Heun, Wilhelm
- Date of birth:
- May 23rd, 1895 (Herborn/Hesse-Nassau, Germany)
- Date of death:
- September 21st, 1986 (Göttingen/Lower Saxony, Germany)
- Nationality:
- German (1933-1945, Third Reich)
Biography
Promotions:
September 7th, 1915: Unteroffizier;
February 1st, 1916: Vizefeldwebel;
May 30th, 1916: Leutnant d.R.;
x?: Oberleutnant;
May 1st, 1934: Hauptmann mit RDA vom 1-4-1933 (129);
January 1st, 1937: Major (52);
June 1st, 1940: Oberstleutnant (20);
April 1st, 1942: Oberst (225);
May 1st, 1944: Generalmajor (8);
November 9th, 1944: Generalleutnant (9).
Career:
September 1st, 1939: Kdr. E./Inf.Rgt. 57;
September 2nd, 1939: Kdr. I./Inf.Rgt. 471;
December 1st, 1940: Kdr. Inf.Rgt. 161;
January 19th, 1942: Fhr. Kampfgr. in 215.Inf.Div.;
March 24th, 1942: Rgt. Fhr. Inf.Rgt. 435;
May 1st, 1942: Kdr. Inf.Rgt. 435;
May 2nd, 1942: Brig.Fhr. in 61. Inf.Div.;
February 27th, 1943: Fhr. Kampfgr. in 61. Inf.Div.;
November 1st, 1943: Führer-Reserve OKH;
April 1st, 1944: mdFb 83. Inf.Div.;
May 1st, 1944: Kdr. 83. Inf.Div.;
March 25th, 1945: Führer-Reserve OKH;
April 5th, 1945: Kdr. Inf.Div. zbV 1.
Do you have more information about this person? Inform us!
Deutsches Kreuz in Gold
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Oberst (Colonel)
- Unit:
- Kommandeur, Infanterie-Regiment 435, 215. Infanterie-Division, Heer
- Awarded on:
- October 23rd, 1942
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Generalmajor (Brigadier)
- Unit:
- Kommandeur, 83. Infanterie-Division, Heer
- Awarded on:
- December 9th, 1944
“At 09:00 on the 06.11.1944 with Russians attacked with far-superior forces (the 15th Guards Rifle Corps) following strong drumfire. They very quickly secured a deep penetration through our own position and its weakened, hard-fought defenders. Already at 09:45 the Russians had made it as far as the Riteli graveyard, a penetration 2.5 km deep. A difficult crisis had arisen. No friendly infantry forces were located around Riteli. The Russian attack now threatened to achieve a deep breakthrough towards the vital road junction at Zvarde.
With swift, short orders the Divisional commander, Generalmajor Heun, brought up the handful of available reserves and prepared them for a concentrated attack. He succeeded in inspiring his weary and exhausted troops through his clear issuing of orders and unsparing personal commitment to the battle. The Russian elements that had broken-through to the graveyard at Riteli were destroyed, the enemy thrown back, the hole in the frontline closed and the situation restored.
The fury of this tactically brilliant counterattack clearly took away all the attacking spirit of the Russians. They suspended their offensive, which had been going on for 10 days with tremendous expenditure of men and materiel. The breakthrough of the Russian Guards Rifle Corps and by extension the rending of the Courland Front was thereby averted.”
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Oberst (Colonel)
- Unit:
- Kommandeur, Grenadier-Regiment 435, 215. Infanterie-Division, Heer
- Awarded on:
- May 7th, 1943
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Awarded on:
- August 2nd, 1942
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Awarded on:
- April 22nd, 1942
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Awarded on:
- June 26th, 1940
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Awarded on:
- June 16th, 1940
Sources
- - FELLGIEBEL, W.P., Elite of theThird Reich, Helion & Company Limited, Solihull, 2003.
- PATZWALL, K. & SCHERZER, V., Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941-1945, Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt, 2001.
- Scheibert, Horst. Die Träger der Ehrenblattspange des Heeres und der Waffen-SS/ Die Träger der Ehrentaffelspange der Kriegsmarine/ Die Inhaber des Ehrenpokals für Besondere Leistung im Lukftkrieg. Friedberg, Ger.: Podzun-Pallas Verlag, 1986, ISBN 3-7909-0283-7
- Axis History Forum via Awardholders / unit
- NARA Roll T-78 R887
- geocities.ws
- Tiemann R., Geschichte der 83. Infanterie-Division: 1939 - 1945, Podzun Pallas Verlag, Friedberg, Germany, 1986
Photo
Looking for reliable information or news facts about WW2? Do you want to create your own battlefield tour to sights of wars from the past? Or are you interested in war medals and their recipients? TracesOfWar.com tells you more!
More information
© STIWOT, 1999-2024. All rights reserved. Privacy statement, cookies, disclaimer and copyright