Helmuth Huffmann

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class="fn" colspan="2" style="background-color: #B0C4DE; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Helmuth Huffmann
colspan="2" style="background-color: #B0C4DE; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" |
colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa; line-height: 1.5em;" | File:Helmuth Huffmann (Ritterkreuz).png
Birth date 31 July 1891
Place of birth Werden an der Ruhr, Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date 9 December 1975 (aged 84)
Place of death Bonn-Bad Godesberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Resting place Cemetery Rüngsdorf/Bonn (together wih his wife)
Allegiance File:Flag of the German Empire.svg German Empire
File:Flag of Germany (3-2 aspect ratio).png Weimar Republic
File:Flag of the NSDAP (1920–1945).svg National Socialist Germany
Service/branch File:War and service flag of Prussia (1895–1918).png Prussian Army
File:Iron Cross of the Luftstreitkräfte.png Imperial German Army
File:Freikorps Flag.png Freikorps
File:War Ensign of the Reichswehr, 1919 - 1935.png Reichswehr
File:Balkenkreuz.png Heer
Years of service 1912–1945
Rank Generalleutnant
Commands held 62. Infanterie-Division
277. Infanterie-Division
Battles/wars World War I
World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Relations ∞ Ellen Rathmann (1900–1975)

Helmuth Huffmann (also Helmut; 31 July 1891 – 9 December 1975) was a German officer of the Prussian Army, the Imperial German Army, the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht, at last Generalleutnant of the Heer and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. In post-WWII, he was a member of the OdR and wrote articles for the military magazine "Old Comrades" or Alte Kameraden: Unabhängige Zeitschrift deutscher Soldaten (Organ der Traditionsverbände und Kameradenwerke), which existed from 1953 to 1997. He must not be confused with Generalmajor Helmuth Hufenbach.

Military career (chronology)

  • Fahnenjunker in the Lauenburgisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 45 (29 May 1912)
  • Detached to the War-School Anklam or Kriegsschule Anklam[1] (00 Feb 1913-00 Oct 1913)
  • In the Field as Platoon-Leader (Zugführer) with the 45th Field-Artillery-Regiment (02 Aug 1914-21 Dec 1914)
  • Battery-Leader (Batterie-Führer) in the 45th Field-Artillery-Regiment (21 Dec 1914-07 Mar 1915)
  • Battery-Leader in the 107th Field-Artillery-Regiment (07 Mar 1915-10 Aug 1917)
  • Wounded, im Hospital (10 Aug 1917-24 Sep 1917)
  • Transferred to the Replacement-Battalion of the 2nd Guards-Foot-Artillery-Regiment (24 Sep 1917-17 Oct 1917)
  • Transferred to the II. Replacement-Battalion of the 45th Field-Artillery-Regiment (17 Oct 1917-13 Nov 1917)
  • In the Field as Battery-Leader with the 107th Field-Artillery-Regiment (13 Nov 1917-28 Aug 1918)
  • Ordinance-Officer with the Staff of XXVI. Reserve-Corps (28 Aug 1918-14 Nov 1918)
  • Battery-Leader in the 45th Field-Artillery-Regiment (14 Nov 1918-28 Dec 1918)
  • Regiments-Adjutant of the 45th Field-Artillery-Regiment (28 Dec 1918-24 Mar 1919)
  • Leader of 1st Battery of Freikorps Lichtschlag (24 Mar 1919-01 Aug 1919)
  • Transferred to the 31st Reichswehr-Artillery-Regiment (01 Aug 1919-02 Sep 1919)
  • Transferred into the 7th Artillery-Regiment of the Provisionel Reichswehr (02 Sep 1919-01 Jan 1921)
    • avocational 5 Year Studies of the National Economy at the University of Münster
  • Transferred into the 6th Artillery-Regiment or 6. (Preußisches) Artillerie-Regiment (01 Jan 1921-26 Sep 1922)
  • Battalion-Adjutant in the 6th Artillery-Regiment (26 Sep 1922-01 Oct 1924)
  • Hauptmann with the Staff of II. Battalion of the 6th Artillery-Regiment (01 Oct 1924-01 Apr 1925)
  • Welfare-Officer (Fürsorge-Offizier) with the Staff of the 6th Artillery-Regiment (01 Apr 1925-01 Oct 1928)
  • Commander of 4th Squadron (Chef der 4. Eskadron in der Fahr-Abteilung 1) in the 1st Transport-Battalion (01 Oct 1928-01 May 1933)
  • Detached to Firing Course for Artillery Officers in Jüterbog (02 Oct 1931-29 Oct 1931)
  • Transferred into the 1st Artillery-Regiment (01 May 1933-15 Dec 1933)
  • Artillery-Officer of Fortress Königsberg (15 Dec 1933-01 Apr 1935)
  • Commander of III. Battalion of Artillery-Regiment Fulda (01 Apr 1935-15 Oct 1935)
  • Commander of III. Battalion of the 29th Artillery-Regiment (15 Oct 1935-01 Apr 1938)
  • Commander of the Artillery-Instruction-Regiment (01 Apr 1938-24 May 1941); replaced by Dr. rer. pol. Fritz Polack
  • Artillery-Commander (Arko) 103 (24 May 1941-23 Nov 1942)
  • Higher Artillery Commander (Harko) 306[2] (23 Nov 1942-31 Jan 1943)
    • The staff of the Higher Artillery Commander 306 was established by order of 12 December 1941 through the reorganization of the Artillery Commander (mot) 20 for AOK 11 by Army Group South. The reorganization was completed by January 22, 1942 and the staff was transferred to the 11th Army and remained subordinate to it. After the AOK 11 was transferred to Army Group North in August 1941, the HArko 306 remained in the Crimea and was used to lead the Army Coastal Artillery. For this purpose, the staff of Army Group Don was put under. From the summer of 1943 the HArko 306 was subordinate to the AOK 6 until the end of the war.
  • Commander of the 62nd Infantry-Division (31 Jan 1943-15 Nov 1943)
    • Kampfgruppe Huffmann reinforced the XXIX Corps in Russia[3][4]
      • 8. Luftwaffen-Felddivision (Luftwaffen-Feld-Division), after Oberst Haehling left command on 14 February 1943, the division remnants were under Stab 62. Infantrie-Division (Helmuth Huffmann) as per the OKH O/Bs dated 16.2, 24.2 and 3.3.1943.
  • Führer-Reserve OKH (15 Nov 1943-10 Dec 1943)
  • Commander of the 277th Infantry-Division (10 Dec 1943-15 Apr 1944)
  • Führer-Reserve OKH (15 Apr 1944-01 May 1944)
  • Detached to Artillery-School I, Berlin (01 May 1944-27 May 1944)
  • Commander of Artillery-School I, Berlin (27 May 1944-08 May 1945)
    • Per NARA T78R946, Huffmann took over as Commander on 1 May 1944
  • In Captivity (08 May 1945-1947)[5]

Promotions

  • Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate) on 29 May 1912
  • Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier on 28 September 1912
  • Fähnrich (Officer Cadet) on 27 January 1913
  • Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant) on 21 December 1913 with Patent from 21 Dezember 1911
  • Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant) on 27 January 1917
  • Hauptmann (Captain) on 1 May 1924
  • Major on 1 January 1934
  • Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) on 1 August 1936
  • Oberst (Colonel) on 1 March 1939
  • Generalmajor on 1 October 1942
  • Generalleutnant on 1 August 1943

Awards and decorations

Further reading

German sources

  • Walther-Peer Fellgiebel: Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile (in German), Podzun-Pallas, Wölfersheim 2000, ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6
    • English: The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches, expanded edition, 2000
  • Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit. Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II. Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, 2001. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
  • Veit Scherzer: Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives, Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Jena 2007. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

References