Heinrich Wiese

Heinrich Wiese
Birth name	Heinrich Johann Karl Wiese
Birth date	27 February 1910
Place of birth	Kiel, Province of Schleswig-Holstein, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	31 March 1987 (aged 77)
Place of death	Hamburg, West Germany
Place of burial	Friedhof Bergedorf (Hamburg)
Allegiance	Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Reichswehr Heer
Years of service	1929–1945
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	World War II Poland Campaign Battle of France Operation Barbarossa Italian Front
Awards	Iron Cross Honour Roll Clasp of the Army Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Relations	∞ 1936 Elsa Fabig

Heinrich Johann Karl Wiese (27 February 1910 – 31 March 1987) was a German NCO of the Reichswehr, officer of the Wehrmacht and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in World War II. He must not be confused with neither General Heinrich Friedrich Wiese nor with politician and equestrian SA-Oberführer Johann Heinrich Friedrich Wiese (1896–2000).

Life

Heinrich Wiese attended compulsory school (Volksschule), then vocational school (Berufsschule). From 1 April 1925 to 28 March 1929, he completed an apprenticeship as a tailor with the army technical school (Heeresfachschule). Wiese joined the Reichswehr on 8 April 1929, served with the infantry and eventually became company sergeant in 1935. In October 1938, he participated in the liberation of the Sudetenland. In November 1938, he was transferred to the new Infanterie-Regiment (motorisiert) 90 in Hamburg-Harburg, later in Hamburg-Wentorf.

• 8 April 1929 Joined the 15th Company/6. Infanterie-Regiment
  • 1 October 1934 Renamed Infanterie-Regiment Lübeck
  • 15 October 1935 Renamed Infanterie-Regiment 6 (subordinated to the 12. Infanterie-Division)
• 6 April 1929 Sworn-in
• 1 October 1929 Transferred to the 7th Company/II. Battalion/6. Infanterie-Regiment in Lübeck
• 30 September 1932 to 8 March 1933 NCO candidate course in Ratzeburg
• 15 March 1933 Appointed NCO candidate
• 1 January 1940 Appointed officer candidate
• 10 November 1938 Transferred to the 7th Company/Infanterie-Regiment (motorisiert) 90 (served as company sergeant / Hauptfeldwebel; Poland Campaign)
  • 1 December 1939 Appointed platoon leader
• 1 April 1940 Transferred to the 6th Company/Infanterie-Regiment (motorisiert) 90 as platoon leader (Western Campaign; Eastern Campaign)
  • 20 June 1941 Appointed company leader
  • after being wounded in January 1942, administrative transfer to the Infantry Replacement Battalion (motorized) 76 in Hamburg-Rahlstedt
• 15 July with effect from 15 June 1942 Appointed combat service instructor (Gefechtsdienstlehrer) at the School I for Officer Candidates (Fahnenjunker) of the Infantry in Dresden
• 1 November 1943 Führerreserve (OKH)
• 8 November 1943 Commanded to the Panzer Troop School II at Krampnitz Kaserne
• 22 November to 18 December 1943 Commanded to battalion leader course in Paris
• 10 February 1944 Appointed leader, later commander of the III. Battalion/Grenadier-Regiment (motorisiert) 361

In the second half of WWII, he served as battalion commander in the Grenadier-Regiment (motorisiert) 361 and later in the Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 361, which was established on 6 July 1943 in Corsica. The regiment was subordinated to the new 90th Panzer Grenadier Division under Carl Hans Lungershausen, as of December 1943 under Ernst-Günther Baade. In 1944, the regiment under Colonel Herbert Ziegler (⚔ 25 June 1944 in Massa Marittima, Italy) was temporarily, once again, referred to as Grenadier Regiment (motorized) 361. From 1 December 1944, the regiment was again called the 361th Panzer Grenadier Regiment.

After being awarded the Knight's Cross (initially proposed on 23 May 1944 and successfully approved on 4 September 1944), Wiese was promoted to Major and received rank seniority (RDA) from 1 September 1944. On 28 February with effect from 4 March 1945, he was placed in the Führerreserve and commanded to the Panzer Troop School Bergen which had been moved to Putlos west of the city of Oldenburg in Holstein, for training as a regimental Panzergrenadier commander. It is not known, if he ever reached Putlos in the north of the Reich from Italy.

Wiese made it back to Hamburg at the end of the war, possibly serving with the Panzergrenadier Replacement and Training Battalion 90, and was officially released from duty on 30 April 1945 by Kommandeur der Panzertruppen X. At the time, his family was living in Hamburg-Bergedorf. It is assumed that he was later taken prisoner of war by the British.

Wounds

• 1 January 1942 Severely wounded, neck shot (the projectile remained stuck in the tissue after entering the body)
• 28 February 1944 Less severely wounded, grenade fragments, left upper arm
• 15 May 1944 Less severely wounded, grenade fragments, right lower leg

Family

Heinrich was the son of Protestant-Lutheran driller Hans Wiese and his wife Anna, née Frahm (d. 2 March 1937).

Marriage

On 25 January 1936, Feldwebel married his fiancée Elsa Fabig (1912–2008), daughter of Chief Warrant Officer (Oberdeckoffizier) of the Kriegsmarine Johann Fabig. The couple would live in Bergedorf (Brauerstraße 120). Their only child, daughter Ute, was born on 10 January 1940. A married Remhof, Ute died on 22 March 2024, the urn was buried alongside her parents (Friedhof Bergedorf).

Promotions

• 8 April 1929 Schütze (Rifleman)
• 1 April 1931 Oberschütze (Senior Rifleman)
  • 15 March 1933 NCO Candidate
• 1 April 1933 Gefreiter (Private E-2/Lance Corporal)
• 1 April 1934 Unteroffizier (NCO/Corporal/Junior Sergeant)

Wehrmacht

• 1 October 1935 Feldwebel (Staff Sergeant)
  • 25 October 1935 Hauptfeldwebel exams passed
  • 25 November 1935 Appointed Hauptfeldwebeldiensttuer (not a rank, but position for longest-serving Feldwebel as company sergeant / administrator)
• 1 May 1937 Hauptfeldwebel/Oberfeldwebel (Sergeant Major); in documents, even from 1940, referred to as Hauptfeldwebel, not Oberfeldwebel
  • 1 January 1940 Officer Candidate (appointed as such by the commander of the 90th Infantry Regiment)
  • 16 January 1940 All officers of the II. Battalion/90th Infantry Regiment voted him worthy of an officer.
• 12 March 1940 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant) with effect from 1 February 1940 and Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 October 1935
• 20 October 1940 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant) with effect from 1 September 1940 and RDA from 1 October 1938
• 15 February 1942 Hauptmann (Captain) with effect from 1 February 1942
  • 1 October 1942 received RDA from 1 February 1942
• 2 October 1944 Major with effect and Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 September 1944

Awards und decorations

• DLRG basic certificate (Grundschein) of the German Life Saving Association (Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft) on 22 August 1932
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th Class on 2 October 1936
• Sudetenland Medal on 30 November 1939

WWII

• Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 9 July 1940
  • 1st Class on 11 July 1940
• Infantry Assault Badge (Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen) in Bronze on 29 October 1940
• Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal on 1 September 1942
• Crimea Shield (Krimschild)
• Wound Badge (1939) in Black and Silver
  • Black on 17 February 1942
  • Silver on 28 May 1944
• Close Combat Clasp in Bronze on 21 August 1944
• Silver Rider's Pin (House Order of General Baade)
• Honour Roll Clasp of the Army (Ehrenblattspange des Heeres) on 7 August 1944
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 4 October 1944 as Captain and Commander of the III. Battalion/Grenadier-Regiment (motorisiert) 361/90. Panzergrenadier-Division

Gallery

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Sources

• Bundesarchiv BArch PERS 6/74749