Heinz Hellmich

Heinz Hellmich
Born	(1890-06-09)9 June 1890 Karlsruhe
Died	17 June 1944(1944-06-17) (aged 54) Cherbourg, France
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1908 – 1944
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.

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. 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.

References

Citations

Bibliography

• 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.