Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte
The war ended for von der Heydte when he was taken prisoner in 1944 during the Ardennes Offensive. He led the last large-scale German airborne drop of the war, Operation Stösser. On December 16, 1944, his unit of 1200 men, Kampgruppe Von der Heydte, was to drop on the main road junction 11 kilometers north of Malmédy. It was the German paratroopers' first and only nighttime drop in WWII; there also was no prior reconnaissance or aerial photographs. By a combination of Allied flak and low visibility, the transport aircraft greatly dispersed the paratroopers. Some landed 50 miles behind the German frontlines. Others landed as far away as Holland. The German paratrooper dispersal confounded the Allies as much as the US/British paratrooper dispersal on D-Day confounded the Germans. However, aside from that, Kampgruppe Von der Heydte did not result in much tactical value. Only 125 men made it to the actual landing zone, with no heavy weapons. Cut off and without supplies, Von der Keydte had his men try to break through Allied lines and reach the German front. He himself had a broken arm. On December 24, he had a farmer's son send a surrender note to the Allies. He was held as a prisoner of war in England until July 12, 1947.
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Post-war career
In 1950, von der Heydte submitted his inaugural dissertation, entitled "Die Entstehung des modernen Staates" (The Emergence of the Modern State.") In 1951, he attained the Professor's chair at the University of Mainz for Civil and International Law.
In 1962 von der Heydte was promoted to Brigadier General in the Reserves of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany,) one of only two to receive that rank.
From 1966 to 1970, von der Heydte served as a member of the Bavarian State Parliament as a member of the Christian Democratic Union.
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Books
- Daedalus Returned (Hutchinson, 1958) - An account of the Battle of Crete.
- Der moderne Kleinkrieg als wehrpolitisches und militärisches Phänomen (Modern Irregular Warfare.) Executive Intelligence Review, Nachrichtenagentur GmbH, Wiesbaden, Neuausgabe 1986 ISBN 3-925725-03-2 (Erstausgabe: Holzner-Verlag, Würzburg 1972)
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Quote
Regarding the Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia, von der Heydte said, "Half a million people have been put to death there for certain. I know that all the Jews from Bavaria were taken there. Yet the camp never became over-crowded. They gassed mental defectives, too."[1]
"What would you do in my place?" ---on June 10th, 1944, replying to a request of surrender by American paratroopers [2]
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References
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
- Kurowski, Franz. Knights of the Wehrmacht Knight's Cross Holders of the Fallschirmjäger. Schiffer Military. ISBN 0-88740-749-8.
- Leigh–Fermor, Patrick. "A Time Of Gifts" ISBN 9780060112240 Chapter 7 – Vienna
- Lucas, James. "Hitler's Enforces (Leaders of the German War Machine 1939 - 1945)" ISBN 80-206-0547-9 Chapter Paratrooper with a prayer beads – Arms and Armour Press, London
- Von der Heydte, Friedrich August, Modern Irregular Warfare[3], ISBN 0933488491 Biographical notes
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