Heinrich Kirchheim
Heinrich Kirchheim | |
|---|---|
| File:HeinrichKirchheim.jpg | |
| Born | 6 April 1882 Bad Elmen bei Groß-Salze, now a part of Schönebeck, Saxony-Anhalt |
| Died | 14 December 1973 (aged 91) Lüdenscheid, North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Allegiance |  German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany |
| Service | Heer |
| Years of service | 1900-1945 |
| Rank | Generalleutnant |
| Commands | 169. Infantry Division Special Office Libya Staff Tropics in OKH Special-Staff C in OKH |
| Battles / wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross, Pour le Mérite |
Heinrich Kirchheim (6 April 1882 – 14 December 1973) was a German generalleutnant who served in both World War I and World War II. He is also one of few German officers who were awarded the Pour le Mérite and the Knight's Cross. He also served as a deputy member on the "Court of Military Honour," a drumhead court-martial that expelled many of the officers involved in the July 20 Plot from the Army before handing them over to the People's Court.
Summary of his military career
Dates of rank
- Fähnrich : January 27, 1900
- Leutnant : October 18, 1900
- Oberleutnant : February 10, 1910
- Hauptmann : September 15, 1914
- Major : April 1, 1923
- Oberstleutnant : November 1, 1928
- Oberst : April 11, 1931
- Charakter als Generalmajor : August 27, 1939
- Generalmajor: July 1, 1940
- Generalleutnant : July 1, 1942
Notable decorations
- Pour le Mérite (1918)
- Prussian Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross (?)
- Austrian Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd Class with War Decoration (?)
- Austrian Military Merit Cross 3rd Class with War Decoration (?)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 May 1941 as Generalmajor and head of the special branch Libya of the OKH and leader of Italian division "Brescia"[1]
- 1914 Iron Cross Second (?) and First (?) Classes
- Clasp to the Iron Cross Second (1939) and First (1939) Classes
- Cross of Honor (?)
- Ärmelband Afrika (?)
- 1918 Wound Badge in Black (?)
- Prussian Order of the Crown, 4th Class with Swords
- Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4. Class with Swords
- Southwest Africa Memorial Medal in Bronze
References
- Citations
- ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 442.
- Bibliography
- Bradley, Dermot (2002). Die Generale des Heeres 1921-1945 - Band 6; HO-KL (HOCHBAUM-KLUTMANN). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag.
- 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.