Waldemar Henrici

Waldemar Henrici
RAD-Generalarbeitsführer Dr. rer. pol. Waldemar Henrici
Birth name	Hermann Waldemar Henrici
Birth date	3 February 1878(1878-02-03)
Place of birth	Bensberg near Cologne, Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	15 February 1950 (aged 72)
Place of death	Marktbreit, District of Kitzingen, Regierungsbezirk Unterfranken, Bavaria, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army Reichswehr Reich Labour Service (RAD) Heer
Years of service	1896–1943
Rank	Lieutenant General RAD-Obergeneralarbeitsführer
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Battle of France Operation Barbarossa
Awards	Iron Cross Friedrichs-Orden Wound Badge (1939)
Relations	∞ 1907 Marie Werner

Hermann Waldemar Henrici (3 February 1878 – 15 February 1950) was a German officer of the Prussian Army, the Imperial German Army, the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht, finally Lieutenant General of the Heer in World War II.

Life

Henrici was born in Bensberg as son of a Prussian Major. He attended Gymnasium three and a half years and cadet corps five and a half years. He joined the 2. Unter-Elsässisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 137, the regiment of his late father, on 7 March 1896 and was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant on the same day.

Military career (chronology)

• Easter 1884 to 9 September 1887 Elementary School
• September (Michaelis) 1887 to 3 August 1888 Gymnasium in Straßburg, Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen
• 9 September 1888 to 27 May 1890 Gymnasium in Wiesbaden
• 7 August 1890 to 5 September 1890 Realgymnasium in Cassel
• 2 October 1890 to March 1893 Cadet Corps in Wahlstatt
• 9 April 1893 to 22 February 1896 Royal Prussian Main Cadet Institute (Königlich Preußische Hauptkadettenanstalt) in Groß-Lichterfelde near Berlin
• 7 March 1896 Joined the 11th Company/3rd Battalion/2. Unter-Elsässisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 137 in Hagenau, Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine
• 21 March 1896 Sworn-in
• 1 to 28 June 1899 Commanded for training to the Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 19in Straßburg
• 4 October 1899 to 21 September 1901 Commanded to the Lehr-Infanterie-Regiment in Potsdam
• 14 June 1902 Passed the interpreter exam in French
• 1 October 1903 to 21 July 1906 Commanded to the War Academy in Berlin
• 12 June 1906 Passed the interpreter exam in Russian
• 17 November 1906 Received permission to marry Marie Werner
• 1 February 1907 Appointed adjutant of the 2. Unter-Elsässisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 137
• 20 December 1910 Adjutant of the Inspection of War Schools
• 10 September 1913 Adjutant of the Director (Heinrich Scheüch) of the Central-Department (ZD) of the Prussian War Ministry with the uniform of his regiment
• 1 August 1914 Adjutant with the General-Command of the Guards-Reserve-Corps
• 22 June 1915 With the Staff of the Prussian War Minister (Adolf Wild von Hohenborn) in the Imperial and Royal Grand Headquarters (Großes Hauptquartier)
• 16 June 1916 Appointed commander of the II. Battalion/Königs-Infanterie-Regiment (6. Lothringisches) Nr. 145
• 23 December 1916 Transferred to the Prussian War Ministry
• 13 February with effect from 1 March 1918 Transferred to the Königs-Infanterie-Regiment (6. Lothringisches) Nr. 145 and detached to the 34. Infanterie-Division for use as a battalion commander
• 4 March 1918 Appointed commander of the II. Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment „Graf Werder“ (4. Rheinisches) Nr. 30
• 25 March 1918 Transferred to the Prussian War Ministry
• 30 September with effect from 1 October 1919 Commanded to the Ministry of the Reichswehr (RWM)
• 24 November with effect from 1 October 1919 Officially transferred to the Ministry of the Reichswehr (RWM) as advisor/consultant (Referent)
• 5 March 1920 Newly sworn-in
• 29 September with effect from 1 November 1922 Department-Chief in the Ministry of the Reichswehr (RWM)
• 28 July 1923 Doctor of Political Science, University of Berlin
  • 10 June 1926 Authorization to use the doctoral title in an abbreviated form (Dr.) also in military matters.
• 29 September with effect from 1 November 1922 Appointed commander of the I. Battalion/8. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment in Frankfurt an der Oder
• 9 October and 23 October 1924 Passed the diploma exam in Russian
• 15 February 1926 Transferred to the staff of the 8. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment
• 20 December 1927 with effect from 1 January 1928 Appointed commander of the 2nd Infantry-Regiment
• 31 January 1929 retired
  • Employed with the staff of the 2nd Division as civilian advisor for training until 30 September 1933

Wehrmacht

• 25 July 1938 with effect from 1 July 1939 Transferred from the RAD to the Wehrmacht and placed to disposal (z. D.) of the army
  • XIII. Armee-Korps
• 24 with effect from 25 October 1939 Appointed commander of the Divisionsstab z.b.V. 443 (443rd Special Purpose Division Staff)
  • on 10 February 1940 reorganized as the staff of the 555th Infantry Division
    • The 555th Infantry Division was formed as a position division for the Upper Rhine by the VI Military District from state rifle units. The division staff was formed from the division command of the 443rd Division. The artillery equipment consisted of captured Polish equipment. The division was used to secure the border on the Upper Rhine on both sides of Rastatt with the XXV Army Corps. From June 1940, the division was stationed as an occupation force in Alsace in the Strasbourg-Schlettstadt area. By order of 30 June 1940, the division was disbanded in the VI Military District in Bielefeld by 1 September 1940. Two battalions each of the infantry regiments remained as state rifle battalions 456, 463, 469, 473, 474, 479, 492 and 493.
    • Together with the 557th Infantry Division, it was stationed as a position division on the Upper Rhine as part of the XXV Army Corps and the 7th Army (General of Artillery Friedrich Dollmann) in Baden-Württemberg, opposite the Maginot Line, and finally crossed the Rhine to attack France on 15 June 1940 (“Operation Little Bear”).
• 16 August 1940 Appointed commander of the 258. Infanterie-Division as successor to Lieutenant General Kurt Paul Walther Wollmann
  • He led the division during the attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941 as part of the VII Army Corps of the 4th Army (Army Group Centre) via Brest and Białystok, then in August as part of the XIII Army Corps of the 2nd Army to Babruysk, and then in September as part of the XII Army Corps of the 4th Army to Yelnya. At the beginning of October, the division took part in the double battle of Vyazma and Bryansk.
• 2 October 1941 Wounded at the beginning of the German attack on the Vyazma pocket, Karl Pflaum took over the division.
• 2 October 1941 to 5 December 1941 In hospital
  • Both legs wounded (mine fragments), right lower leg amputated
• 6 December 1941 Führerreserve (OKH)
• 31 December 1943 For disposal and mobilization use lifted; de facto retired.

FAD/RAD

• 1 October 1934 Leader of Labour-Region IV, Pommerania East (Arbeitsgauleiter in Arbeitsgau IV Pommern-Ost)
  • he had met and befriended the later Reich Commissioner for the Voluntary Labor Service (Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst), Reichsleiter and Reich Labor Leader Konstantin Hierl (de) during his time at the Ministry of the Reichswehr (RWM).
• 18 December 1935 RAD-Generalarbeitsführer
• Leader of Labour-Region XXVIII, Franconia (Arbeitsgauleiter in Arbeitsgau XXVIII Franken)
• 1 July 1939 Transferred from the Reich Labour Service (RAD) to the Wehrmacht and placed to disposal (z. D.) of the army
• 26 June 1943 RAD-Obergeneralarbeitsführer with rank seniority from 1 July 1939

Family

Waldemar was born the son of Major Hermann Henrici (d. 4 December 1891 in Kassel) and his wife Friederike, née Timmermann (d. 10 May 1890). He lost both parents at a young age. His father was battalion commander in the 2. Unter-Elsässisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 137, the same regiment his son would later join.

Marriage

On 4 March 1907, 1st Lieutenant Henrici married his fiancée Marie Werner (b. 27 June 1883), daughter of Colonel Werner. They had three children:

• Horst (b. 20 February 1908 in Hagenau), officer of the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht, Captain on 1 January 1938, student of the war academy, Major on 1 January 1942; ⚔ on 28 January 1943 during the Battle of Stalingrad
• Asta (b. 16 September 1911 in Berlin)
• Oskar (b. 13 June 1914 in Zehlendorf), officer of the Luftwaffe, pilot of the Jagdgruppe 88/Legion Condor, credited with 4 victories (Luftsiege) in Spain; ⚔ on 13 November 1936 (severely wounded to the lung when Heinkel He 51 was shot down by I-15s over Alcorcon; died shortly after his successful landing)

Promotions

• 7 March 1896 Sekondeleutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
  • on 1 January 1899 renamed Leutnant
• 20 March 1906 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 16 June 1911 Hauptmann (Captain)
• 6 June 1916 Major
• 20 April 1921 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) with effect and Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 April 1921
• 1 December 1925 Oberst (Colonel)
• 15 January 1929 Charakter als Generalmajor (Honorary Major General) with effect from 31 January 1929
• 1 July 1939 Charakter als Generalmajor z. V. (Honorary Major General at disposal of the army)
• 1 July 1940 Generalmajor z. V. (Major General at disposal of the army)
• 1 October 1941 Generalleutnant z. V. (Lieutenant General at disposal of the army)

Awards and decorations

• Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille)
• Friedrichs-Orden, Knight's Cross First Class (WF3a) on 18 August 1913
• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 7 October 1914
  • 1st Class on 22 June 1915
• Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary), 3rd Class with the War Decoration (ÖM3K) on 12 February 1915
• Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4th Class with Swords (BMV4⚔/BM4⚔) on 15 December 1915
• Ottoman/Turkish Gallipoli Star (Eiserner Halbmond; TH) on 24 December 1915
• Ottoman/Turkish Liakat Medal in Silver with Sabers (TL2⚔) on 24 December 1915
• Saxon Albert Order (Albrechts-Orden), Knight 1st Class with Swords (SA3a⚔) on 31 December 1915
• Swords to his Friedrichs-Orden Knight's Cross First Class (WF3a⚔) on 14 January 1916
• Princely Schaumburg-Lippe Cross for Faithful Service (Fürstlich Schaumburg-Lippisches Kreuz für treue Dienste 1914; SLK) on 17 April 1916
• Cross of Merit for War Aid (Verdienstkreuz für Kriegshilfe; VK) on 17 November 1919
• Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz) on 18 January 1920
• German Gymnastics and Sports Badge (Deutsches Turn- und Sportabzeichen) in Gold on 13 September 1924
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords
• Service Award for the Reich Labor Service (Dienstauszeichnung für den Reichsarbeitsdienst)
• Repetition Clasp 1939 to the Iron Cross 1914, 2nd and 1st Class
• Wound Badge (1939) in Black or Silver

Gallery (RAD)

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Writings

• Die Kohlenwirtschaft Rußlands in und nach dem Kriege, J. Springer, Berlin 1924 (dissertation)