Gotthard Heinrici
Encyclopedia
Gotthard Heinrici was a general
in the German Army
during World War II
.
, East Prussia
, on Christmas Day, 1886, to Paul Heinrici, a local Lutheran
minister of the Prussian Church, and his wife Gisela, née von Rauchhaupt, who was of recent Jewish descent. He was a cousin of General Gerd von Rundstedt
. He had two children, Hartmut and Gisela, with his wife Gertrude. Heinrici was a religious man who attended church regularly. His religious faith and his refusal to join the Nazi Party
made him unpopular among the Nazi hierarchy and he was on unfavourable terms with Reichsmarschall
Hermann Göring
and Hitler.
and won numerous awards. His awards included the Black Wound Badge
for being wounded in battle. Heinrici also received both the Second Class and First Class Iron Cross
es in 1914 and 1915, respectively. He participated in the Battle of Tannenberg
. Heinrici was a victim of poison gas in World War I
.
. As in World War I, he served on both fronts. Heinrici built up a reputation as the best defensive tactician in the German Army (Wehrmacht Heer) and was renowned for his tenacity. For this reason, his officers and men nicknamed him Unser Giftzwerg, literally "our poison dwarf", meaning "our tough little bastard" in recognition of his character and lack of physical stature.
into France
, Heinrici's command was part of Colonel General
(Generaloberst) Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb
's Army Group C. He commanded the XII Army Corps which was part of the First Army
. Heinrici succeeded in breaking through the Maginot Line
on 14 June 1940.
, Heinrici served in the Second Panzer Army
under Heinz Guderian
and, as the commanding general of the XXXXIII Army Corps, received the Knight's Cross.
On 26 January 1942, Heinrici was given command of the German Fourth Army
. This unit was crucial to the rapidly crumbling German line directly facing Moscow
. The Fourth Army under Heinrici held out against the Soviet onslaught for ten weeks. Heinrici managed this even though his forces were sometimes out-numbered 12 to 1. During this time, Heinrici developed one of his most famous tactics: when he sensed a Soviet attack was imminent, Heinrici would pull his troops back from the line prior to the preliminary artillery barrage. Then, immediately afterwards, he would return them unharmed back to their lines to face the attacking Soviet troops.
on the pretext of "ill health". This was actually punishment for refusing to set fire to Smolensk
in accordance with the Nazi "scorched earth
" policy. However, it should be noted that Heinrici went on a two-month leave of absence
twice during World War II. He took leave from 6 June to 13 July 1942. About one year later, Heinrici took leave from 1 June to 31 July 1943. One of these leaves was believed to be due to his contracting hepatitis
.
In the summer of 1944, after eight months of enforced retirement, Heinrici was sent to Hungary
and placed in command of the German First Panzer Army
and the Hungarian First Army
which was attached to it. He was able to keep the First Panzer Army relatively intact as he retreated into Slovakia
. Heinrici fought so tenaciously that he was awarded the Swords to the Oak Leaves of his Knight's Cross on 3 March 1945.
replaced Heinrich Himmler
with Heinrici as Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Vistula
on the Eastern Front
. Indicating that he was ill, Himmler had abandoned his post on 13 March and retired to a sanatorium at Hohenlychen. At this time, Army Group Vistula's front was less than 50 miles from Berlin
.
As Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Vistula, Heinrici commanded two armies: the Third Panzer Army
led by General Hasso von Manteuffel
and the Ninth Army
led by General Theodor Busse
. Heinrici was tasked with preventing a Soviet attack across the Oder River. But he faced shortages of manpower and material and Hitler's conviction that the Red Army would not attack Berlin.
Led by Marshals Georgi Zhukov (1st Byelorussian Front) and Ivan Konev
(1st Ukrainian Front
), the Soviets had advanced rapidly west from the USSR and had been stalled east of the Oder for months. As Anglo-American armies approached Berlin from the West, however, Joseph Stalin
became convinced that they intended to take Berlin for themselves and ordered Zhukov and Konev to seize the city without further delays.
On 15 April, Heinrici met with Minister of Armaments and War Production Albert Speer
and Lieutenant General (Generalleutnant) Helmuth Reymann
to discuss Hitler's Nero Decree
. This decree instituted a scorched earth
policy. While outwardly responsible for carrying out the decree, Speer was clandestinely campaigning against it. Heinrici was against the scorched earth policy too. At that time, Reymann was the commander of the Berlin Defense Area. Although Reymann refused to side with Speer, he did promise to confer with Heinrici before destroying vital city infrastructure.
On 16 April, the first stage of the Battle of Berlin
, the Battle of the Oder-Neisse
, began. Combined, the Soviets attacked with over 1,500,000 men for what they called the "Berlin Offensive Operation". In the early morning of 18 April, Zhukov's front crossed the Oder and assaulted Heinrici's positions on the western bank. Simultaneously, Konev's front attacked Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner
's Army Group Center further south. By 19 April, the Soviets had broken through and the Battle of the Oder-Neisse
was over. Now began the second stage of the Battle of Berlin, the battle for the city itself.
About 21 April, Hitler learned of a proposed retreat of Army Group Vistula only after a puzzling request by General Heinrici. Heinrici requested permission from Hitler to transfer the headquarters of his army group to a new site. Hitler was only able to find Heinrici's proposed headquarters after much searching on the map. Hitler then saw to his dismay that the site was to the west of Berlin and, thus, further from the Soviets than Hitler's own headquarters in the Führerbunker
. Hitler was furious.
By late April, Heinrici realized that Army Group Vistula
could not halt the advance of the Soviets. After days of intense fighting, he ordered the retreat of his army group from Wollin. He ordered his men to fall back across the Oder River. Heinrici ordered this despite Hitler's orders that no retreat could be authorized without his personal approval.
was riding along the roads north of Berlin when he noticed to his amazement that troops of the 7th Panzer Division and of the 25th Panzergrenadier Division were marching north away from Berlin. These troops were part of General Hasso von Manteuffel
's 3rd Panzer Army. The 3rd Panzer Army was one of two armies which made up Heinrici's Army Group Vistula
and were supposed to be on their way to Berlin. Instead, they were being moved northward in an attempt to halt the Soviet break-through at Neubrandenburg
.
Heinrici had defied the strictest orders of Keitel and his deputy, General Alfred Jodl
. Furious, Keitel went in search of Heinrici and found him on a road near Neubrandenburg. Heinrici was close to the front and accompanied by von Manteuffel. Processions of wounded and disarmed soldiers and endless treks of refugees were moving past.
Keitel, his face purple, called Heinrici to account and spoke of insubordination, treason, cowardice, and sabotage. Keitel accused Heinrici of weakness and shouted that if Heinrici had only taken General Lothar Rendulic
in Austria as an example and shot a few thousand deserters or strung them up on the nearest tree, his armies would not now be on the retreat.
Heinrici's movements were intended to bring his army group, and as many civilians as possible, to the west. Heinrici intended to get them into the area between the northern reaches of the Elbe
River and the Baltic Sea
. Heinrici told his superior officer, "Marshal Keitel, if you want these men to be shot, will you please begin!"
Keitel relieved Heinrici of his command on 29 April. Heinrici's command was offered to von Manteuffel, but von Manteuffel not only declined the promotion, he protested the treatment of Heinrici. Kurt von Tippelskirch
was named as Heinrici's interim replacement until General Kurt Student
(who was in Holland) could arrive and assume control of Army Group Vistula. But Student was captured by the British before he could take command.
After losing his command, Heinrici retired to Plön
, where he surrendered to British
forces on 28 May 1945.
where he remained, except for a three-week transfer to a camp in the United States in October 1947, until his eventual release on 19 May 1948. He lived in Endersbach in Weinstadt
and was buried at the cemetery in Freiburg
, with full military honors.
Throughout the war, Heinrici was opposed to Hitler's scorched earth
policy, whereby everything of use had been ordered destroyed so as not to fall into the hands of the advancing enemy. He refused to lay waste to Smolensk as Göring had ordered, and late in the war he supported Minister of Armaments Albert Speer
who worked to save Berlin from total destruction. When he was briefly put in charge of the defense of Berlin itself, Heinrici's first command was that nothing be purposely destroyed.
After the war, Heinrici's diary entries and letters were collected into a book entitled Morals and behaviour here are like those in the Thirty Years’ War. The First Year of the German-Soviet War as Shown in the Papers of Gnl. Gotthard Heinrici. He was also featured prominently in Cornelius Ryan's book, "The Last Battle
."
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
in the German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Personal life
Heinrici's was born in Gumbinnen (now Gusev)Gusev
Gusev is a town and the administrative center of Gusevsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Pissa and Krasnaya Rivers, near the border with Poland and Lithuania, east of Chernyakhovsk. Population: -History:...
, East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
, on Christmas Day, 1886, to Paul Heinrici, a local Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
minister of the Prussian Church, and his wife Gisela, née von Rauchhaupt, who was of recent Jewish descent. He was a cousin of General Gerd von Rundstedt
Gerd von Rundstedt
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt was a Generalfeldmarschall of the German Army during World War II. He held some of the highest field commands in all phases of the war....
. He had two children, Hartmut and Gisela, with his wife Gertrude. Heinrici was a religious man who attended church regularly. His religious faith and his refusal to join the Nazi Party
National Socialist German Workers Party
The National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party, was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. Its predecessor, the German Workers' Party , existed from 1919 to 1920...
made him unpopular among the Nazi hierarchy and he was on unfavourable terms with Reichsmarschall
Reichsmarschall
Reichsmarschall literally in ; was the highest rank in the armed forces of Nazi Germany during World War II after the position of Supreme Commander held by Adolf Hitler....
Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
and Hitler.
Early army career
The Heinrici family had been soldiers since the 12th century. Gotthard Heinrici continued the family tradition by joining the 95th Infantry Regiment on 8 March 1905. He was 19 years old. Heinrici saw action on both the Eastern and Western fronts in the First World WarWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and won numerous awards. His awards included the Black Wound Badge
Wound Badge
Wound 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...
for being wounded in battle. Heinrici also received both the Second Class and First Class Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The 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....
es in 1914 and 1915, respectively. He participated in the Battle of Tannenberg
Battle of Tannenberg (1914)
The Battle of Tannenberg was an engagement between the Russian Empire and the German Empire in the first days of World War I. It was fought by the Russian First and Second Armies against the German Eighth Army between 23 August and 30 August 1914. The battle resulted in the almost complete...
. Heinrici was a victim of poison gas in World War I
Poison gas in World War I
The use of chemical weapons in World War I ranged from disabling chemicals, such as tear gas and the severe mustard gas, to lethal agents like phosgene and chlorine. This chemical warfare was a major component of the first global war and first total war of the 20th century. The killing capacity of...
.
Second World War
Heinrici served throughout World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. As in World War I, he served on both fronts. Heinrici built up a reputation as the best defensive tactician in the German Army (Wehrmacht Heer) and was renowned for his tenacity. For this reason, his officers and men nicknamed him Unser Giftzwerg, literally "our poison dwarf", meaning "our tough little bastard" in recognition of his character and lack of physical stature.
Battle of France
During the BlitzkriegBlitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
into France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, Heinrici's command was part of Colonel General
Colonel General
Colonel General is a senior rank of General. North Korea and Russia are two countries which have used the rank extensively throughout their histories...
(Generaloberst) Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb
Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb
Wilhelm Josef Franz Ritter von Leeb was a German Field Marshal during World War II. - Youth :...
's Army Group C. He commanded the XII Army Corps which was part of the First Army
German First Army
-First World War:The 1st Army during World War I, fought on the Western Front and took part in the Schlieffen Plan offensive against France and Belgium in August 1914. Commanded by General Alexander von Kluck, the 1st Army's job was to command the extreme right of the German forces in attacking...
. Heinrici succeeded in breaking through the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
on 14 June 1940.
Barbarossa
In 1941, during Operation BarbarossaOperation 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...
, Heinrici served in the Second Panzer Army
German Second Panzer Army
The 2nd Panzer Army was a German tank army that was a large armoured formation within the Wehrmacht Heer field forces during World War II.-Formation:...
under Heinz Guderian
Heinz Guderian
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...
and, as the commanding general of the XXXXIII Army Corps, received the Knight's Cross.
On 26 January 1942, Heinrici was given command of the German Fourth Army
German Fourth Army
The 4th Army was a field army of Imperial Germany during World War I and of the Wehrmacht during World War II-World War I:At the outset of war, the Fourth Army, with the Fifth Army, formed the center of the German armies on the Western Front, moving through Luxembourg and Belgium in support of the...
. This unit was crucial to the rapidly crumbling German line directly facing Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. The Fourth Army under Heinrici held out against the Soviet onslaught for ten weeks. Heinrici managed this even though his forces were sometimes out-numbered 12 to 1. During this time, Heinrici developed one of his most famous tactics: when he sensed a Soviet attack was imminent, Heinrici would pull his troops back from the line prior to the preliminary artillery barrage. Then, immediately afterwards, he would return them unharmed back to their lines to face the attacking Soviet troops.
Smolensk
In late 1943, Göring had Heinrici placed in a convalescent home in KarlsbadKarlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately west of Prague . It is named after King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370...
on the pretext of "ill health". This was actually punishment for refusing to set fire to Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
in accordance with the Nazi "scorched earth
Scorched earth
A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area...
" policy. However, it should be noted that Heinrici went on a two-month leave of absence
Leave of absence
Leave of absence is a term used to describe a period of time that one is to be away from his/her primary job, while maintaining the status of employee...
twice during World War II. He took leave from 6 June to 13 July 1942. About one year later, Heinrici took leave from 1 June to 31 July 1943. One of these leaves was believed to be due to his contracting hepatitis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
.
In the summer of 1944, after eight months of enforced retirement, Heinrici was sent to Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and placed in command of the German First Panzer Army
German First Panzer Army
The 1st Panzer Army was a German tank army that was a large armoured formation within the Wehrmacht Heer field forces during World War II.-Formation:...
and the Hungarian First Army
Hungarian First Army
The Hungarian First Army was a Hungarian field army which saw action during World War II.-Commanders:* Lieutenant-General Vilmos Nagy - March 1, 1940 – February 1, 1941* Lieutenant-General István Schweitzer - February 1, 1941 – August 1, 1942...
which was attached to it. He was able to keep the First Panzer Army relatively intact as he retreated into Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. Heinrici fought so tenaciously that he was awarded the Swords to the Oak Leaves of his Knight's Cross on 3 March 1945.
Retreat from the Oder
On 20 March 1945, Adolf HitlerAdolf 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...
replaced Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
with Heinrici as Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula was an Army Group of the Wehrmacht, formed on January 24, 1945. It was put together from elements of Army Group A , Army Group Centre , and a variety of new or ad-hoc formations...
on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
. Indicating that he was ill, Himmler had abandoned his post on 13 March and retired to a sanatorium at Hohenlychen. At this time, Army Group Vistula's front was less than 50 miles from Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
As Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Vistula, Heinrici commanded two armies: the Third Panzer Army
German Third Panzer Army
The 3rd Panzer Army was a German army that saw action during World War II. It was formed from Panzergruppe 3, which had been formed on November 16, 1940....
led by General Hasso von Manteuffel
Hasso von Manteuffel
Hasso-Eccard Freiherr von Manteuffel was a German soldier and liberal politician of the 20th century.He served in both world wars, and during World War II was a distinguished general...
and the Ninth Army
German Ninth Army
The 9th Army was a World War II field army.The 9th Army was activated on May 15, 1940 with General Johannes Blaskowitz in command.-1940:The 9th Army first saw service along the Siegfried Line when it was involved in the invasion of France...
led by General Theodor Busse
Theodor Busse
Ernst Hermann August Theodor Busse was a German officer during World War I and World War II.- Career :...
. Heinrici was tasked with preventing a Soviet attack across the Oder River. But he faced shortages of manpower and material and Hitler's conviction that the Red Army would not attack Berlin.
Led by Marshals Georgi Zhukov (1st Byelorussian Front) and Ivan Konev
Ivan Konev
Ivan Stepanovich Konev , was a Soviet military commander, who led Red Army forces on the Eastern Front during World War II, retook much of Eastern Europe from occupation by the Axis Powers, and helped in the capture of Germany's capital, Berlin....
(1st Ukrainian Front
1st Ukrainian Front
The 1st Ukrainian Front was a front—a force the size of a Western Army group—of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War.-Wartime:...
), the Soviets had advanced rapidly west from the USSR and had been stalled east of the Oder for months. As Anglo-American armies approached Berlin from the West, however, Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
became convinced that they intended to take Berlin for themselves and ordered Zhukov and Konev to seize the city without further delays.
On 15 April, Heinrici met with Minister of Armaments and War Production Albert Speer
Albert Speer
Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
and Lieutenant General (Generalleutnant) Helmuth Reymann
Helmuth Reymann
Hellmuth Reymann was an officer in the German Army during World War II. Reymann was one of the last commanders of the Berlin Defense Area during the final assault by Soviet forces on the city of Berlin.-Northern Russia:From 1 October 1942 to 1 October 1943, Lieutenant-General Reymann commanded...
to discuss Hitler's Nero Decree
Nero Decree
The Nero Decree was issued by Adolf Hitler on March 19, 1945 ordering the destruction of German infrastructure to prevent their use by Allied forces as they penetrated deep within Germany...
. This decree instituted a scorched earth
Scorched earth
A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area...
policy. While outwardly responsible for carrying out the decree, Speer was clandestinely campaigning against it. Heinrici was against the scorched earth policy too. At that time, Reymann was the commander of the Berlin Defense Area. Although Reymann refused to side with Speer, he did promise to confer with Heinrici before destroying vital city infrastructure.
On 16 April, the first stage of the Battle of Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
, the Battle of the Oder-Neisse
Battle of the Oder-Neisse
The Battle of the Oder–Neisse is the German name for the initial phase of one of the last two strategic offensives conducted by the Red Army in the Campaign in Central Europe during World War II. Its initial breakthrough phase was fought over four days, from 16 April until 19 April 1945, within...
, began. Combined, the Soviets attacked with over 1,500,000 men for what they called the "Berlin Offensive Operation". In the early morning of 18 April, Zhukov's front crossed the Oder and assaulted Heinrici's positions on the western bank. Simultaneously, Konev's front attacked Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner
Ferdinand Schörner
Ferdinand Schörner was a General and later Field Marshal in the German Army during World War II.-Early life:Schörner was born in Munich, Bavaria...
's Army Group Center further south. By 19 April, the Soviets had broken through and the Battle of the Oder-Neisse
Battle of the Oder-Neisse
The Battle of the Oder–Neisse is the German name for the initial phase of one of the last two strategic offensives conducted by the Red Army in the Campaign in Central Europe during World War II. Its initial breakthrough phase was fought over four days, from 16 April until 19 April 1945, within...
was over. Now began the second stage of the Battle of Berlin, the battle for the city itself.
About 21 April, Hitler learned of a proposed retreat of Army Group Vistula only after a puzzling request by General Heinrici. Heinrici requested permission from Hitler to transfer the headquarters of his army group to a new site. Hitler was only able to find Heinrici's proposed headquarters after much searching on the map. Hitler then saw to his dismay that the site was to the west of Berlin and, thus, further from the Soviets than Hitler's own headquarters in the Führerbunker
Führerbunker
The Führerbunker was located beneath Hitler's New Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex which was constructed in two major phases, one part in 1936 and the other in 1943...
. Hitler was furious.
By late April, Heinrici realized that Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula was an Army Group of the Wehrmacht, formed on January 24, 1945. It was put together from elements of Army Group A , Army Group Centre , and a variety of new or ad-hoc formations...
could not halt the advance of the Soviets. After days of intense fighting, he ordered the retreat of his army group from Wollin. He ordered his men to fall back across the Oder River. Heinrici ordered this despite Hitler's orders that no retreat could be authorized without his personal approval.
Clash with Keitel and Dismissal
On 28 April, German Field Marshal Wilhelm KeitelWilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Bodewin Gustav Keitel was a German field marshal . As head of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and de facto war minister, he was one of Germany's most senior military leaders during World War II...
was riding along the roads north of Berlin when he noticed to his amazement that troops of the 7th Panzer Division and of the 25th Panzergrenadier Division were marching north away from Berlin. These troops were part of General Hasso von Manteuffel
Hasso von Manteuffel
Hasso-Eccard Freiherr von Manteuffel was a German soldier and liberal politician of the 20th century.He served in both world wars, and during World War II was a distinguished general...
's 3rd Panzer Army. The 3rd Panzer Army was one of two armies which made up Heinrici's Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula was an Army Group of the Wehrmacht, formed on January 24, 1945. It was put together from elements of Army Group A , Army Group Centre , and a variety of new or ad-hoc formations...
and were supposed to be on their way to Berlin. Instead, they were being moved northward in an attempt to halt the Soviet break-through at Neubrandenburg
Neubrandenburg
Neubrandenburg is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located in the southeastern part of the state, on the shore of a lake called the Tollensesee ....
.
Heinrici had defied the strictest orders of Keitel and his deputy, General Alfred Jodl
Alfred Jodl
Alfred Josef Ferdinand Jodl was a German military commander, attaining the position of Chief of the Operations Staff of the Armed Forces High Command during World War II, acting as deputy to Wilhelm Keitel...
. Furious, Keitel went in search of Heinrici and found him on a road near Neubrandenburg. Heinrici was close to the front and accompanied by von Manteuffel. Processions of wounded and disarmed soldiers and endless treks of refugees were moving past.
Keitel, his face purple, called Heinrici to account and spoke of insubordination, treason, cowardice, and sabotage. Keitel accused Heinrici of weakness and shouted that if Heinrici had only taken General Lothar Rendulic
Lothar Rendulic
Generaloberst Lothar Rendulic was an Austro-Hungarian and Austrian Army officer of Croatian origin who served as a German general during World War II. He commanded the 14. Infanterie-Division, 52. Infanterie-Division, XXXV Armeekorps, 2. Panzer-Armee, 20...
in Austria as an example and shot a few thousand deserters or strung them up on the nearest tree, his armies would not now be on the retreat.
Heinrici's movements were intended to bring his army group, and as many civilians as possible, to the west. Heinrici intended to get them into the area between the northern reaches of the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
River and the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. Heinrici told his superior officer, "Marshal Keitel, if you want these men to be shot, will you please begin!"
Keitel relieved Heinrici of his command on 29 April. Heinrici's command was offered to von Manteuffel, but von Manteuffel not only declined the promotion, he protested the treatment of Heinrici. Kurt von Tippelskirch
Kurt von Tippelskirch
Kurt Oskar Heinrich Ludwig Wilhelm von Tippelskirch was a general in the German Army during World War II.-Personal life:Kurt von Tippelskirch was born on 9 October 1891 in Berlin...
was named as Heinrici's interim replacement until General Kurt Student
Kurt Student
Kurt Student was a German Luftwaffe general who fought as a fighter pilot during the First World War and as the commander of German Fallschirmjäger during the Second World War.-Biography:...
(who was in Holland) could arrive and assume control of Army Group Vistula. But Student was captured by the British before he could take command.
After losing his command, Heinrici retired to Plön
Plön
Plön is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 13,000 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as on several smaller lakes, touching the town on virtually all sides...
, where he surrendered to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
forces on 28 May 1945.
After the war
After his capture, Heinrici was held at Island FarmIsland 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...
where he remained, except for a three-week transfer to a camp in the United States in October 1947, until his eventual release on 19 May 1948. He lived in Endersbach in Weinstadt
Weinstadt
Weinstadt is a town in the county Rems-Murr, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Rems Valley approximately 15 km east of Stuttgart. As the name implies, it is best known for its vineyards and production of wine...
and was buried at the cemetery in Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
, with full military honors.
Throughout the war, Heinrici was opposed to Hitler's scorched earth
Scorched earth
A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area...
policy, whereby everything of use had been ordered destroyed so as not to fall into the hands of the advancing enemy. He refused to lay waste to Smolensk as Göring had ordered, and late in the war he supported Minister of Armaments Albert Speer
Albert Speer
Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
who worked to save Berlin from total destruction. When he was briefly put in charge of the defense of Berlin itself, Heinrici's first command was that nothing be purposely destroyed.
After the war, Heinrici's diary entries and letters were collected into a book entitled Morals and behaviour here are like those in the Thirty Years’ War. The First Year of the German-Soviet War as Shown in the Papers of Gnl. Gotthard Heinrici. He was also featured prominently in Cornelius Ryan's book, "The Last Battle
The Last Battle (book)
The Last Battle is a 1966 book by Cornelius Ryan about the events leading up to the Battle of Berlin in World War II.The book, which was published by Simon & Schuster, is structured as a historical narrative. It is based on interviews with hundreds of persons actually involved, including Americans,...
."
Ranks held
- Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier (19 Jul 1905)
- FähnrichFähnrichFähnrich is a German and Austrian military rank in armed forces which translates as "Ensign" in English. The rank also exists in a few other European military organizations, often with historical ties to the German system. Examples are Sweden, Norway and Finland . The French Army has a similar...
(19 Dec 1905) - Leutnant (18 Aug 1906)
- 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...
(17 Feb 1914) - 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...
(18 Jun 1915) - 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. ...
(01 Feb 1926) - 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...
(01 Aug 1930) - 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...
(01 Mar 1933) - Generalmajor (01 Jan 1936)
- Generalleutnant (01 Mar 1938)
- General der InfanterieGeneral of the Infantry (Germany)General of the Infantry is a rank of general in the Imperial Army, Reichswehr or Wehrmacht - the second-highest regular rank. The same rank spread to the Imperial Russian Army and the Defence forces of Finland between the world wars...
(01 Jun 1940) - Generaloberst (30 Jan 1943)
Decorations
- Knight's Cross of the Iron 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...
: 18 September 1941, General der Infanterie, Commanding General of XXXXIII Army Corps on the Eastern Front. - Oakleaves (No. 333): 24 November 1943, Generaloberst, Commander-in-Chief of the 4th Army on the Eastern Front.
- Swords (No. 136): 3 March 1945, Generaloberst, Commander-in-Chief of the 1st Panzer Army on the Eastern Front.
- Prussian Royal House Order of HohenzollernHouse Order of HohenzollernThe House Order of Hohenzollern was an order of chivalry of the House of Hohenzollern. It was both a military and a civil award...
, Knight's Cross with Swords: 9 August 1918. - Prussian 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....
1st Class (1914): 24 July 1915. - Prussian 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....
2nd Class (1914): 27 September 1914. - 1939 Bar to the Prussian Iron Cross 1st Class (1914): 16 May 1940.
- 1939 Bar to the Prussian Iron Cross 2nd Class (1914): 13 May 1940.
- 1939 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...
{bronze} - Saxe-Coburg and Gotha: Carl Eduard War Cross
- Saxe-Coburg and Gotha: Duke Carl Eduard Medal, 2nd Class with Swords and Date
- Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: House Order of Vigilance or the White Falcon, Knight 2nd Class with Swords
- Saxon Duchies: Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Knight 2nd Class with Swords
- Reuß: Princely Reuß Honor Cross, 3rd Class with Swords
- Schwarzburg: Princely 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)
- Austria: Military Merit CrossMilitary Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary)The Military Merit Cross was a decoration of the Empire of Austria and, after the establishment of the Dual Monarchy in 1867, the Empire of Austria-Hungary. It was first established on October 22, 1849 and underwent several revisions to its design and award criteria over the years of its existence...
, 3rd Class with War Decoration - Medal for the Winter Campaign in Russia 1941/1942
See also
- Battle of FranceBattle of FranceIn the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
- 1940 - Operation BarbarossaOperation BarbarossaOperation 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...
- 1941 - Battle of BerlinBattle of BerlinThe Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
- 1945 - Hans KrebsHans Krebs (general)Hans Krebs was a German Army general of infantry who served during World War II.-Early life:Krebs was born in Helmstedt. He volunteered for service in the Imperial German Army in 1914, was promoted to lieutenant in 1915, and to first lieutenant in 1925...
, Chief of Staff - Helmuth WeidlingHelmuth WeidlingHelmuth Otto Ludwig Weidling was an officer in the German Army before and during World War II...
, Commander of the Berlin Defense Area - Felix SteinerFelix SteinerFelix Martin Julius Steiner was a German Reichswehr and Waffen-SS officer who served in both World War I and World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
, Commander of the Eleventh SS Panzer Army - Theodor BusseTheodor BusseErnst Hermann August Theodor Busse was a German officer during World War I and World War II.- Career :...
, Commander of the German 9th Army