Heinz Hellmich

Heinz Hellmich
Born	9 June 1890 Karlsruhe
Died	17 June 1944 (aged 54) Cherbourg, France
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1908–44
Rank	Generalleutnant
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Heinz Hellmich (9 June 1890 – 17 June 1944) was a German Generalleutnant during World War II. Awarded with a posthumous Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 9 September 1944 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 243. Infanterie-Division.^[1]

Career

Born in Karlsruhe, Hellmuch joined the military service in 1908. On 22 March 1910, while serving in 136th Infantry Regiment, he became Leutnant. After World War I he served in various units and kept various commanding positions. His service was followed with the promotions: Oberstleutnant (1 February 1934), Oberst (1 January 1936), Generalmajor (1 October 1939) and Generalleutnant (1 September 1941).

When World War II begun he was on a duty as a supply Officer in German 7th Army. From 25 October 1939 he managed supplies in the Army Group B. As a commander of the 23rd Infantry Division (from 1 June 1940 to 17 January 1942) he took part in the French campaign, invasion of the Soviet Union (operation Barbarossa) and in the bloody battles for Bialystok-Minsk, Brest, Smolensk, Vyazma and finally in the Battle of Moscow. After several months, on 1 April 1942, he became a commander of 141st Reserve Division. In 1943, he worked with the defected Red Army general Andrey Vlasov and other volunteers from the Soviet Union as the general of the eastern troops (Osttruppen), which he held until early January 1944.^[2] On 10 January 1944, he was moved to France and put in a command of 243rd Infantry Division, stationed in the Cotentin Peninsula. This coastal defense division protected the western coast of the Cotentin Peninsula when the Allied invasion begun on 6 June 1944.

Hellmich was killed while defending Cherbourg during the Allied invasion of Normandy on 17 June 1944.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Wound Badge (1914)
  • in Black
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 2 September 1944 as Generalleutnant and commander of 243. Infanterie-Division^[3]

References

Citations

1. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 221.
2. Strikt-Strikfeldt (1973), pg 118
3. Scherzer 2007, p. 379.

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Strikt-Strikfeldt, Wilfried (1973). Against Stalin and Hitler: Memoirs of the Russian Liberation Movement, 1941–1945. New York, USA: The John Day Company. ISBN 0-381-98185-1.