Ferdinand Heim

Ferdinand Heim
Born	(1895-02-27)27 February 1895 Reutlingen,Württemberg,German Empire
Died	14 November 1977(1977-11-14)(aged 82) Ulm,West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire(to 1918) Weimar Republic(to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1914–43, 1944–45
Rank	Generalleutnant
Commands held	14th Panzer Division 48th Panzer Corps Boulogne fortress garrison
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Battle of Stalingrad Fortress Boulougne
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Ferdinand Heim(27 February 1895 – 14 November 1977) was a World War II German general.

War service

Heim served duringWorld War Iand the post-war German army. He reached the rank ofOberstin August 1939, just before the start of theSecond World War.

On 3 September 1940 Heim was appointedchief of staffto Feld MarshalWalther von Reichenauwhile theSixth Armywas concentrated on theCotentin Peninsulaawaiting theInvasion of Britain.He was subsequently prominent in the planning of the German invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa).

On 1 July 1942, he was commander of the14th Panzer Divisiontaking part in theSecond Battle of Kharkovand at the battle ofRostov.On 1 November 1942 he was given command ofXLVIII Panzer Corpswhich was then part of theGerman 6th Army,at theBattle of Stalingrad.

Heim's XLVIII Panzer Corps was placed behind theRomanian 3rd Armyat the beginning of the SovietOperation Uranus"to check the enemy attack" alongPaulus's left flank. Heim's 48th Panzer Corps, consisting of "two badly weakened divisions", was surrounded and barely broke out to the west. "Hitler made him a scapegoat and relieved him of his position...despite the obvious lack of fighting experience, equipment and strength in Heim's Rumanian and German divisions."

After this, in January 1943, Heim was, at Hitler's order, dismissed from the Army, arrested and placed insolitary confinementatMoabit,finally being released in April 1943, when he was transferred to a military hospital atUlm.

In a post-war interview, Heim asserted that the only documentation for his arrest was Hitler's order – no indictment, sentence or explanation. He learned, unofficially, that Hitler had been unwilling to cast blame on the Romanians for the poor quality of their troops so a German scapegoat was needed. German army and army group commanders were too valuable, so the "... only person left was the corps commander, and that was me."

Heim was informed in May 1943 that his dismissal from the German army had been revoked, and that he had been classified as retired. In August 1944, Heim returned to command German forces at the "fortress" ofBoulogne,a "defend to the last" assignment. He was instructed to prepare significant defences but he arrived to find that nothing had been prepared and there were no suitable specialists to do the work. The ill-prepared and ill-suited garrison endured heavy bombardment and full-scale assaults when the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division launchedOperation Wellhit.Heim surrendered to the Canadians on 23 September 1944.

Post-war

Heim was sent to a series ofPOWcamps (includingIsland Farm) in Britain and subsequently repatriated to Germany on 12 May 1948.He died at Ulm on 14 November 1977.

Awards

• Iron Cross(1914) 2nd Class (18 November 1914) & 1st Class (31 December 1917)
• General Honour Decorationfor Bravery (Hesse) (15 December 1915)
• Golden Military Merit Medal (Württemberg) (2 January 1916)
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918(29 December 1934)
• Clasp to the Iron Cross(1939) 2nd Class (21 September 1939) & 1st Class (2 October 1939)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Crosson 30 August 1942 asGeneralmajorand commander of the 14. Panzer-Division

Quote

"We must uphold the principle of only having carried out orders [...] We must stick to that principle if we are to create a more or less effective defence" - spoken in secret while prisoner to his fellow inmates regarding German atrocities in World War II

References

• Beevor, Antony(1998).Stalingrad.Viking, London.ISBN978-0-14-103240-5.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986].Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945](in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas.ISBN978-3-7909-0284-6.
• The German Army 1939-45 (5)by Nigel Thomas and Stephen Andrew.
• Wegmann, Günter (2009).Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil VIIIa [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Part VIIIa](in German). Bissendorf, Germany: Biblio-Verlag.ISBN978-3-7648-2389-4.