Johann-Heinrich Eckhardt

Johann-Heinrich Eckhardt (born November 3, 1896 in Böddiger , † May 15, 1945 in Winterberg ) was a German officer , most recently Lieutenant General in World War II .

Life

Eckhardt joined the 1st Upper Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 167 of the Prussian Army on April 1, 1914 as a one-year volunteer . He was deployed with the regiment on the Western Front after the outbreak of World War I and was wounded in the fighting there in early December 1914. After his recovery, Eckhardt came to the regiment's replacement battalion and completed an officer aspirate course in the Sennelager in April / May 1915 . Then promoted to lieutenant in the reserve , he returned to the front. On August 22, 1915, he was transferred to the infantry regiment “von der Goltz” (7th Pommersches) No. 54 on the Eastern Front . Here Eckhardt u. a. the battles against Dinaburg and Kekkau and the position battles on the Narajowka with. At the end of May 1917 he moved with his regiment to the Western Front, where Eckhardt was deployed until the end of the war. In addition to the two classes of the Iron Cross, he was also awarded the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords, the Hanseatic Cross of the City of Hamburg and the Badge of Wounds in silver for his achievements .

After the end of the war and return home, Eckhardt joined the " Eulenburg " Freikorps in March 1919 . He was then taken over as an active officer in the Reichswehr on October 1, 1920 and assigned to the 15th Infantry Regiment . At the end of January 1921 he was transferred to the 3rd Infantry Regiment , to which Eckhardt belonged in various functions until the end of September 1928. During this time he was promoted to first lieutenant and completed the training of assistant leaders . Subsequently transferred to the 7th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment , Eckhardt was appointed chief of the 1st company in Opole at the same time as he was promoted to captain on April 1, 1929 . From October 1, 1934 to April 30, 1935 he was then active in the staff of the Army Service in Breslau.

At the beginning of the Second World War Eckhardt was battalion commander in Infantry Regiment 38 and commanded the regiment from February 1940 as commander. In this position he rose to colonel on April 1, 1941 , took part in the attack on the Soviet Union and was awarded the German Cross in Gold on January 25 , 1942 and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on May 20, 1942 . From April 25 to July 16, 1943 he was in the Führerreserve and was then assigned to lead the 211th Infantry Division . On October 1, 1943, Eckhardt was promoted to major general commander of this division, which was subsequently used in the central section of the Eastern Front . In this position, promoted to Lieutenant General on April 1 and awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (644th award) for his services on November 3, 1944, Eckhardt continued to command the large association even after it was renamed the 211th Volksgrenadier Division. On May 8, 1945 he was taken prisoner by the United States . The Americans handed him over to the Soviets, however, and Eckhardt died on May 15, 1945 in their captivity.

literature

• Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: The Generals of the Army 1921–1945. The military careers of the generals, as well as the doctors, veterinarians, intendants, judges and ministerial officials with the rank of general. Volume 3: Dahlmann – Fitzlaff. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1994, ISBN 3-7648-2443-3 , pp. 267-368.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Reichswehr Ministry (Ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1924, p. 178
2. ↑ Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 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. 287.