Heinrich von Vietinghoff

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R.I.P
Heinrich

Heinrich Gottfried Otto Richard von Vietinghoff genannt Scheel (6 December 1887 – 23 February 1952) was a German general (Generaloberst) of the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Vietinghoff commanded the German troops in German-occupied Italy in 1945.

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Life Heinrich came from the old Westphalian noble family von Vietinghoff. He was the eldest son of the Prussian Lieutenant General of Artillery Heinrich Otto Konrad von Vietinghoff genannt Scheel (1857–1917) and his wife Leona Valeska Angelika Pulcheria, née Gräfin von Schmettow (1861–1942). He had two younger brothers, both were killed in action in World War I. Heinrich attended elementary school in Glogau and then Dr. Mittelhaus's Private Higher Boys' School in Breslau. He then attended the cadet academies in Wahlstatt and Plön, and finally the Royal Prussian Main Cadet's Institute in Lichterfelde. On 6 March 1906, he received a commendation from Emperor and King Wilhelm I by Imperial Cabinet Order (A.K.O.) "for the knowledge demonstrated in the Abitur examination". On the same day, he was transferred to the Prussian Army as an officer cadet (Fähnrich) and served with the Kaiser Franz Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 2 in Berlin.

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Wehrmacht On 24 November 1938, Vietinghoff was appointed commander of the 5th Panzer Division and took part in the invasion of Poland under Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb. He was promoted to General in June 1940 after which he led the German XLVI Panzer Corps in the invasion of Yugoslavia. During Operation Barbarossa, his Corps was part of Army Group Centre under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock. As did all commanders of the German corps on the Eastern Front during the invasion, Vietinghoff implemented the criminal Commissar Order. Vietinghoff also later served with General Heinz Guderian in the 2nd Panzer Army. From December 1941 to August 1943, he was Commander-in-Chief of the German Fifteenth Army in France. In Italy from August 1943 he commanded German Tenth Army, which was responsible for the delaying actions through the successive defensive lines built across Italy. Notable in this context were the defences on the Winter Line from November 1943 to May 1944 and the fighting in the autumn of 1944 on the Gothic Line. In October 1944, he was temporarily raised to overall command in Italy (Army Group C) when Field Marshal Albert Kesselring was seriously injured in a car crash. In January 1945,…Citește mai mult

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Awards and decorations Austrian Order of Franz Joseph, Knight's Cross (ÖFJ4) on 17 May 1910 Order of the Iron Crown (Austria), Knight III. Class (ÖEK3) on 2 January 1914 Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class 2nd Class on 13 September 1914 1st Class on 23 April 1915 Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary), 3rd Class with the War Decoration (ÖM3K) on 25 July 1915 War Decoration to his Austrian Order of the Iron Crown Knight III. Class (ÖEK3K/ÖE3K) Saxe-Meiningen Cross for Merit in War (SMK) on 2 August 1915 Saxon Albert Order, Knight 2nd Class with Swords (SA3bX) on 5 July 1917 one source states 1st Class with Swords, but this is not documented. Lübeck Hanseatic Cross (LübH/LüH) on 11 July 1917 Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Military Merit Cross, II. Class (MMV2/MK2) on 17 September 1917 Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria), Officer (IV. Grade; BMO4/BO4) on 11 October 1917 Gallipoli Star (TH) on 22 December 1917 House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords (HOH3X) on 26 March 1918 Wound Badge (1918) in Black on 3 June 1918 Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords Wehrmacht Long Service Award, 4th to 1st Class on 2 October 1936 Repetition Clasp…Citește mai mult