Johann-Heinrich Eckhardt

Johann-Heinrich Eckhardt
Born	3 December 1896 Felsberg, Hesse
Died	15 May 1945(1945-05-15) (aged 48) Winterberg
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Branch	Imperial German Army Reichswehr Army (Wehrmacht)
Service years	1914–1945
Rank	Generalleutnant
Commands	211th Infantry Division
Conflicts	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Johann-Heinrich Eckhardt (3 December 1896 – 15 May 1945) was born in Melsungen in Prussia in 1896 and entered the Imperial German Army on the outbreak of World War I. He was wounded, attended officer training courses and fought as a junior officer on both the western and eastern fronts. By the end of the war, he had been awarded the Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd class, the House Order of Hohenzollern and the Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg. He remained in the peacetime Reichswehr and served as a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Eckhardt surrendered to the American troops on 8 May 1945 and died in custody on 15 May 1945.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (20 October 1915) & 1st Class (2 March 1917)
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (17 October 1939) & 1st Class (29 May 1940)
• German Cross in Gold on 25 January 1942 as Oberst in Jäger-Regiment 38
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 20 May 1942 as Oberst and commander of Jäger-Regiment 38
  • 644th Oak Leaves on 3 November 1944 as Generalleutnant and commander of 211. Infanterie-Division

References

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [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] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.