Bio of General der Panzertruppe Walther Nehring (1892-1983)

Full name: Walther Kurt Josef Nehring
Nickname: No information

Date of birth: 15.08.1892 - Stretzin, Kreis Schlochau, Westpreußen (German Empire)
Date of death: 20.04.1983 - Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen (West Germany)

Battles and Operations: Polish Campaign, Western Campaign, Operation Barbarossa, North Africa Campaign (including Battle of Alam Halfa), Tunisia Campaign, Eastern Front operations (including stabilization of the front near Kasatin and breakout from encirclement south of Lask in 1945)

Religion: No information
Parents: Emil Nehring (landowner, schoolteacher and reserve officer) and Martha Nehring née Weiß
Siblings: Edwin Nehring (half-brother from father's first marriage)
Spouse: Annemarie Rohrbeck (married autumn 1923)
Children: Annemarie (born September 1924), Christoph (born February 1930), Hubertus (born December 1935)

Promotions:
16.09.1914 Fahnenjunker
18.02.1914 Leutnant (mit Patent vom 22.02.1914)
06.06.1915 Oberleutnant
01.03.1923 Hauptmann
00.00.193_ Major
01.10.1934 Oberstleutnant
01.03.1937 Oberst
01.08.1940 Generalmajor
01.02.1942 Generalleutnant
01.07.1942 General der Panzertruppe

Career:
16.09.1911 entered the Königlich Preußische Armee as Fahnenjunker with the 8. Kompanie of Infanterie-Regiment 152 in Marienburg after Abitur
08.02.1913 commissioned Leutnant after Kriegsschule Anklam
1914-1918 served as Zugführer in the First World War, wounded in the East in 1914, Adjutant of Mobiles Ersatz-Bataillon 148 in November 1914, returned as Bataillonsadjutant to his regiment in December 1914, transferred to Fliegertruppe on own request in spring 1916 but crashed after 14 days of flight training on 23.06.1916 suffering broken jaw and concussion, later took command of 1. (MG) Kompanie of Infanterie-Regiment 22 on the Western Front, severely wounded by abdominal gunshot at Kemmelberg on 01.07.1918
November 1918 Adjutant to the Kommandeur der Maschinengewehrtruppen of XX. Armeekorps in Allenstein
1920 served with Freiwilligen 41. Division in Grenzschutz Ost
spring 1920 Ordonanzoffizier in Stab of Reichswehr-Brigade 20
1920-1921 served in 2. (Preuß.) Infanterie-Regiment, initially as Adjutant of II. Bataillon in Rastenburg
01.10.1922 transferred to 13. (Minenwerfer-) Kompanie of 2. (Preuß.) Infanterie-Regiment
01.10.1923 to 1925 attended Führergehilfenausbildung in Stab of 1. Division in Königsberg
01.10.1925 transferred to Reichswehrministerium in Berlin (Heeres-Statistische Abteilung T 3)
01.10.1926 back to Stab of II. Bataillon of 2. (Preuß.) Infanterie-Regiment in Rastenburg
01.03.1928 returned to Reichswehrministerium in Berlin (Heeres-Abteilung T 1 beim Truppenamt)
01.03.1929 transferred to 6. (Preuß.) Sanitäts-Abteilung in Münster
01.08.1929 Chef of 1. Kompanie of 6. (Preuß.) Kraftfahr-Abteilung in Münster where he established the first Kraftfahr-Kampfeinheit of the German Army
01.02.1932 returned to Reichswehrministerium as 1. Generalstabsoffizier (Ia) to Inspektion der Kraftfahrtruppen (In 6) under Generalmajor Oswald Lutz with Oberstleutnant Heinz Guderian as Chief of Staff
01.09.1934 promoted and continued work on the build-up of the German Panzerwaffe
06.10.1936 attended Kriegsakademie in Berlin
12.10.1937 Kommandeur of Panzer-Regiment 5
01.07.1939 Chef des Generalstabes of Generalkommando XIX. Armeekorps in Wien
summer 1939 participated in Polish Campaign as Chef des Generalstabes of XIX. Armeekorps (Gruppe Guderian)
spring 1940 participated in Western Campaign as Chef des Generalstabes of XIX. Armeekorps
26.10.1940 Kommandeur of 18. Panzer-Division
summer 1941 led 18. Panzer-Division in Operation Barbarossa with notable success at the Beresina River crossing near Borissow
25.01.1942 relieved of command of 18. Panzer-Division and placed in Führerreserve
end of February 1942 sent to North Africa
early March 1942 took temporary command of Deutsches Afrika-Korps
01.07.1942 appointed Kommandierender General of Deutsches Afrika-Korps
31.08.1942 severely wounded in air raid at Alam Halfa and evacuated to Germany on 10.09.1942
15.11.1942 appointed Befehlshaber Tunesien (Stab Nehring, later LXXXX. Armeekorps)
February 1943 took command of XXIV. Panzerkorps on the Eastern Front
21.04.1944 temporary command of 4. Panzerarmee
August 1944 command of XLVIII. Panzerkorps then returned to XXIV. Panzerkorps
19.03.1945 Kommandeur of 1. Panzerarmee until capitulation
09.05.1945 surrendered to American forces and held as prisoner of war until 1948

Awards and Decorations:
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (1914) - 27.01.1915
Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (1914) - 25.11.1917
Verwundetenabzeichen 1918 in Silber - 1918
Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer - 1934
Österreichisches Kriegs-Erinnerungs-Medaille mit Schwertern - 193_
War Commemorative Medal with Swords (Hungary) - 193_
War Commemorative Medal with Swords (Bulgaria) - 193_
Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938 mit Spange "Prager Burg" - 1939
Dienstauszeichnung der Wehrmacht 1. Klasse (25 Jahre) and 2. Klasse (18 Jahre)
1939er Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz 2. Klasse - 11.09.1939
1939er Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz 1. Klasse - 29.09.1939
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (24.07.1941) as Generalmajor and Kommandeur 18. Panzer-Division. Nehring received the award for the division’s decisive breakthrough and river crossing at Borissow on the Beresina River on 1-2 July 1941. The 18. Panzer-Division had already demonstrated exceptional mobility earlier in the campaign, including an audacious amphibious fording of the Bug River on 22 June using waterproofed tanks that plunged directly into the water under covering fire. By early July, however, the real test came at the Beresina. Soviet forces, desperate to halt the German advance toward Smolensk and Moscow, rushed elite troops freshly pulled from Moscow’s defenses along with massed tank formations to the riverbanks. They positioned themselves to destroy or deny every crossing point.
Under Nehring’s personal leadership from the front, the division launched a coordinated assault through dense forests and marshy terrain. Panzergrenadiers and engineers, supported by the division’s tanks, fought their way forward under heavy artillery and air attacks. Soviet counterattacks came in relentless waves—infantry charges backed by T-34s and heavy KV tanks slamming into the German spearheads. Despite intense defensive fire that turned the riverbanks into a killing ground of smoke, exploding shells, and burning vehicles, Nehring’s troops forced the crossing. They captured an intact bridge at Borissow before the Soviets could demolish it, then rapidly expanded a secure bridgehead on the far bank. The fighting was close-quarters and brutal: panzer crews dueling enemy armor at point-blank range while infantry cleared bunkers with grenades and bayonets amid the chaos of burning underbrush and drifting smoke. This success, achieved through Nehring’s skillful orchestration of combined-arms tactics and his insistence on maintaining momentum, opened the left wing of Panzergruppe 2 for a rapid exploitation eastward. Without it, the broader German advance into central Russia would have stalled dangerously. The award citation explicitly credited Nehring’s “well-honed skill as a commander” for turning a potential bottleneck into a decisive operational victory.
Panzerkampfabzeichen in Silber
Medaglia d'argento al Valore Militare - 00.06.1942
Medaille "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42" (Ostmedaille) - 1942
Ärmelband Afrika - 1943
Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Gold - 02.09.1943
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #383 (08.02.1944) as General der Panzertruppe and Kommandierender General XXIV. Panzerkorps. Nehring earned the award for his emergency stabilization of the collapsing front south of Kiev in late December 1943 and early January 1944, particularly in the Kasatin and Kanev sectors along the Dnepr River. On 24 December 1943, Soviet forces launched a massive surprise breakthrough against the neighboring XXXXII. Armeekorps at Kasatin, tearing open a gaping hole in the German lines near Kiev. The Red Army poured through with overwhelming infantry, tanks, and artillery, threatening to encircle large portions of the German southern front and cut off vital supply routes.
Nehring was urgently flown into the crisis zone by aircraft and given command of whatever fragmented forces could be scraped together—including badly mauled divisions from his own corps that had already suffered heavy losses in prior fighting. The situation was desperate: roads were choked with retreating troops and refugees, winter weather turned fields into quagmires of frozen mud and snow, and Soviet spearheads were advancing rapidly with fresh mechanized units. Nehring immediately organized ad-hoc battle groups, personally directing counterattacks with the few remaining panzers, assault guns, and infantry battalions. In the critical battles around the Soviet bridgeheads at Burkin and Kanev over the Dnepr, his forces conducted mobile defensive operations—rapid redeployments, spoiling attacks, and concentrated fire from artillery and surviving armor that blunted the Soviet momentum. Fighting raged through snow-covered villages and along icy riverbanks, with German panzergrenadiers holding ridges against human-wave assaults while Nehring’s headquarters coordinated desperate night marches to plug gaps. Despite being outnumbered and short on fuel and ammunition, the corps under his command halted the Soviet advance south of Kasatin, stabilized the line, and prevented a complete collapse of the sector. The award citation highlighted this rapid intervention with improvised forces as the decisive factor in restoring the front. Nehring’s leadership in these defensive battles around Kanev and the Dnepr bridgeheads exemplified his ability to improvise under extreme pressure during the brutal winter fighting of 1943-44.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #124 (22.01.1945) as General der Panzertruppe and Kommandierender General XXIV. Panzerkorps (often referred to as “Gruppe Nehring” during this period). Nehring received the award for his masterful leadership of a mobile “wandering pocket” during the opening phase of the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive in January 1945. By this stage the corps had been repositioned in southern Poland near the Baranow bridgehead on the Vistula River. When the massive Soviet winter offensive erupted on 12 January, it smashed through German lines with overwhelming force, isolating large formations in encirclements across the front. Nehring’s corps became one of the few major units to avoid immediate destruction, but it was soon surrounded and forced into a fighting retreat across snow-bound terrain.
The “wandering pocket” maneuver involved Nehring directing a mixed force of panzers, panzergrenadiers, artillery, and stragglers in a continuous series of breakout attempts and delaying actions. They fought through blizzards and sub-zero temperatures, using the last reserves of fuel for hit-and-run attacks on Soviet blocking forces while protecting columns of wounded and supply trucks. Soviet tank armies repeatedly tried to seal the ring, launching night assaults and artillery barrages that lit up the frozen landscape with tracer fire and explosions. On 22 January 1945, south of Lask, Nehring personally orchestrated the final breakthrough: concentrated panzer thrusts punched through the Soviet encirclement line in fierce close combat, allowing the battered but intact corps to link up with German lines. The fighting was savage—tanks dueling at ranges of mere dozens of meters, infantry clearing roadblocks under machine-gun fire, and desperate rear-guard actions to cover the withdrawal. Immediately after breaking free, the corps was redeployed to bolster the defense along the Oder River. The award citation praised Nehring’s command of this “wandering pocket” as one of the rare successful large-unit survivals amid the initial Soviet onslaught, crediting his tactical skill with saving the formation for continued operations. This action came amid the broader retreat from the Baranow bridgehead and the desperate defense of Silesia.
Wehrmachtbericht mention
Westpreußen-Medaille - 1971
Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland - 27.07.1973

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Walther Kurt Josef Nehring was a German general of the Panzertruppe in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War who commanded armored formations on the Eastern Front, in North Africa, and again in the East, earning high decorations for his leadership in mobile warfare and crisis situations. Born on 15 August 1892 in Stretzin, West Prussia, in the German Empire, he came from a family with military ties as the son of Emil Nehring, a landowner, schoolteacher, and reserve officer, and Martha Nehring, née Weiß. He had one half-brother, Edwin, from his father's first marriage. Nehring married Annemarie Rohrbeck in the autumn of 1923, and the couple had three children: a daughter Annemarie born in September 1924, and sons Christoph in February 1930 and Hubertus in December 1935. No specific details about his religious beliefs are recorded in available sources. After completing his Abitur, he entered the Prussian Army in September 1911 as a Fahnenjunker with Infantry Regiment 152 in Marienburg and was commissioned as a Leutnant in February 1913 following training at the war school in Anklam.

Nehring's early combat experience came during the First World War, where he served initially as a platoon leader on the Eastern Front and was wounded in 1914. By November of that year he had become adjutant of a mobile replacement battalion, later returning to his regiment as battalion adjutant. In the spring of 1916 he volunteered for the air service but suffered a severe crash after only two weeks of training, breaking his jaw and sustaining a concussion. He then commanded a machine-gun company on the Western Front and was gravely wounded again by abdominal gunshot fire at Kemmelberg in July 1918. After the armistice he held staff positions in the postwar Reichswehr, serving with border protection units in East Prussia, then as an ordnance officer and later in various infantry and motorized formations. During the 1920s and early 1930s he attended advanced staff training and worked in the Reichswehr Ministry, contributing to the secret development of motorized and armored units under General Oswald Lutz and Colonel Heinz Guderian. By 1929 he had established one of the first combat-ready motorized companies, and in the mid-1930s he helped shape the emerging Panzerwaffe while commanding Panzer Regiment 5 and serving as chief of staff of XIX Army Corps.

With the outbreak of the Second World War, Nehring participated in the Polish Campaign as chief of staff of XIX Corps under Guderian, then repeated the role during the Western Campaign in 1940. In October 1940 he took command of the newly formed 18th Panzer Division, which he led into Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 as part of Panzer Group 2. The division's advance began dramatically when its tanks, fitted with waterproof rubber skins originally intended for a planned invasion of Britain, plunged directly into the Bug River on 22 June, fording under fire in an amphibious assault that caught Soviet defenders off guard. By early July the formation had pushed deep into Belarus, reaching the Beresina River near Borissow where Soviet forces had massed elite troops and tanks to deny every crossing. On 1 and 2 July 1941 Nehring personally directed a combined-arms assault through dense forests and marshland under constant artillery and air bombardment. Panzergrenadiers and engineers battled forward amid exploding shells and burning vehicles while tank crews dueled T-34s and KV heavy tanks at close range. Despite fierce counterattacks that turned the riverbanks into a smoke-filled killing ground, the division seized intact bridges and established a secure bridgehead on the eastern bank through grenade-and-bayonet fighting in the underbrush. This breakthrough, achieved by Nehring's emphasis on speed and improvisation, opened the path for the wider German advance toward Smolensk and earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 24 July 1941.

In early 1942 Nehring was transferred to North Africa, where he briefly commanded the Deutsches Afrika Korps in March before being appointed its permanent leader in July. He directed operations during the final major Axis offensive at Alam Halfa in late August and early September 1942 but was severely wounded in an air raid on 31 August and evacuated to Germany. Recovering, he returned to command the German forces in Tunisia as head of LXXXX Army Corps from November 1942, organizing defenses against advancing Allied armies until the Axis collapse in May 1943. Sent back to the Eastern Front in February 1943, he assumed command of XXIV Panzer Corps under the Fourth Panzer Army. On 24 December 1943 Soviet forces launched a massive surprise offensive that shattered the neighboring corps near Kasatin south of Kiev, tearing open the German lines and threatening encirclement of much of Army Group South. Flown into the chaos, Nehring took charge of battered remnants from his own units and ad-hoc battle groups in freezing winter conditions of snow-covered fields and icy roads clogged with retreating troops. Through rapid redeployments, spoiling attacks, and concentrated fire from surviving armor and artillery, his forces halted the Soviet momentum around the Dnepr bridgeheads at Burkin and Kanev. Panzergrenadiers held ridges against repeated human-wave assaults while night marches plugged gaps in the line, ultimately stabilizing the front despite shortages of fuel and ammunition. For this emergency intervention Nehring received the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 8 February 1944.

By January 1945 Nehring's corps was positioned near the Baranow bridgehead on the Vistula when the massive Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive erupted on 12 January, smashing through German positions and isolating large formations in snow-bound encirclements. His XXIV Panzer Corps became one of the few major units to avoid immediate destruction but was soon surrounded, forming what became known as the "wandering pocket." Under Nehring's direction the mixed force of panzers, grenadiers, artillery, and stragglers conducted a continuous fighting retreat across blizzards and sub-zero terrain, launching hit-and-run attacks on Soviet blocking positions while protecting columns of wounded and supplies. Soviet tank armies repeatedly attempted to seal the ring with night assaults and barrages that lit the frozen landscape with tracer fire and explosions. On 22 January south of Lask, Nehring orchestrated a final concentrated thrust that punched through the encirclement in savage close-quarters combat, with tanks dueling at point-blank range and infantry clearing roadblocks under machine-gun fire. The breakout allowed the battered but intact corps to link up with German lines and immediately redeploy to defend the Oder River. This skillful leadership of the mobile pocket, one of the rare successful large-unit survivals amid the offensive's opening chaos, earned him the Swords to his Knight's Cross on 22 January 1945.

In the final months of the war Nehring temporarily commanded the Fourth Panzer Army in April 1944 before returning to XXIV Panzer Corps and then assuming leadership of the First Panzer Army in March 1945 until the capitulation. He surrendered to American forces on 9 May 1945 and was held as a prisoner of war until his release in 1948. In the postwar years he lived quietly in West Germany and was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit First Class in 1973 for his contributions to veterans' affairs. Nehring died on 20 April 1983 in Düsseldorf at the age of ninety. His career exemplified the evolution of German armored doctrine from theoretical experiments in the Reichswehr through the high-mobility campaigns of 1939-1941 to the desperate defensive battles of the later war years, marked by consistent tactical skill in both offensive breakthroughs and improvised retreats under overwhelming pressure.

Major Walther Nehring.

General der Panzertruppe Heinz Guderian (second from right), Kommandierender General XIX. Armeekorps (motorisiert), discussing with a representative from the Russian side (centre) for the German and Soviet demarcation lines/borders in occupied Poland. With Guderian at right is Oberst i.G. Walther Nehring (Chef des Generalstabes XIX. Armeekorps). This photo was taken in the vicinity of Brest-Litovsk in September 1939 by Kriegsberichter Max Ehlert and Heinz Boesig. Most written sources as well (as the internet) say that the Russian officer in this photo is General Vladimir Borovitsky who served as the NKVD Commissar for the 29th Tank Brigade. This was a little confusing because the Russian was clearly wearing a leather jacket with the epaulettes of Major or equivalent. The answer was obtained from the information from the Belorussian Front staff, which stated that on September 20, 1939 a group of Soviet vanguard troops led by NKVD Major Filipp Filippovich Borovensky came to visit the German troops' headquarters in Siemiatycze, northwest of Brest, where the host then showed a map of the demarcation lines. Is it possible that the name Borovensky has been misspelled as Borovitsky because of the resemblance? Not known for sure. What is clear is that the name Filipp Borovensky - who would later be killed in 1941 - matches the identification of the Russian officer in this photo much better, based on the similarity of rank and the corroboration of the original source. Other pictures from this occasion can be seen HERE.



Generalmajor Walther Nehring.

The funeral ceremony of Generaloberst Hans-Valentin Hube which was held in Berlin on 26 April 1944. Generals and recipients of high and highest decorations for bravery escort the coffin, carried by non-commissioned officers of the Panzertruppen, to the gun carriage after the state ceremony at the Neue Reichskanzlei. The two escort generals at left are General der Infanterie Hans Gollnick (Führerreserve) and General der Panzertruppe Walther Nehring (Kommandierender General XXIV. Panzerkorps), while the two escort generals at right are General der Panzertruppe Hermann Breith (Kommandierender General III. Panzerkorps) and General der Panzertruppe Heinrich Eberbach (Inspekteur der Panzertruppe beim Befehlshaber des Ersatzheeres). Other pictures from this funeral ceremony can be seen HERE.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_Nehring
http://www.geocities.ws/orion47.geo/WEHRMACHT/HEER/General2/NEHRING_WALTHER.html
https://waralbum.ru/336845/
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://en.wikipedia.org/
https://www.tracesofwar.com/
https://grokipedia.com/
https://www.geni.com/
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027052912fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/index2.html
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
Additional websites used for verification:
https://warhistory.org/@msw/article/general-der-panzertruppe-walter-k-nehring
http://ww2colorfarbe.blogspot.com/2021/12/bio-of-general-der-panzertruppe-walther.html

Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke with His Family in the Christmas of 1941

Generalmajor Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke (Kommandeur Ergänzungseinheiten und Schulen des XI. Fliegerkorps) in a formal picture with his family on Christmas Day of 1941. The mother of the children is Ruth Göldner - daughter of Generalleutnant Paul Göldner - who is 20 years younger than her husband. The couple had eight children, with the youngest being Volker Ramcke, who was born in 1952, a year after his father was released from an Allied prison camp. In the photo itself General Ramcke is wearing a Luftwaffe kleinerrock suit, with a bunch of medals pinned to the chest. Of course the most prestigious medal is the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes in his neck, which he got on August 21, 1941, four months before this photo was taken. Ramcke himself then completed his Ritterkreuz "collection" with three more of even higher tiers: Eichenlaub (13 November 1942), Schwerter (19 September 1944), and Brillanten (19 September 1944). The latter made him one of only 27 soldiers in the entire Wehrmacht and SS to have it! The couple's six children make the mother, Ruth Ramcke, eligible for the Mutterkreuz (Mother's Cross), a special medal bestowed by the German government on every mother who gives birth to five or more children, as a token of appreciation for their dedication and sacrifices in raising so many children.

Source:
https://twitter.com/x3892555/status/1220459234988646411

Ritterkreuz Award Ceremony for Wilhelm Eggemann

 

Ritterkreuz award ceremony for Major Wilhelm Eggemann (Kommandeur II.Bataillon / Grenadier-Regiment 94 / 32.Infanterie-Division), which was held on 20 April 1943 at Staraya Russa, Novgorod, Soviet Union. The one draping the medal on the right is Generalleutnant Wilhelm Wegener (Kommandeur 32. Infanterie-Division), while the one helping to drape it in the center is most likely Rittmeister Hans-Joachim von Koeckritz (Kommandeur Aufklärungs-Abteilung 32 / 32.Infanterie-Division). In this photo, Koekritz is seen wearing a schirmmütze (visor hat) with the totenkopf crest on the front. This is because he is a former member of the Reiter-Regiment 5, one of Germany's leading cavalry units with a long history, which members - or former members - proudly displays the skull symbol in their caps.

Eggemann’s Ritterkreuz recommendation reads as follows:

“During the great defensive battle in the time period 26.02.-18.03.1943 the 32. Infanterie-Division defended the area between Borossino and Lowat, with its frontline facing southwards. In this time Major Eggemann and his Bataillon (which was involved in all the major combat from the start and had by now become badly depleted) were deployed to a thick, coverless swampy area east of Koslowo. Following endless artillery fire of all kinds the enemy struck against the front of this Bataillon on the 15.03.1943 with the support of tanks.

On the morning of that day an enemy tank-supported penetration on the left wing of the Bataillon threatened to turn into a breakthrough. A Kompanie which had been temporarily attached to the Bataillon was supposed to withdraw to the positions of the heavy Pak in an orderly fashion. However it was instead threatening to fall into confusion, and had lost contact with its neighbours. The enemy sent in tanks and infantry through the extant frontline gap. An enemy breakthrough seemed inevitable. Such a move would seriously compromise the Regiment, which had by now used up its last reserves. It would probably also make it impossible for the Division to carry out its planned withdrawal to the Redja river during the following night.

In this situation Major Eggemann chose the reckless and yet only feasible option given the circumstances. Using the remnants of his staff and individual soldiers who happened to be in the vicinity, he formed the core of an offensive group. He personally dashed from squad to squad, directing the men of the left Kompanie and compelling them to hold out. He also gathered up individual squads in order to strengthen his own assault group. Now leading at the head of this group, he threw himself at the head of the enemy. He did this despite the exhausted state of his men and having personally been wounded twice in this fighting. With his machine-pistol in hand he was a model for his Grenadiers in the ensuing close combat. Along with his assault group he was able to eliminate the battalion sized enemy force that had penetrated the lines down to the last man. Two enemy tanks also ended up destroyed behind friendly lines. This restored the old combat situation, and the front could now be held until after nightfall, when the planned withdrawal was commenced.

This battlefield success was achieved with energy, boldness and fearless devotion to duty. Furthermore it was the prerequisite for the successful withdrawal of friendly lines to the Redja position. Eggemann’s Bataillon enabled the Regiment to carry out its withdrawal movement without leaving behind any heavy weapons, equipment or ammunition in spite of the extreme difficulties associated with the terrain.”

Source :
Leander Haslerud photo collection
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2013/07/album-foto-32-infanterie-division.html
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/3888/Eggemann-Wilhelm.htm
https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/1939-eisernes-kreuz-forum/minty-ek1-wear-105499/

Bio of Generaloberst Josef Harpe (1887-1968)

Full name: Josef Harpe
Nickname: No information

Born: 21 Sep 1887 in Buer, District Recklinghausen (German Empire)
Died: 14 Mar 1968 in Nuremberg (Germany)

Parents: His father was a bailiff (a minor judicial or administrative official, often in local government). No first name for the father or details on his mother are documented in standard sources.
Siblings: No information is available on any brothers or sisters.
Wife: He was married to Guste (likely short for Auguste or Augusta; full name not further specified). She died relatively young at age 47 on February 20, 1947. They are noted as buried together (though his gravestone was later removed) in the old section of the Stadtfriedhof in Eschau, Bavaria, where he lived in retirement.
Children: No records mention any sons or daughters.

Promotions:
Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier (01 Mar 1910)
Fähnrich (17 May 1910)
Leutnant (20 Mar 1911)
Oberleutnant (18 Apr 1915)
Hauptmann (18 Apr 1918)
Major (01 Apr 1931)
Oberstleutnant (01 Aug 1934)
Oberst (01 Jan 1937)
Generalmajor (30 Aug 1940)
Generalleutnant (15 Jan 1942)
General der Panzertruppe (01 Jun 1942)
Generaloberst (20 May 1944)

Career:
Entered Army Service (28 Sep 1909)
Fahnenjunker in the 56th Infantry-Regiment Vogel von Falkenstein (28 Sep 1909-01 Oct 1913)
Adjutant of the III. Battalion of the 56th Infantry-Regiment (01 Oct 1913-15 Nov 1914)
Leader of the 5th Company of the 56th Infantry-Regiment (15 Nov 1914-21 Nov 1914)
Temporary Regiments-Adjutant of the 56th Infantry-Regiment (21 Nov 1914-31 Dec 1914)
Leader of the 5th Company of the 56th Infantry-Regiment (31 Dec 1914-27 Jan 1915)
Temporary Regiments-Adjutant of the 56th Infantry-Regiment (27 Jan 1915-01 Apr 1915)
Regiments-Adjutant of the 56th Infantry-Regiment (01 Apr 1915-20 Aug 1916)
Taken ill - Field-Hospital V/XVI. Army-Corps (20 Aug 1916-15 Sep 1916)
Regiments-Adjutant of the 56th Infantry-Regiment (15 Sep 1916-23 Nov 1917)
Detached to Signals-School of Army-Group Herzog Albrecht von Württemberg in Saarburg (15 Nov 1917-21 Nov 1917)
Temporary Leader of 9th Company of the 56th Infantry-Regiment (23 Nov 1917-16 Jan 1918)
At the same time, Temporary Leader of III. Battalion of the 56th Infantry-Regiment (15 Dec 1917-22 Dec 1917)
Detached to the 43rd Field-Artillery-Regiment (16 Jan 1918-24 Jan 1918)
Detached to the General-Command of XXXVIII. Army-Corps (24 Jan 1918-28 Feb 1918)
Detached to the 43rd Field-Artillery-Regiment (28 Feb 1918-06 Apr 1918)
Detached to the Staff of the 14th Infantry-Division (06 Apr 1918-02 Jun 1918)
Wounded, in Hospital (02 Jun 1918-19 Jun 1918)
Transferred to the Replacement-Battalion of the 56th Infantry-Regiment (19 Jun 1918-24 Jun 1918)
Transferred into a General Staff Position of the 2nd Naval-Division (24 Jun 1918-20 Dec 1918)
Transferred back into the 56th Infantry-Regiment (20 Dec 1918-18 Jan 1919)
Leader of 6th Company of the 56th Infantry-Regiment (18 Jan 1919-21 Feb 1919)
General Staff Officer with Special Duties with the General-Command of VII. Army-Corps (21 Feb 1919-01 Oct 1919)
Transferred into a General Staff Position of the 3rd Reichswehr-Brigade (01 Oct 1919-16 May 1920)
Auxiliary-Officer with the Staff of Military-District-Command VI (16 May 1920-01 Jun 1921)
Detached to the Weapon-Commands with the 6th Motor-Transport-Battalion, 6th Artillery-Regiment & 5th Mounted-Regiment (01 Jun 1921-10 Sep 1921)
Transferred into the 16th Infantry-Regiment (10 Sep 1921-01 Oct 1921)
Detached to the Staff of 6th Division (01 Oct 1921-01 Oct 1922)
Transferred to the Staff of the Commander of the Troop-Exercise-Grounds Arys and Detached to the 1st Motor-Transport-Battalion (01 Oct 1922-01 Jan 1923)
Detached to the 4th Motor-Transport-Battalion (01 Jan 1923-01 Feb 1923)
Company-Chief 3 of the 4th Motor-Transport-Battalion, Leipzig (01 Feb 1923-15 Feb 1928)
Detached to Course with the Motor Transport Training Command Berlin (04 Jan 1927-01 Apr 1928)
Detached to the RWM (15 Feb 1928-01 Apr 1928)
Advisor in the Inspection of Transport Troops/RWM/In 6 and Adjutant of Generalmajor Otto von Stülpnagel (01 Apr 1928-30 Apr 1931)
Retired (30 Apr 1931)
Discharged from the Army pro Forma because of secret Reichs Military Training in the USSR, from 01 May 1931 to 01 Oct 1933 'Station-Director' of the German Combat Vehicle School Hasan [Organisation Kama]. Its pseudonym Direktor Hacker
Reactivated to Army Service (01 Nov 1933)
With Motor-Transport-Instruction-Command Zossen (01 Nov 1933-01 Oct 1934)
Commander of the I. Battalion of Motor-Transport-Instruction-Command Zossen (01 Oct 1934-15 May 1935)
Commander of the 12th Mounted-Regiment, Dresden (15 May 1935-15 Oct 1935)
Commander of the 3rd Panzer-Regiment (15 Oct 1935-01 Aug 1939)
Delegated with the Leadership of the 1st Panzer-Brigade (01 Aug 1939-18 Sep 1939)
Commander of the 1st Panzer-Brigade (18 Sep 1939-01 Mar 1940)
Commander of Panzer Troop School Wünsdorf (01 Mar 1940-05 Oct 1940)
Commander of the 2nd Infantry-Division (motorised) (05 Oct 1940-10 Jan 1941)
Commander of the 12th Panzer-Division (10 Jan 1941-15 Jan 1942)
Commanding General of XXXXI. Panzer-Corps (15 Jan 1942-15 Oct 1943)
At the same time, Delegated with the Leadership of 9th Army (19 Mar 1943-30 Mar 1943)
At the same time, Delegated with the Leadership of 9th Army (20 May 1943-09 Jun 1943)
Commander-in-Chief of 9th Army (04 Nov 1943-01 May 1944)
Commander-in-Chief of 4th Panzer-Army (01 May 1944-28 Jun 1944)
Delegated with the Temporary Leadership of Army-Group North Ukraine (For the Commander-in-Chief Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model, who from 28 Jun 1944 to 16 Aug 1944 was Delegated with the temporary Leadership of Army-Group Centre for the duration of Generalfeldmarschall Ernst Busch' leave) (28 Jun 1944-16 Aug 1944)
Delegated with the Leadership of Army-Group North Ukraine (16 Aug 1944-21 Sep 1944)
Commander-in-Chief of Army-Group North Ukraine (21 Sep 1944-24 Sep 1944)
Commander-in-Chief of Army-Group A (24 Sep 1944-17 Jan 1945)
Discharged from Command and placed on Führer-Reserve OKH (Hitler's scapegoat for the Russian breakthrough at the Baranov-Bridgehead) (17 Jan 1945-09 Mar 1945)
Commander-in-Chief of the 5th Panzer-Army (09 Mar 1945-17 Apr 1945)
In US Captivity (17 Apr 1945-14 Apr 1948)
Released (14 Apr 1948)

Awards and Decorations:
- Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes #418 am 13.08.1941 als Generalmajor und Kommandeur der 12. Panzer-Division. Harpe earned the award for his leadership during the defensive battle along the Wop River (near the Smolensk area) in late July 1941, early in Operation Barbarossa. His division held a 40-km sector under heavy assault from a Soviet Siberian corps (including the 91st Siberian Division) on 24–25 July 1941. Through superior tactical command, coordination with Luftwaffe support, and decisive counterattacks, the division repelled the offensive and virtually annihilated the attacking 91st Siberian Division. This stabilized the German lines during the broader advance and defensive fighting east of Smolensk, preventing a Soviet breakthrough at a critical early stage of the campaign in the central sector.
- Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #55 am 31.12.1941 als Generalmajor und Kommandeur der 12. Panzer-Division. The award recognized Harpe's outstanding performance in the fighting around Tikhvin (southeast of Leningrad) during the autumn and winter of 1941, part of the German attempt to encircle Leningrad and the subsequent Soviet counteroffensives. His division successfully advanced to and captured Tikhvin as planned, despite Harpe sustaining a head wound (he refused evacuation and stayed with his troops). When the broader German forces received orders to withdraw due to Soviet pressure and harsh winter conditions, the 12. Panzer-Division served as the rearguard from 10–17 December 1941. Even though the city was nearly encircled, Harpe orchestrated an orderly retreat that allowed three retreating German divisions to reach their designated fallback positions with minimal losses in personnel and equipment. His division's disciplined rearguard actions prevented a rout and preserved combat effectiveness under extreme conditions (cold, supply shortages, and constant Soviet attacks).
- Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #36 am 15.09.1943 als General der Panzertruppe und Kommandierender General des XLI. Panzer-Korps. This higher grade honored Harpe's skillful command of the XXXXI. Panzerkorps during the intense fighting around Orel (and the northern flank of the Kursk salient) in July–August 1943, following the German offensive Operation Citadel and during the subsequent Soviet summer offensives (Operation Kutuzov). In early July 1943, south of Orel, Harpe's corps conducted both offensive and defensive operations. His decisive leadership enabled the smashing of Soviet assembly areas preparing for their own offensive, disrupting enemy plans. When the Soviets launched their attack, he rapidly repositioned his forces into effective defensive positions, repelling multiple Soviet divisions while inflicting heavy losses—especially in tanks. Shortly afterward, the corps shifted to the combat sector north of Orel, where German units had been forced to retreat due to overwhelming Soviet superiority. Harpe personally rallied the retreating forces (with only a young officer as escort), rushing between hotspots to organize cohesive resistance. In late July, a major Soviet penetration occurred northwest of Orel. Harpe quickly ordered countermeasures, personally intervened at the affected division command posts, and within hours stabilized the situation. This reformed the defensive front and bloodily repulsed assaults by numerous Soviet rifle divisions and tank brigades. A contemporary German press article (likely from a Wehrmacht communique or propaganda release) summarized the Swords citation as follows: “At the start of July 1943, as the commanding General of a Panzerkorps south of Orel in both attack and defense, General der Panzertruppe Harpe achieved a considerable success through the smashing of the enemy assembly areas for their offensive. This was possible thanks to his skillful and decisive leadership. When the Soviets then commenced their attack, he was able to reposition his troops swiftly and effectively for defense. They were able to repel the incoming Soviet divisions while inflicting heavy losses in men and especially in tanks. Within a short time he was moved to the combat sector north of Orel. Here he was to rally the German units that had been forced to retreat in several locations (due to the enemy superiority) for defense. With only a young officer as an escort, he rushed from one hotspot of the fighting to the other and organized a cohesive resistance. A major enemy penetration took place northwest of Orel on one of the last days of July. After General der Panzertruppe Harpe had ordered the necessary countermeasures, he rushed to the command posts of the impacted divisions. After a few hours the danger had been resolved thanks to his decisive intervention. The defensive front was successfully reformed and the onslaught of numerous enemy rifle divisions and tank brigades bloodily repulsed.”
- Deutsches Kreuz in Gold: am 19.02.1943 als General der Panzertruppe und Kommandierender General des XLI. Panzer-Korps
- 1914 EK I: 03.09.1915
- 1914 EK II: 21.09.1914
- Verwundetenabzeichen, 1918 in Schwarz
- Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer
- Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung IV. bis I. Klasse
- Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 13.03.1938
- Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 01.10.1938 mit Spange "Prager Burg"
- Spange zum EK I (1940)
- Spange zum EK II (1940)
- Panzerkampfabzeichen in Silber
- Medaille "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/1942"
- Romanian Order of the Crown Grand Cross with Swords and Crown
- Wehrmachtbericht: 01.01.

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Josef Harpe (21 September 1887 - 14 March 1968) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 9th Army. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Harpe served on the Eastern Front where he commanded XXXXI Panzer Corps and the 9th Army. From September 1944 to January 1945 he commanded Army Group A until he was relieved of his command due to the inability of German forces to stop the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive. He ended the war commanding the 5th Panzer Army on the Western Front. Harpe was also responsible for establishing the Ozarichi death camps which historians consider one of the worst atrocities committed by the Wehrmacht.

Harpe was born on 21 September 1887 in Buer in the German Empire (now part of Gelsenkirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia). He enlisted as an officer candidate in the Prussian Army on 28 September 1909 with Infantry Regiment Vogel von Falckenstein (7th Westphalian) No. 56. During World War I he fought on the Western Front. He served in roles including battalion adjutant company commander and regimental adjutant. He was wounded in action and awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 21 September 1914 and 1st Class on 3 September 1915. By the end of the war in 1918 he had reached the rank of Hauptmann (captain). He also received the Wound Badge in Black.

After World War I Harpe remained in the Reichswehr. He held various staff and command positions. In 1931 under the pseudonym Direktor Hacker he served at the secret German-Soviet Tank School (Kama tank school) in Kazan in the Soviet Union as part of covert military cooperation. He was promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 August 1934 and became commander of Panzer Regiment 3 on 15 October 1935. Promoted to Oberst on 1 January 1937 he took command of the 1st Panzer Brigade. At the start of World War II he led this brigade during the invasion of Poland in 1939. In 1940 he served as commandant of the Armoured Troops School No. 2 in Wünsdorf.

Harpe was promoted to Generalmajor on 30 August 1940. He briefly commanded the 2nd Motorized Infantry Division from October 1940 to January 1941. From 10 January 1941 he commanded the 12th Panzer Division on the Eastern Front during Operation Barbarossa. His division fought in battles around Minsk and later at Tikhvin where it played a key role in the advance and subsequent withdrawal under difficult conditions. Harpe was wounded in the head during the fighting at Tikhvin but remained with his troops.

He was promoted to Generalleutnant on 15 January 1942 and to General der Panzertruppe on 1 June 1942. From 15 January 1942 to October 1943 he commanded XXXXI Panzer Corps participating in defensive operations south of Orel and other sectors. He received multiple high decorations for his leadership in these campaigns including during the Battle of Kursk and subsequent defensive fighting.

In 1943 he temporarily commanded the 9th Army on several occasions before assuming permanent command on 4 November 1943. He was promoted to Generaloberst on 20 May 1944 (some records list 1 May 1944). From May to June 1944 he commanded the 4th Panzer Army and briefly led Army Group North Ukraine. On 24 September 1944 he took command of Army Group A which covered a large sector in Poland and Ukraine. He was relieved on 17 January 1945 after the failure to halt the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive which led to the loss of much of Poland. In March 1945 he was appointed commander of the 5th Panzer Army on the Western Front. He led this army during the final defensive operations until he was captured by American forces in the Ruhr Pocket on 17 April 1945.

On 12 March 1944 while commanding the 9th Army Harpe ordered the forced removal of civilians deemed incapable of work in the Belarus sector. This included the sick the elderly women with multiple young children and family members of forced laborers described as useless mouths to free up resources and space for troops. Soldiers from the 35th Infantry Division under Johann-Georg Richert along with units from Sonderkommando 7b of Einsatzgruppe B rounded up at least 40 000 civilians and forced them into three makeshift camps near Ozarichi south of Bobruisk in marshy terrain. The camps had no buildings sanitary facilities food water or medical aid and were enclosed only by barbed wire with guard towers and dogs. Prisoners many already suffering from typhus were shot if they tried to light fires or escape. At least 9 000 died from exposure starvation and disease before the Red Army's 65th Army liberated the survivors on 19 March 1944 freeing around 33 480 people including over 15 000 children under 13. Historians such as Dieter Pohl have described the Ozarichi camps as one of the worst crimes committed by the Wehrmacht against civilians. Harpe was never prosecuted for these actions. Richert who directly oversaw parts of the operation was later tried by a Soviet court in the Minsk Trial sentenced to death and executed in 1946.

Harpe was held as a prisoner of war by the United States Army until his release on 14 April 1948. He was never charged with any war crimes. He lived the remainder of his life as a free man and died on 14 March 1968 at the age of 80 in Nuremberg West Germany.

Harpe's military career spanned both world wars and reflected the evolution of the German Army from infantry to armored warfare. His commands on the Eastern Front were marked by both tactical successes in mobile operations and involvement in the harsh occupation policies that characterized the later stages of the conflict in Belarus.

Source :
https://www.alexautographs.com/auction-lot/josef-harpe_5624B06B8B
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Harpe
http://www.geocities.ws/orion47.geo/WEHRMACHT/HEER/Generaloberst/HARPE_JOSEF.html

Bio of Leutnant Otto Leupert (1915-1944)

Full nama: Otto Leupert
Nickname: unknown
Date of Birth: 6 February 1915 at Höchheim an der Saale, Bayern (German Empire)
Date of Death: 26 August 1944 at Airfield Brussels (Belgium)
NSDAP Number: unknown
SS Number: unknown
Academic Title: unknown
Family Member: unknown
Physical Feature: unknown

Beförderungen (Promotion):
01.04.1943 Leutnant (RDA advanced to 01.04.1942)

Karriere (Career):
29.11.1935 Entered the Luftwaffe, began training with Flieger-Ersatz-Abteilung 13
00.00.1937 Transferred to Flieger-Ausbildungs-Regiment 62
Spring 1940 Transferred to Fliegerführerschule C (FFS C) 6
Summer 1940 Transferred to I.Gruppe (Kampf) / Lehrgeschwader 1 (LG 1)
 
Orden und Ehrenzeichen (Medals and Decorations):
00.00.19__ Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse
00.00.19__ Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse
00.00.19__ Flugzeugführerabzeichen
00.00.194_ Frontflugspange für Kampfflieger
00.00.194_ Royal Bulgarian Pilot's Badge
19.03.1942 Deutsches Kreuz in Gold
22.01.1943 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, as Oberfeldwebel and Flugzeugführer in 1.Staffel (Kampf) / I.Gruppe / Lehrgeschwader 1. Awarded for his successes in attacks on Allied shipping in the Mediterranean.

_______________________________________________________________

* Flew a total of 634 front flights during World War II.
* Otto Leupert and his crew died at Brussels Airfield after returning from a bombing mission in the south of Paris on August 26, 1944. His Ju 88 S-1 (L1+BK) collided with a Ju 188 of KG 6 on landing approach. He was buried at German War Cemetery Lommel, Belgium, Plot: 46. Grave: 361.
* Possible promotion to Oberleutnant (unconfirmed)

 

Leutnant Otto Leupert (Flugzeugführer in 1.Staffel (Kampf) / I.Gruppe / Lehrgeschwader 1) pictured in April 1944 by Kriegsberichter Hans Gross of Luftwaffenkommando Südost.

Source :
"Luftwaffe Officer Career Summaries" by Henry L. deZeng IV and Douglas G. Stankey
https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/catalogsearch/result/?q=otto+leupert&avec_visuel=1
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/24513/Leupert-Otto.htm

Bio of Generaloberst Walter Heitz (1878-1944)

Generaloberst Walter Heitz
Born: 08 Dec 1878 in Berlin
Died: 09 Feb 1944 in Moscow (Buried in Krassnogorsk)

Promotions:
Leutnant (18 Aug 1899); Oberleutnant (17 Sep 1909); Hauptmann (01 Oct 1913); Major (01 Apr 1922); Oberstleutnant (01 Nov 1927); Oberst (01 Feb 1930); Generalmajor (01 Feb 1933); Generalleutnant (01 Oct 1934); General der Artillerie (01 Apr 1937); Generaloberst (30 Jan 1943)

Career:
Entered Army Service (07 Mar 1898)
Fahnenjunker in the 2nd West Prussian 36th Field-Artillery-Regiment (07 Mar 1898-01 Oct 1899)
Transferred into the 72nd Field-Artillery-Regiment Hochmeister (01 Oct 1899-01 Oct 1901)
Detached to the Artillery & Engineer School (01 Oct 1901-01 Oct 1903)
Adjutant of II. Battalion of the 72nd Field-Artillery-Regiment (01 Oct 1903-01 Feb 1908)
Regiments-Adjutant of the 72nd Field-Artillery-Regiment, Marienwerder (01 Feb 1908-02 Aug 1914)
Battery-Chief in the IV. Battalion of the 72nd Field-Artillery-Regiment (02 Aug 1914-00 Dec 1916)
Leader of III. Battalion of the 36th Field-Artillery-Regiment (00 Dec 1916-18 Dec 1918)
Battalion-Leader in the 72nd Field-Artillery-Regiment (18 Dec 1918-01 Oct 1919)
Instructor at the Artillery-School Jüterbog (01 Oct 1919-01 Mar 1922)
Training-Advisor with the Inspection of Artillery, RWM (In 4) (01 Mar 1922-01 Feb 1927)
Commander of I. Battalion of Artillery-Regiment Halberstadt (01 Feb 1927-1929)
Commander of the Artillery Firing School (1929-1930)
With the Regiments-Staff of the 1st Artillery-Regiment, Königsberg (01 Feb 1931-01 Oct 1931)
Commandant of Fortress Königsberg (01 Oct 1931-01 Aug 1936)
President of the Reichs War Court (01 Aug 1936-11 Sep 1939)
Commander Danzig-West Prussia (11 Sep 1939-23 Oct 1939)
Commanding General of VIII. Army-Corps (25 Oct 1939-31 Jan 1943)
At the same time, Delegated with the Leadership of 15th Army (00 Jan 1942)
Captured by the Red Army as Stalingrad (31 Jan 1943)
In Soviet Captivity (31 Jan 1943-09 Feb 1944)
Died (09 Feb 1944)

Decorations & Awards:
- Ritterkreuz (208): am 04.09.1940 als General der Artillerie und Kommandierender General des VIII. Armee-Korps
- Eichenlaub (156): am 21.12.1942 als General der Artillerie und Kommandierender General des VIII. Armee-Korps
- Deutsches Kreuz in Gold: am 22.04.1942 als General der Artillerie und Kommandierender General des VIII. Armee-Korps
- RK des Kgl. Preuss. Hausordens von Hohenzollern mit Schwertern
- 1914 EK I
- 1914 EK II
- Hamburgisches Hanseatenkreuz
- Verwundetenabzeichen, 1918 in Schwarz
- Kgl. Preuss. Dienstauszeichnungskreuz
- Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer
- Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung IV. bis I. Klasse
- Spange zum EK I: 19.05.1940
- Spange zum EK II: 10.10.1939

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Walter Heitz was born in Berlin on December 8, 1878, Heitz joined the Prussian army on August 18, 1899. Commissioned as a second lieutenant, he became battalion adjutant in 1909 and was promoted to captain in 1913. At the outbreak of World War I, he was regimental adjutant of the 36th (2nd West Prussian) Field Artillery Regiment “Hochmeister”. He remained with his regiment during World War I, where he became a battery commander and battalion commander, and fought in East Prussia (1914), on the Russian Front (1914–1915), and on the Western Front from the fall of 1915 until the end of the war.[1] During the war, he awarded the House Order of Hohenzollern with swords.

Selected for the reduced Reichswehr, he served on the staff of the Artillery School at Jueterbog (1919–1922) and in the Artillery Inspectorate in the Defense Ministry (1922–1927). He then commanded the 4th (Saxon) Artillery Regiment at Dresden (1927–1929), the Troop Maneuver Area at Jueterbog (1929–1930), and the Artillery School itself (1930–1931). Heitz eventually became the commander of Fortress Koenigsberg in late 1931 and achieved the rank of Colonel.

Described by historian Samuel W. Mitcham as a "harsh, right-wing career officer", Heitz was a staunch supporter of Nazism and Hitler. This played a partial role in his appointment as the President of the Reichskriegsgericht (Reich Military Court) on 1 August 1936, Nazi Germany's highest military court. On 1 April 1937 Heitz was promoted to General of the Artillery (General der Artillerie).

On 17 August 1938, during Heitz's appointment as president of the Reichskriegsgericht, Wehrkraftzersetzung (undermining military force) was established as a sedition offence in German military law, which criminalized all criticism, dissent and behavior opposed to Nazi political and military leadership, particularly within the Wehrmacht's military justice. The Wehrkraftzersetzung consolidated and redefined paragraphs already in the military penal code to punish "seditious" acts such as conscientious objection, defeatist statements, self-mutilation, and questioning the Endsieg. Convictions were punishable by the death penalty, heavy sentences in military prisons, concentration camps, and forced mobilization in combat or penal units. In 1939, a second decree was issued extending the law to civilians.

At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Heitz was already 60 years old and would have gone into retirement. Nevertheless, he requested to be sent into the frontlines. On September 14, 1939, during the invasion of Poland Heitz was appointed as the commander of the armed forces in Danzig-West Prussia, partially because of his hatred for the Poles. On September 10, 1939, he wrote enthusiastically that he would “rule the area with a mailed fist” and that the combat troops under his command were "over inclined towards a false sense of chivalry." However, his command in Danzig-West Prussia only lasted four weeks.

On October 25, 1939, Heitz was appointed as the commanding general of the VIII Army Corps despite his advanced age. He led the Corps in the Invasion of France and on 4 September 1940 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for personally scouting for river crossings and leading his troops across the Oise river under enemy fire.

Heitz continued to command the VIII Army Corps during the German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa. The Corps was sent into central Russia, and took part in the Battle of Białystok–Minsk and the First Battle of Smolensk. After an interlude in the fall of 1941 when the VIII Corps was sent into Paris for occupation duty, the Corps was sent back to the Eastern Front. In the summer of 1942, the Corps was sent towards Southern Russia to participate in the main German strategic summer offensive of the year, Case Blue. In the offensive, Army Group B which included Heitz's Corps was to attack towards the Volga river and Stalingrad.

In August of 1942, the VIII Army Corps was sent along with the rest of the 6th Army, commanded by General der Panzertruppe Friedrich Paulus into Stalingrad. The Germans managed to capture 90% of the ruined city, splitting the remaining Soviet forces in the city into two narrow pockets. On 19 November the Soviet forces launched Operation Uranus, a massive counteroffensive that involved over 1 million Soviet military personnel, aimed against Hungarian and Romanian units defending the 6th Army's flanks. The outnumbered and under-equipped Romanian 3rd Army at the northern flank and Romanian 4th Army Corps at the southern flank were overrun and by 23 November, the VIII Army Corps along with the rest of the German 6th Army was encircled and threatened with destruction.

As the situation worsened for the Germans in Stalingrad, he ordered defeatists and every man who attempted surrender to be shot and coined the slogan: "We fight to the last bullet but one!" Meanwhile, other generals such as General der Artillerie Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach, had already given their regimental and battalion commanders permission to act and surrender independently according to local conditions. When Seydlitz released his divisional commanders on 25 January to decide for themselves whether or not to surrender, Paulus relieved him of his command and placed all of Seydlitz's divisions under Heitz. A few days later when Seydlitz and over a dozen other officers fled the German lines to surrender, bursts of machine-gun fire were aimed at them from German lines, Seydlitz later claimed that 2 German officers were mortally wounded because of Heitz's 'apocalyptic order'. On 29 January 1943, Heitz ordered that "Whoever surrenders, will be shot! Whoever displays the white flag, will be shot! Whoever does not immediately deliver bread or sausages dropped by our pilots, will be shot!" As late as the 31 of January, German soldiers who attempted surrender were shot in the back on the basis of Heitz's orders.

On 26 January 1943, the German forces inside Stalingrad were split into two pockets north and south of Mamayev Kurgan. The northern pocket consisted of the XI Corps, and the VIII Corps, under Heitz. On 28 January, the two pockets were split into three. The northern pocket consisted of the XI Corps, the central with the VIII and LI Corps, and the southern with the XIV Panzer Corps and IV Corps "without units". The sick and wounded reached 40,000 to 50,000. On 29 January, Heitz had stated that he would seek the death of a soldier while defending his command post. He later attempted suicide but was stopped by his chief of staff. On 31 January 1943, Heitz surrendered the central pocket of German forces.

At the time of his arrest, Heitz was the second-highest ranking German officer taken prisoner by the Allies, behind Paulus. In prison, he vehemently refused to cooperate with the anti-Nazi National Committee for a Free Germany that operated out of the Soviet Union, despite being pressured by the Soviets, who beat him and threatened his family. He died on 9 February 1944 while in Soviet captivity.

Source :
https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/beelden/?mode=gallery&view=horizontal&rows=45&page=1&fq%5B%5D=search_s_keywords_poolparty:%22Duitse%20strijdkrachten%22&filterAction&q=heitz&reverse=0
https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?yearfrom=&yearto=&query=walter+heitz#
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Heitz
http://www.geocities.ws/orion47.geo/WEHRMACHT/HEER/Generaloberst/HEITZ_WALTER.html
https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/6270959/obiekty/473175

Lemelsen, Hecker, Boltenstern, Henz

From left to right: General der Panzertruppe Joachim Lemelsen (Kommandierender General XXXXVII. Armeekorps [motorisiert]), Oberstleutnant Hans Hecker (Kommandeur Pionier-Bataillon 29 [motorisiert] / 29.Infanterie-Division [motorisiert]), Generalmajor Walter von Boltenstern (Kommandeur 29. Infanterie-Division [motorisiert]), and Oberleutnant Wilhelm Henz (Führer 2.Kompanie / Kradschützen-Bataillon 29 / 29.Infanterie-Division [motorisiert]). The picture was taken in the summer of 1941 during Unternehmen Barbarossa (German invasion of Soviet Union), possibly when Lemelsen visited the 29ID.

Source :
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=2380548#p2380548