Heinrich von Vietinghoff

Heinrich von Vietinghoff
Born	6 December 1887(1887-12-06) Mainz
Died	23 February 1952(1952-02-23) (aged 64) Pfronten-Ried
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany  West Germany
Years of service	1903 – 1945
Rank	Generaloberst
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	See "Military awards" section

Heinrich Gottfried Otto Richard von Vietinghoff genannt (de: known as) Scheel (December 6, 1887 – February 23, 1952) was a German Colonel-General (Generaloberst) of the German Army (Wehrmacht Heer) during the Second World War.

Early life and family

Vietinghoff was born in Mainz, Grand Duchy of Hesse into a family of Westphalian Uradel.^[1] His military career was strongly supported by his parents, Artillery Lt. Gen. Heinrich Otto Konrad von Vietinghoff genannt Scheel (1857–1917) and Leona Gräfin von Vietinghoff genannt Scheel (nee von Schmettow) (1861–1942). He joined the army at the age of 15, where he lied about his age in the first few years.^{[citation needed]}

Military career

Italy: von Vietinghoff inspects camouflaged tanks

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 Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock. In this time, he had an accident after which he got his nickname "Panzerknacker" ("Tank breaker").^{[citation needed]} Von Vietinghoff also later served with General Heinz Guderian in the German Second Panzer Army.

From December 1941 to August 1943 he was Commander-in-Chief of the German Fifteenth Army in France (The HQ of the 15th Army is today a museum in Tourcoing, near Lille in northern France, Musée du 5 Juin 1944). In Italy from August 1943 onwards he commanded German Tenth Army, which was responsible for the telling 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.^[2] In January 1945, on Kesselring's return, he left Italy to command Army Group Courland in East Prussia. When Kesselring was moved in March 1945 to command German Army Command West (OB West) in France, von Vietinghoff returned as the supreme German commander in Italy.^[3]

At the end of April 1945, he made contact with the Allied forces and on April 29, his representative General Karl Wolff signed on his behalf at the Royal Palace in Caserta, that he agreed to surrender his troops on May 2, 1945 at noon. Afterwards he spent two and a half years in British captivity at Bridgend Island Farm (Special Camp XI) among numerous other German prisoners of war. He was released in September 1947.

After the war Vietinghoff was a member of the expert group dealing with the question of German rearmament. In October 1950 he wrote the Himmeroder memorandum on behalf of the Adenauer government, on West German contributions to European defence. He died on February 23, 1952 in Pfronten.^[1]

Military promotions

1. Fähnrich: 6 March 1906
2. Leutnant: 27 January 1907 (Patent 14 June 1905)
3. Hauptmann: 24 June 1915
4. Major: 1 March 1926
5. Oberstleutnant: 1 February 1931
6. Oberst: 1 April 1933
7. Generalmajor: 1 April 1936
8. Generalleutnant: 1 March 1938
9. General der Panzertruppe: 1 June 1940
10. Generaloberst: 1 September 1943 ^[1]

Military awards

1. Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross - 24 June 1940
2. Oakleaves (No. 456) to the Knight’s Cross - 16 April 1944
3. German Cross in Gold - 22 April 1942
4. Prussian Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight’s Cross with Swords - 18 April 1918
5. Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class (1914) - 23 April 1915
6. Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1914) - 13 September 1914
7. 1939 Bar to the Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class - 28 September 1939
8. 1939 Bar to the Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class - 21 September 1939
9. Medal for the Winter Campaign in Russia 1941-1942
10. Saxon Albert Order, Knight 2nd Class with Swords
11. Mecklenburg-Schwerin Military Merit Cross, 2nd Class
12. Saxe-Meiningen Honor Cross for Merit in War
13. Lübeck Hanseatic Cross
14. Cross of Honor for Combatants 1914-1918
15. Armed Forces Long Service Award, 1st Class (25-years)
16. Armed Forces Long Service Award, 3rd Class (12-years)
17. Austrian Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd Class with War Decoration
18. Austrian Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with War Decoration
19. Turkish War Medal (Iron Crescent)
20. Bulgarian Military Merit Order (Officer’s Cross)
21. Tank Battle Badge (Silver) (Panzerkampfabzeichen)
22. Wound Badge in Black – World War I ^[1]

See also

• Italian Campaign (World War II)
• Winter Line
• Gustav Line
• Operation Shingle
• Gothic Line

Bibliography

• Blaxland, Gregory (1979). Alexander's Generals (the Italian Campaign 1944-1945). London: William Kimber & Co. ISBN 0 7183 0386 5. 
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945 (in German). Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). 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 (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Helden der Wehrmacht III - Unsterbliche deutsche Soldaten (in German). München, Germany: FZ-Verlag GmbH, 2007. ISBN 978-3-924309-82-4.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Exton, Brett; Bohannon, Shawn (February 2005). "Prisoners held at Special Camp 11: Generaloberst Heinrich-Goffried von Vietinghoff gen. Scheel". Island Farm Prisoner of War Camp: 198 / Special Camp: XI Bridgend, South Wales (website).. http://www.specialcamp11.fsnet.co.uk/Generaloberst%20Heinrich-Goffried%20von%20Vietinghoff%20gen%20Scheel.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-01. 
2. ^ Blaxland, p226
3. ^ Blaxland, p246

Military offices
Preceded by none	Commander of 5. Panzer-Division September 2, 1939 - October 8, 1939	Succeeded by Generalleutnant Max von Hartlieb-Walsporn
Preceded by General Walter von Reichenau	Commander of 10. Armee August 15, 1943-February 14, 1945	Succeeded by General Traugott Herr
Preceded by General Lothar Rendulic	Commander of Army Group Courland January 27, 1945-March 10, 1945	Succeeded by General Lothar Rendulic
Preceded by Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring	Oberbefehlshaber Süd March 11, 1945 - May 2, 1945	Succeeded by none

Persondata
Name	Vietinghoff, Heinrich Von
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	6 December 1887
Place of birth	Mainz
Date of death	23 February 1952
Place of death	Pfronten-Ried