|
Gustav Dietrich Adolf Heisterman(n) von Ziehlberg (10 December 1898 – 2 February 1945) was a highly decorated Generalleutnant in the German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Convicted as a member of the German Resistance to Nazism, he was sentenced to death and executed by firing squad. ==Life and career== Born in the Prussian town of Inowrazlaw (renamed ''Hohensalza'' in 1904, present-day Inowrocław, Poland), the son of a German Army officer attended the Lyceum Hosianum at Braunsberg and the ''Gymnasium'' secondary school at Königsberg, before he joined the Cadet Corps (''Kadettenanstalt'') at Köslin in 1911. In World War I he served in the II Army Corps at Stettin, promoted to the rank of a ''Leutnant'' on 8 May 1915. He fought at the Eastern Front and was awarded the Iron Cross. After the war, Heisterman was employed by the Reichswehr army of the Weimar Republic, and from 1931 served at the Reichswehr Ministry in Berlin to train as a General Staff officer. After two years as a company commander (''Kompaniechef'') at Landsberg an der Warthe, he joined the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' of the Wehrmacht armed forces under ''Generaloberst'' Werner von Fritsch in 1936. Here he worked with ''Oberst'' Friedrich Hoßbach and Kurt von der Chevallerie and witnessed the 1938 Blomberg–Fritsch Affair as well as the struggle of General Ludwig Beck and his successor Franz Halder against Adolf Hitler's war preparation, which materialised in the Polish Campaign of 1939. From January 1943, Heisterman commanded a grenadier regiment of the 12th Infantry Division under General Kurt-Jürgen Freiherr von Lützow at the Eastern Front during the retreat from the Demyansk Pocket. On May 31, he took over the command of the 65th Infantry Division, from August in the rank of a ''Generalmajor''. Upon the overthrow of Benito Mussolini's government and the Allied invasion of Italy, Heisterman's division fought against the Allied 17th Indian Infantry Brigade forces in the Italian Campaign, whereby he was severely wounded and lost his left arm. After recovery, Heisterman from 28 April 1944 commanded the 28th Jäger Division at the Eastern Front, fighting against the Soviet Operation Bagration offensive, promoted to the rank of a ''Generalleutnant'' on June 1. The whole operation turned out to be a disaster for the German 4th Army division, nevertheless Heisterman's unit was able to escape, wherefore he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on July 27. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gustav Heistermann von Ziehlberg」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|