Heinrich von Vietinghoff Totally Explained

Everything about Heinrich Von Vietinghoff totally explained

Heinrich Gottfried von Vietinghoff genannt Scheel) (December 6 1887 - February 3 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. His military career was strongly supported by his parents, Artillery Lt. Gen. Heinrich Otto Konrad von Vietinghoff gennant Scheel (1857–1917) and Leona Gräfin von Vietinghoff gennant 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.

Military career

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 Yugoslavia. During Operation Barbarossa his Corps was part of Army Group Centre under General Fedor von Bock. In this time, he'd an accident after which he got his nickname "Panzerknacker" ("Tank breaker"). 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. In Italy from 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 defenses on the Winter Line from November 1944 to May 1945 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 Marshall Albert Kesselring was seriously injured in a car crash. 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 Group West in France, von Vietinghoff returned as the supreme German commander in Italy. He surrendered on May 2, 1945 and was captured into Special Camp 11 in Bolzano, Italy on May 23, 1945. He remained a prisoner of war until 1946. Heinrich von Vietinghoff died on February 23, 1952 in Pfrontenried.

Military promotions

Fähnrich: 6 March 1906
Leutnant: 27 January 1907 (Patent 14 June 1905)
Hauptmann: 24 June 1915
Major: 1 March 1926
Oberstleutnant: 1 February 1931
Oberst: 1 April 1933
Generalmajor: 1 April 1936
Generalleutnant: 1 March 1938
General der Panzertruppe: 1 June 1940
Generaloberst: 1 September 1943

Military awards

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross - 24 June 1940

Oakleaves (No. 456) to the Knight’s Cross - 16 April 1944

German Cross in Gold - 22 April 1942

Prussian Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight’s Cross with Swords - 18 April 1918

Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class (1914) - 23 April 1915

Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1914) - 13 September 1914

1939 Bar to the Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class - 28 September 1939

1939 Bar to the Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class - 21 September 1939

Medal for the Winter Campaign in Russia 1941-1942

Saxon Albert Order, Knight 2nd Class with Swords

Mecklenburg-Schwerin Military Merit Cross, 2nd Class

Saxe-Meiningen Honor Cross for Merit in War

Lübeck Hanseatic Cross

Cross of Honor for Combatants 1914-1918

Armed Forces Long Service Award, 1st Class (25-years)

Armed Forces Long Service Award, 3rd Class (12-years)

Austrian Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd Class with War Decoration

Austrian Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with War Decoration

Turkish War Medal (Iron Crescent)

Bulgarian Military Merit Order (Officer’s Cross)

Tank Battle Badge (Silver) (Panzerkampfabzeichen)

Wound Badge in Black – World War I

Further Information

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