Nickname: No information
Date of Birth: 17. Februar 1908 - Berlin-Steglitz, Brandenburg (Deutschland)
Date of Death: 19. Mai 2005 - Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen (Deutschland)
Battles and Operations: Spanish Civil War (Legion Condor), Westfeldzug (Luftlandung Rotterdam 1940), Unternehmen Merkur (Battle of Crete 1941 with Kampfgruppe Meindl), Ostfront (1941/42 und Folgejahre)
NSDAP-Number: No information
SS-Number: No information
Religion: No information
Parents: No information
Siblings: No information
Spouse: No information
Children: No information
Academic title: Dr.med. ("Doktor der Medizin" or Doctor of Medicine)
Promotions:
1933 Unterarzt
1933 Assistenzarzt
1934 Oberarzt
1935 Stabsarzt
1939 Oberstabsarzt
1942 Oberfeldarzt
1943 Oberstarzt
After1945 Oberstarzt der Reserve (Bundeswehr)
Career:
1932 Conscripted into Infanterie-Regiment 9
1933 Transferred to the 6. Sanitäts-Abteilung in Braunschweig
From 1936 Medical Officer with the Condor Legion
From 1938 Adjutant Divisionsarzt 7. Flieger-Division
1940 Kommandeur Fallschirm-Sanitäts-Abteilung 7 in Brandenburg
1940/1941 Regimentsarzt des Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment 1 (Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment), deployed during the airborne assault in Rotterdam
May 1941 Deployed in Crete with Kampfgruppe Meindl on the front lines; After all officers of the 1st Battalion were killed, he temporarily assumed command of the battalion, captured the northwestern part of Hill 107 near Maleme on his own initiative, and neutralized Allied anti-aircraft guns.
From 1942, Divisionsarzt on the Eastern Front.
1943, Luftgau-Arzt im Feldluftgau XXVII in Minsk.
June 1944, Korpsarzt II. Fallschirmkorps.
After 1945, practicing physician in Hamburg.
Awards and Decorations:
Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse (20. Mai 1940)
Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse (20. Mai 1940)
Spanienkreuz in Silber mit Schwertern (6. Juni 1939)
Medalla de la Campaña de España 1936-1939
Spanisches Cruz de Guerra
Fallschirmschützenabzeichen der Luftwaffe
Flugzeugbeobachterabzeichen
Erdkampfabzeichen der Luftwaffe (ohne Zahlen)
Ärmelband Kreta
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (21 August 1941) as Oberstabsarzt and Regimentsarzt Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment. Deployment in Crete with Kampfgruppe Meindl at the foremost front; he jumped in the first wave together with Generalmajor Eugen Meindl and Hauptmann Walter Gericke; after all officers of I. Battalion had fallen, he took command of the remnants of the battalion, to which Oberleutnant Horst Trebes with the remnants of Stoßgruppe Braun also attached themselves; under heavy enemy fire Dr. Neumann recognized the critical situation around Maleme airfield, took command on his own initiative, gathered scattered paratroopers and volunteers around him and led them in a determined assault against the northwest part of Hill 107; in fierce close combat his group captured the dominating height and neutralized the Allied anti-aircraft guns stationed there that had been firing on the airfield; this deed proved to be the decisive turning point of the entire Battle of Crete, as it enabled German reinforcements to land; on the morning of 22 May 1941 he divided the battalion into two companies and led it as a vanguard detachment further eastward; on 23 May he reached the village of Modea with his men; on 24 May he handed over command to Oberleutnant Stolz and returned to his actual duties as medical officer, where he also distinguished himself outstandingly in the care of the numerous wounded
Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42 (Ostmedaille)
Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938 mit Spange Prager Burg
Dienstauszeichnung der Wehrmacht III. Klasse (4 Jahre)
Ehrenzeichen des Deutschen Roten Kreuzes II. Stufe
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Heinrich Neumann was a German physician and highly decorated medical officer who served with the Luftwaffe's paratrooper forces during the Second World War, ultimately rising to the rank of Oberstarzt. Born on 17 February 1908 in Berlin-Steglitz, Brandenburg, he became one of the few doctors in the German military to earn the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for extraordinary leadership under fire rather than purely medical service. His actions during the airborne assault on Crete in May 1941 transformed him from a regimental doctor into a temporary combat commander whose initiative helped turn the tide of the battle for Maleme airfield. Neumann died on 19 May 2005 in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, at the age of 97, having lived a postwar life as a civilian physician while retaining his reserve commission in the Bundeswehr.
Neumann entered military service in 1932 when he was drafted into Infantry Regiment 9 of the Reichswehr. The following year he transferred to the medical branch, joining the 6th Medical Battalion in Braunschweig, where he progressed rapidly through early medical ranks. By 1933 he held the positions of Unterarzt and then Assistenzarzt, advancing to Oberarzt in 1934 and Stabsarzt in 1935. His medical training culminated in the title Dr. med., and in 1939 he was promoted to Oberstabsarzt just before the outbreak of full-scale war. These early years established him as a capable troop physician with a strong foundation in both infantry and sanitary duties.
In 1936 Neumann volunteered for service with the Legion Condor in the Spanish Civil War, serving as a troop doctor and gaining firsthand experience in combat medicine under operational conditions. He earned the Spanish Cross in Silver with Swords on 6 June 1939 along with the Spanish Campaign Medal and War Cross for his contributions. Upon his return he was transferred in 1938 to the 7th Flieger Division as adjutant to the divisional doctor, a move that aligned him with the emerging airborne forces of the Luftwaffe. In 1940 he took command of Parachute Medical Battalion 7 in Brandenburg and was appointed regimental doctor of Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment 1, also known as the Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment. That same year he participated in the air landing at Rotterdam during the Western Campaign, earning both classes of the Iron Cross on 20 May 1940 for his performance under fire.
The pinnacle of Neumann's wartime career came during Operation Merkur, the German airborne invasion of Crete on 20 May 1941. Jumping in the first wave alongside Generalmajor Eugen Meindl and Hauptmann Walter Gericke as part of Kampfgruppe Meindl, he landed near Maleme airfield with the regimental medical staff. Chaos erupted almost immediately when nearly the entire officer corps of the I Battalion was wiped out by intense Allied fire. Rather than confine himself to treating the wounded, Neumann assumed command of the battalion's shattered remnants. Oberleutnant Horst Trebes and the survivors of Stoßgruppe Braun joined his ad-hoc force. Under heavy enemy fire Neumann recognized the critical threat posed by Allied anti-aircraft guns dominating the airfield from the northwest slopes of Hill 107. Acting entirely on his own initiative, he gathered scattered paratroopers and volunteers and led a determined assault up the height. In fierce close-quarters combat his group overran the gun positions, silenced the batteries that had pinned down German reinforcements, and secured the dominating terrain. Military historians later described this action as the decisive turning point of the entire Battle of Crete, enabling the rapid reinforcement and capture of Maleme airfield that ultimately secured victory in the operation.
Even after handing back tactical command, Neumann continued to demonstrate exceptional versatility. On the morning of 22 May 1941, newly arrived Oberst Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke ordered him to resume leadership of the battalion. Neumann reorganized the unit into two companies and led them eastward as a vanguard detachment ahead of the II Battalion. By evening on 23 May his force had pushed forward and reached the village of Modea. The following day, while positioned on a hill south of Platania, the advance paused pending further orders; on 24 May command passed to Oberleutnant Stolz, allowing Neumann to return fully to his medical duties. There he distinguished himself once more by organizing the care of hundreds of wounded paratroopers under continued combat conditions. For these combined feats of leadership and medical devotion he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 21 August 1941.
Following Crete, Neumann served on the Eastern Front from 1942 as a divisional doctor, enduring the harsh conditions of the Russian campaign and earning the Eastern Front Medal for his service during the winter of 1941-42. In 1943 he was appointed Luftgau doctor in Feldluftgau XXVII at Minsk, overseeing medical support across a vast rear-area command. By June 1944 he had risen to corps doctor of II Fallschirm-Korps, a position he held until the end of the war in Europe. In addition to the Knight's Cross he accumulated numerous other decorations, including the Parachute Badge, Observer Badge, Ground Combat Badge of the Luftwaffe, Crete Cuff Title, and the 4-Year Wehrmacht Long Service Award along with the German Red Cross Honor Badge 2nd Class. After the war Neumann returned to civilian practice as a physician in Hamburg and was granted the rank of Oberstarzt der Reserve in the newly formed Bundeswehr. His eldest son, Dr. med. Christian Heinrich Neumann, followed in his footsteps as a medical officer and later practiced medicine in the United States. Neumann's story remains a notable example of a non-combatant officer who rose to command through courage and decisive action in one of the most audacious airborne operations of the conflict.
Oberstabsarzt Dr.med. Heinrich Neumann (Regimentsarzt Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment) on Hill 107 of Maleme airfield, Crete, with men of the Sturmregiment.
On 21 August 1941, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, personally presented the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross) to six outstanding officers and men of the Fallschirmjäger (German paratroopers) at his headquarters. The recipients—Oberst Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, Oberstabsarzt Dr. med. Heinrich Neumann, Oberst Hans Kroh, Oberleutnant Heinrich Welskop, Leutnant Erich Schuster, and Feldwebel Wilhelm Kempke—were honored for their extraordinary bravery, leadership, and sacrifice during the Battle of Crete (Operation Merkur) in May 1941. Other pictures from this award ceremony can be seen HERE.
Ritterkreuz award ceremony for the six "Fallschirmjäger Heroes of Crete", 21 August 1941. From left to right: General der Flieger Gustav Kastner-Kirdorf (Chef des Luftwaffen-Personalamts), Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, General der Fallschirmtruppe Kurt Student (Kommandierender General XI. Fliegerkorps), Generalmajor Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke (Kommandeur der Ergänzungseinheiten und Schulen des XI. Fliegerkorps), Oberstabsarzt Dr.med. Heinrich Neumann (Regimentsarzt Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment), and Major Hans Kroh (Kommandeur I.Bataillon / Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 2).
Ritterkreuz award ceremony for the six "Fallschirmjäger Heroes of Crete", 21 August 1941. From left to right: Generalmajor Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke (Kommandeur der Ergänzungseinheiten und Schulen des XI. Fliegerkorps), General der Fallschirmtruppe Kurt Student (Kommandierender General XI. Fliegerkorps), Oberstabsarzt Dr.med. Heinrich Neumann (Regimentsarzt Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment), and Major Hans Kroh (Kommandeur I.Bataillon / Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 2).
Ritterkreuz award ceremony for the six "Fallschirmjäger Heroes of Crete", 21 August 1941. From left to right: Feldwebel Erich Schuster (Gruppenführer in 3.Kompanie / I.Bataillon / Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment), Oberstabsarzt Dr.med. Heinrich Neumann (Regimentsarzt Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment), and Major Hans Kroh (Kommandeur I.Bataillon / Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 2).
Oberstabsarzt Dr.med. Heinrich Neumann.
Oberstabsarzt Dr.med. Heinrich Neumann.
Oberstabsarzt Dr.med. Heinrich Neumann.
Heinrich Neumann.
Old Heinrich Neumann.
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Old Heinrich Neumann.
Drawing of Heinrich Neumann by Wolfgang Willrich.
Source:
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/25269/Neumann-Drmed-Heinrich.htm
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://en.wikipedia.org/
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://www.geni.com/
https://www.ww2.dk/lwoffz.html
http://www.ritterkreuztraeger.info/rk/n/N060Neumann.pdf
https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Heinrich_Neumann
Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer: Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 – Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtsteile. Podzun-Pallas, Friedberg 2000.
Scherzer, Veit: Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Jena 2007.
Thomas, Franz / Wegmann, Günter: Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939-1945. Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1986 (Band zu Sanitätsoffizieren und Luftwaffe).
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