Heinrich Nickel (officer)

Heinrich Nickel (born December 5, 1894 in Wesel , † January 2, 1979 in Lingen (Ems) ) was a German officer , most recently lieutenant general in World War II .

career

First World War

Nickel joined the Prussian Army as a one -year-old volunteer on September 17, 1914, a few weeks after the outbreak of the First World War , at the age of 19 and served first in the Magdeburg foot artillery regiment "Encke" No. 4 , then in the fighting in Flanders Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 51 within the 12th Reserve Division . For his work during the Battle of the Somme he was awarded the Iron Cross II in July 1916 and the Iron Cross I Class in August 1916. On January 18, 1917, he was promoted to lieutenant in the reserve .

Interwar period

After his discharge from the army on March 4, 1919, he entered the police service, where he was promoted to lieutenant and captain . On August 1, 1935, he was taken over as a captain in the Oldenburg Infantry Regiment formed from the previous 16th Infantry Regiment in the Army of the Wehrmacht , which was renamed the 16th Infantry Regiment on October 15, 1935 when the units were exposed. He himself came on that day with the previous 1st Battalion of the regiment as permanent staff for the newly established 65th Infantry Regiment in Delmenhorst . On August 1, 1936, he was promoted to major .

Second World War

On November 10, 1938 he was commander of the III. Battalions in Infantry Regiment 26 in Flensburg . With this he took part in the attack on Poland in September 1939 in the association of his regiment and the 30th Infantry Division , in which he received the repeat clasps for both Iron Crosses. After the division was transferred to the Western Front in the Eifel , he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on January 1, 1940 . For the performance of his battalion in the western campaign in the early summer of 1940, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on June 16, 1940 .

On December 10, 1940, he became commander of the 2nd Battalion in Infantry Regiment 254, which was formed that day from parts of Infantry Regiment 26 and other units. He then led this battalion as part of the 110th Infantry Division during the attack on the Soviet Union until the beginning of September . Then he was commander of the 502 Infantry Regiment in the 290th Infantry Division in the northern section of the Eastern Front and, shortly afterwards, on October 1, 1941, promoted to colonel . On March 29, 1943 he was awarded the German Cross in Gold.

In April 1943 he was transferred to the leader reserve and then in May and June 1943 to take part in a division leader course. On September 25, 1943 he was entrusted with the leadership of the 342nd Infantry Division in the 4th Army , Army Group Center , and was then appointed commander on January 1, 1944 with simultaneous promotion to Major General. As early as November 1943, the division was reclassified into a new type 44 division, with parts of the 330th Infantry Division being included, and the division was assigned to Army Group Northern Ukraine. From June 22, 1944, under the massive pressure of the Soviet operation Bagration , which led to the collapse of Army Group Center, the retreat to East Prussia took place . Nickel, named for the first time in the Wehrmacht report on April 30, 1944 , was promoted to Lieutenant General on July 1, 1944 , again named in the Wehrmacht report on July 11, 1944 and awarded the Knight's Cross on August 8, 1944 . His division - together with the 72nd , 88th and 291st Infantry Divisions, part of the XXXXII. Army corps under General Hermann Recknagel - was encircled in January 1945 in the Vistula River during the Soviet breakthrough at the Baranow bridgehead . When the corps tried to reestablish the connection with the German front, which had meanwhile been pushed far to the west , in fierce battles with Soviet army troops and Polish partisans , the division and the entire corps were largely destroyed by 23 January. Only parts of the so-called "Wandering Kessel bei Kielce" of the General of the Armored Troop Walther Nehring reached the connection to the own front.

After being reorganized in combat group strength, the division, now part of the 4th Panzer Army in Army Group Center, was destroyed again in March 1945 near Guben and Forst . The remains ended up in the Halbe pocket in April 1945 , where they were finally destroyed or were taken prisoner by the Soviets with General Nickel. Only a few survivors later capitulated to the US Army near Tangermünde .

Heinrich Nickel was released from captivity in March 1948 .

Awards

Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class on July 29 and August 18, 1916
Clasp for the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st class on September 19 and November 13, 1939
Wound badge (1939) in silver
Infantry assault badge in silver
Medal Winter Battle in the East 1941/42
German cross in gold on March 29, 1943
Demyansk Shield
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves
- Knight's Cross on June 16, 1940
- Oak leaves on August 8, 1944 (543rd award)

literature

Peter Stockert: Die Eichenlaubträger 1940–1945 , 9 volumes, 4th revised edition, Bad Friedrichshall 2010–2011.

Web links

Remarks

↑ On October 15, 1942, renamed Grenadier Regiment 502.
↑ The High Command of the Wehrmacht announces ... The German Wehrmacht report. Volume 3: 1944-1945 and register. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1982, ISBN 3-7648-1282-6 , p. 91
↑ The High Command of the Wehrmacht announces ... The German Wehrmacht report. Volume 3: 1944-1945 and register. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1982, ISBN 3-7648-1282-6 , p. 159
↑ Olaf Kaul: The 291st Infantry Division in the Baranowbrückenkopf in January 1945 ( Memento of the original from February 22, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ With the 16th and 30th Panzer Divisions and parts of the 17th Panzer Division and the 342nd Infantry Division.
↑ ^a ^b Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 1939–1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 568.

personal data
SURNAME	Nickel, Heinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German officer, most recently lieutenant general in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH	December 5, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH	Wesel
DATE OF DEATH	2nd January 1979
Place of death	Lingen (Ems)

[1] On October 15, 1942, renamed Grenadier Regiment 502.

[2] The High Command of the Wehrmacht announces ... The German Wehrmacht report. Volume 3: 1944-1945 and register. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1982, ISBN 3-7648-1282-6 , p. 91

[3] The High Command of the Wehrmacht announces ... The German Wehrmacht report. Volume 3: 1944-1945 and register. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1982, ISBN 3-7648-1282-6 , p. 159

[4] Olaf Kaul: The 291st Infantry Division in the Baranowbrückenkopf in January 1945 ( Memento of the original from February 22, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2

[5] With the 16th and 30th Panzer Divisions and parts of the 17th Panzer Division and the 342nd Infantry Division.

[Scherzer-6] Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 1939–1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 568.