staff of the 203rd infantry division.

1919 to 1936 - Varied positions in staff jobs as well as training commands. 1931- spent time on detachment with the Lithuanian army. Held positions in the Reich Defence and War ministries.

1937 - command of the 16th infantry division.

1940 - reserve for high command.
June 1940 - January 1942 - Commanding General XXXXIII Army Corps. First used in France then sent East for the invasion of Russia.

January 1942 - June 1944. Commander in chief - 4th army on the Eastern front.

May 1944. Contracted hepatitis
June - placed in Army high command reserve.

August 1944 - March 1945. Commander-in-Chief of the 1st Panzer Army on the Eastern Front.
August 1944 - February 1945. At the same time, Commander-in-Chief of Army Group “Heinrici” on the Eastern Front - Hungarian 1st Army

March 1945 - April 1945. Command of Army Group Vistula - Eastern front. Personally dismissed by Keitel for withdrawing without authorization.

Became a prisoner of war with the British in May 1945 and was released in 1948.

Heinrici at various stages of his career

[MAGNA]

Sorry - forgot to say please feel free to add info and pictures.

[Hagen]

Sorry - forgot to say please feel free to add info

Well lets see, he was a cousin of Gerd von Rundstedt.

A staff officer of Heinrici once said "retreats only when the air is turned to lead-and then only after considerable deliberation."

According to the Cornelius Ryan book "The Last Battle" "He fought battles with such ferocity that his officers and men proudly nicknamed him "Unser Giftzwerg"- meaning "our tough little bastard" However it literally means "our poison dwarf" and the term was often used in this sense by those who disliked him.

Early in the war Heinrici fell afoul of the fuhrer because of his religous views. Heinrici was the son of a protestant minister, and read a bible tract daily, went to services on Sundays and insisted on church parades for his troops. Once while on leave in Germany Heinrici was visited by a high ranking Nazi Party official sent from Berlin specifically to talk with him. Heinrici was informed that the Fuhrer considered his religious views as incompatable with the aims of National Socialism. Heinrici listened to the warning stonily. The following Sunday he, his wife, son and daughter attended church as usual.

Heinrici had a knack for knowing when an offensive was about to be unleashed against his front, when he knew the time was right he would order his front line troops to pull back, and allow the enemy barrage to fall on the empty front line trenches. Heinrici called this "Hitting an empty sack".

One of my favorites Magna, Thanks. Hopefully I will be able to add more.

[Jim O]

One of my favorites also. A principled man who was relieved by Göring in 1943 for refusing to burn Smolensk. His wife was a half-Jew (Mischling) who received a "German Blood Certificate" (Deutschblütigkeitserklärung) directly from Hitler himself.

[MAGNA]

Thanks for the extra info gents. By all accounts Heinrici was a cool professional with an excellent grasp of tactics. I have read the "poisonous dwarf" tag somewhere before but "tough little bastard" sounds more like it. He may have been only 5' 7" tall but he had the respect of his men.

[Hagen]

One of my favorites also. A principled man who was relieved by Göring in 1943 for refusing to burn Smolensk.

When called on the carpet by Hitler Heinrici explained; "had Smolensk been fired I could not have withdrawn my forces through it." This answer failed to satisfy Hitler or Goering, but there was just sufficent military logic in it to prevent a court-martial.*

After a time Hitler sited Heinrici's ailments from a poison gas attack in the first world war to relieve Heinrici of command.* A favorite trick of Hitlers.

I never knew about Heinrici's wife, thanks for filling in another piece of the Heinrici puzzle Jim.

* The Last Battle by Cornelius Ryan

[Hagen]

Thanks for the extra info gents. By all accounts Heinrici was a cool professional with an excellent grasp of tactics. I have read the "poisonous dwarf" tag somewhere before but "tough little bastard" sounds more like it. He may have been only 5' 7" tall but he had the respect of his men.

It was Heinrici who took over command of the Fourth Army before Moscow in January of 1942. He and his men held the line for almost ten weeks at a time of year when temperatures were reaching -40 Fahrenhheit. At times it was thought he was outnumbered 10 to 1.