Heinz Greiner (12 August 1895 – 19 November 1977) was a German general in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Career

During

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

Greiner reached divisional level command. The division was destroyed in the Soviet

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп� ...

in the summer of 1944, along with much of Army Group Centre. Greiner was transferred to Italy where he took command of the 362nd Infantry Division. Losses were so heavy in the division in Italy that a bit of doggerel made the rounds: :''The division of Greiner'' :''Gets chopped ever finer'' :''Until roll call's a one liner'' :''That simply says: Greiner.''Ellis, John. ''Brute Force'' p.115

Awards and decorations

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

(1914) 2nd Class (4 December 1914) & 1st Class (25 November 1918) *

Clasp to the Iron Cross The Clasp to the Iron Cross (Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz) was a white metal medal clasp displayed on the uniforms of German Wehrmacht personnel who had been awarded the Iron Cross in World War I, and who again qualified for the decoration in World W ...

(1939) 2nd Class (4 October 1939) & 1st Class (20 October 1939) *

** Knight's Cross on 22 September 1941 as Colonel (''Oberst'' ) and commander of Grenadier Regiment 499. ** 572nd Oak Leaves on 5 September 1944 as Major-General ''(Generalleutnant)'' and commander of the 362nd Infantry Division

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Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Greiner, Heinz 1895 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Freikorps personnel German Army personnel of World War I German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Military personnel from Bavaria People from Amberg People from the Kingdom of Bavaria Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves German Army generals of World War II