Ferdinand Heim
Encyclopedia
Ferdinand Heim was a World War II German general.
during the whole of the First World War After 1918 he remained in the much smaller army as a career officer, reaching the rank of Oberst
in June 1939, just before the start of the Second World War.
On September 3, 1940, Heim was appointed Chief of Staff
to General Walther von Reichenau
while the Sixth Army was concentrated on the Cotentin Peninsula
awaiting the Invasion of Britain. He was subsequently prominent in the planning of the German invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa
).
On 1 July 1942, he was Commander of the 14th Panzer Division
with distinction at Kharkov
and at Rostov
. As a consequence, he was given, on November 1, 1942, command of 48th Panzer Corps which was then part of the German 6th Army, at Stalingrad. Heim's role was to reinforce the Romanian divisions in the area. Heim is particularly noted as being the "scapegoat
of Stalingrad". Adolf Hitler
, had (against the prevalent advice of Army commanders) ordered the Stalingrad campaign and subsequently refused to permit withdrawal. Consequently, the 6th Army was surrounded by Russian forces at Stalingrad
. Heim's 48th Panzer Corps, at Kalach-na-Donu
on the Don
, with two under-strength Panzer Divisions and a poorly equipped Romanian Panzer Division and with orders countermanded by Hitler, had failed to stop the formidable Russian attack against the Romanian Army which covered the Sixth Army's left flank. After this, in January 1943, Heim was, at Hitler's order, dismissed from the Army, arrested and placed in solitary confinement
at Moabit
, finally being released in April 1943, when he was transferred to a military hospital at Ulm
.
In a post-war interview, Heim asserted that the only documentation for his arrest was Hitler's order - no indictment, sentence or explanation. He learned, unofficially, that Hitler had been unwilling to cast blame on the Romanians for the poor quality of their troops so a German scapegoat was needed. German army and army group commanders were too valuable, so the "... only person left was the corps commander, and that was me."
Heim was informed in May 1943 that his dismissal from the German army had been revoked, and that he had been classified as retired. In August 1944, Heim returned to command German forces at the "fortress" of Boulogne
, a "defend to the last" assignment. He was instructed to prepare significant defences but he arrived to find that nothing had been prepared and there were no suitable specialists to do the work. The ill-prepared and ill-suited garrison endured heavy bombardment and full-scale assaults and Heim surrendered to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division
on 23 September 1944.
camps (including Island Farm
) in Britain and subsequently repatriated to Germany on 12 May 1948. He died at Ulm on 14 November 1977.
War service
Heim served as a junior artillery officer in the XIII CorpsXIII (Royal Württemberg) Corps
The XIII Army Corps was a corps of the Imperial German Army. It was, effectively, also the army of the Kingdom of Württemberg, which had been integrated in 1871 into the Prussian Army command structure, as had the armies of most German states...
during the whole of the First World War After 1918 he remained in the much smaller army as a career officer, reaching the rank of Oberst
Oberst
Oberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
in June 1939, just before the start of the Second World War.
On September 3, 1940, Heim was appointed Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
to General Walther von Reichenau
Walther von Reichenau
Walter von Reichenau was a German Generalfeldmarschall during World War II.-History:Reichenau was born in Karlsruhe to a Prussian general and joined the German Army in 1903. During World War I he served on the Western Front...
while the Sixth Army was concentrated on the Cotentin Peninsula
Cotentin Peninsula
The Cotentin Peninsula, also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy, forming part of the north-western coast of France. It juts out north-westwards into the English Channel, towards Great Britain...
awaiting the Invasion of Britain. He was subsequently prominent in the planning of the German invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
).
On 1 July 1942, he was Commander of the 14th Panzer Division
14th Panzer Division (Germany)
The German 14th Panzer Division was an armoured division in the German Army during World War II. It was created in 1940 by the conversion of the 4th Infantry Division.- Commanding officers :...
with distinction at Kharkov
Battle of Kharkov
Battle of Kharkov may refer to:* First Battle of Kharkov, a 1941 battle in which German troops captured the city* Second Battle of Kharkov, a 1942 battle in which Soviet forces attempted to retake the city...
and at Rostov
Rostov
Rostov is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:...
. As a consequence, he was given, on November 1, 1942, command of 48th Panzer Corps which was then part of the German 6th Army, at Stalingrad. Heim's role was to reinforce the Romanian divisions in the area. Heim is particularly noted as being the "scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
of Stalingrad". Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, had (against the prevalent advice of Army commanders) ordered the Stalingrad campaign and subsequently refused to permit withdrawal. Consequently, the 6th Army was surrounded by Russian forces at Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
. Heim's 48th Panzer Corps, at Kalach-na-Donu
Kalach-na-Donu
Kalach-na-Donu , or Kalach-on-the-Don, is a town and the administrative center of Kalachyovsky District of Volgograd Oblast, Russia, located on the Don River west of Volgograd. Population: It was founded in 1708 as a Cossack sloboda...
on the Don
Don River (Russia)
The Don River is one of the major rivers of Russia. It rises in the town of Novomoskovsk 60 kilometres southeast from Tula, southeast of Moscow, and flows for a distance of about 1,950 kilometres to the Sea of Azov....
, with two under-strength Panzer Divisions and a poorly equipped Romanian Panzer Division and with orders countermanded by Hitler, had failed to stop the formidable Russian attack against the Romanian Army which covered the Sixth Army's left flank. After this, in January 1943, Heim was, at Hitler's order, dismissed from the Army, arrested and placed in solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
at Moabit
Moabit
Moabit is an inner city locality of Berlin. Since Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it belongs to the newly regrouped governmental borough of Mitte. Previously, from 1920 to 2001, it belonged to the borough of Tiergarten. Moabit's borders are defined by three watercourses, the Spree, the...
, finally being released in April 1943, when he was transferred to a military hospital at Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
.
In a post-war interview, Heim asserted that the only documentation for his arrest was Hitler's order - no indictment, sentence or explanation. He learned, unofficially, that Hitler had been unwilling to cast blame on the Romanians for the poor quality of their troops so a German scapegoat was needed. German army and army group commanders were too valuable, so the "... only person left was the corps commander, and that was me."
Heim was informed in May 1943 that his dismissal from the German army had been revoked, and that he had been classified as retired. In August 1944, Heim returned to command German forces at the "fortress" of Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
, a "defend to the last" assignment. He was instructed to prepare significant defences but he arrived to find that nothing had been prepared and there were no suitable specialists to do the work. The ill-prepared and ill-suited garrison endured heavy bombardment and full-scale assaults and Heim surrendered to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division
Operation Wellhit
Operation Wellhit was the World War II operation by the 3rd Canadian Division to take the fortified port of Boulogne in northern France. At first, the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade had hoped to take Boulogne as part of its advance up the coast...
on 23 September 1944.
Post-war
Heim was sent to a series of POWPrisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camps (including Island Farm
Island Farm
Island Farm was a Prisoner of War Camp on the outskirts of the town of Bridgend, South Wales. It hosted a number of Axis prisoners, mainly German, and was the scene of the largest escape attempt by German POWs in Britain during World War II. Near the end of the war it became known as Special Camp XI...
) in Britain and subsequently repatriated to Germany on 12 May 1948. He died at Ulm on 14 November 1977.
Dates of rank
- Fahnenjunker-UnteroffizierCadetA cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
: October 1914 - FähnrichEnsign (rank)Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
: November 10, 1914 - Leutnant: February 25, 1915
- OberleutnantOberleutnantOberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
: October 18, 1918 - HauptmannHauptmannHauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian and Swiss armies. While "haupt" in contemporary German means "main", it also has the dated meaning of "head", i.e...
: March 1, 1928 - MajorMajorMajor is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
: August 1, 1934 - OberstleutnantOberstleutnantOberstleutnant is a German Army and Air Force rank equal to Lieutenant Colonel, above Major, and below Oberst.There are two paygrade associated to the rank of Oberstleutnant...
: March 1, 1937 - OberstOberstOberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
: August 1, 1939 - Generalmajor: February 1, 1942
- Generalleutnant: November 1, 1942
Notable decorations
- Cross of HonorCross of HonorThe Cross of Honor, also known as the Honor Cross or, popularly, the Hindenburg Cross, was a commemorative medal inaugurated on July 13, 1934 by Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg for those soldiers of Imperial Germany who fought in World War I...
(1934) - Wound BadgeWound BadgeWound Badge was a German military award for wounded or frost-bitten soldiers of Imperial German Army in World War I, the Reichswehr between the wars, and the Wehrmacht, SS and the auxiliary service organizations during the Second World War. After March 1943, due to the increasing number of Allied...
in Silver (1942) - Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
Second (1914) and First (1914) Classes - Clasp to the Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
Second and First Classes - Knight's CrossKnight's Cross of the Iron CrossThe Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
(1942) - German Cross in Gold (1942)
- Eastern Front MedalEastern Front MedalThe Eastern Front Medal, , more commonly known as the Ostmedaille was instituted on May 26, 1942 to mark service on the German Eastern Front during the period November 15, 1941 to April 15, 1942...
Quote
"We must uphold the principle of only having carried out orders [...] We must stick to that principle if we are to create a more or less effective defence" - spoken in secret while prisoner to his fellow inmates regarding German atrocities in World War II