Ludwig Heilmann

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Ludwig Heilmann (1944)

Sebastian Ludwig "King Ludwig" Heilmann (born August 9, 1903 in Würzburg , † October 26, 1959 in Kempten (Allgäu) ) was a German major general of the parachute troops during the Second World War .

Life

Heilmann joined the 21st (Bavarian) Infantry Regiment in Würzburg on February 3, 1921 . On December 10, 1924 he was appointed sergeant candidate and on May 1, 1925 he was promoted to sergeant . He resigned from the army on February 3, 1933 and rejoined the army on July 1, 1934. As a lieutenant he was platoon leader from July 1, 1934 to September 30, 1934 and then until October 14, 1935 company commander in the 20th Infantry Regiment in Nuremberg . Subsequently he was promoted to captain company commander in the 63rd Infantry Regiment in Ingolstadt and then company commander in the 91st Infantry Regiment in Kempten.

When the Second World War broke out, he took part with his regiment first in Poland and then in the French campaign. On August 1, 1940, he was transferred to the Air Force , while being appointed commander of the III. Battalion of the 3rd parachute hunter regiment in Magdeburg . He was promoted to major on October 27, 1940 .

As part of Operation Merkur , he and his regiment, which suffered massive losses on this mission, took part in the occupation of Crete from May 20, 1941 . He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on April 20, 1942 and on November 15, 1942 leader of the Parachute-Jäger Regiment 3. On June 5, 1943, he took over command of this regiment. In early December 1943 he was promoted to colonel . He later took part in the defensive battles in Sicily and in the Battle of Monte Cassino .

On November 17, 1944, he was given the command of the 5th Parachute Jäger Division . There were disputes with the division's staff officer, Major General Kurt Student , to whom Heilmann, who was described as arrogant, was not fond. On December 22, 1944, he was promoted to major general commander of this large formation . With the division he took part in the Battle of the Bulge and was taken prisoner by the British on March 7, 1945.

He was released from captivity in August 1947. He died on October 26, 1959 in Kempten (Allgäu).

Awards

literature

  • Franz Thomas, Günter Wegmann: The knight's cross bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945. Part II: Paratroopers. Biblio Verlag, ISBN 3-7648-1461-6 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Samuel W. Mitcham: German Order of Battle: 291st-999th Infantry divisions, named infantry divisions, and special divisions in World War II . Stackpole Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8117-3437-0 , pp. 288 + 289 ( google.de [accessed on May 4, 2019]).
  2. ↑ a b Samuel W. Mitcham: German Order of Battle: 291st-999th Infantry divisions, named infantry divisions, and special divisions in World War II . Stackpole Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8117-3437-0 , pp. 289 ( google.de [accessed on May 4, 2019]).
  3. ↑ 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. 375.
personal data
SURNAME Heilmann, Ludwig
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Heilmann, King Ludwig (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German major general of the parachute force
DATE OF BIRTH August 9, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Wurzburg
DATE OF DEATH October 26, 1959
Place of death Kempten (Allgäu)