Heinrich Trettner

Heinrich Trettner
Born	(1907-09-19)19 September 1907 Minden, Province of Westphalia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany (to 1945) West Germany
Service/branch	Heer Condor Legion Luftwaffe
Years of service	1925–45 1956–66
Rank	General
Unit	7. Flieger-Division
Commands held	4. Fallschirmjäger-Division
Battles/wars	Spanish Civil War World War II Battle of the Netherlands Battle of Crete
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Great Cross of Merit with Star and shoulder ribbon
Other work	Bundeswehr

Heinrich "Heinz" Trettner (19 September 1907 – 18 September 2006) was a German general serving during World War II and from 1964 to 1966 Inspector General of the Bundeswehr. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He was the last living general of the Wehrmacht.

Spanish Civil War

After completing the third course at the Luftkriegsschule 2 (Air Warfare School) in Berlin, Trettner joined the Condor Legion and served as adjutant and IIa to Generalmajor Hugo Sperrle and Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen during the Spanish Civil War. On 2 October 1937 he was made Staffelkapitän of 1./K 88.

Second World War

At the start of the war Trettner was serving as Staff Officer, Operations (Ia) in the Staff of the 7th Paratroop Division until 14 June 1939. At the same time Trettner was assigned as an advisor with the Paratroop Inspectorate from 1 January 1939 to 14 December 1940. During the Polish and French campaigns he served as the Chief Of Operations in the Staff of the 7th Paratroop Division until 14 December 1940. He was later appointed Chief Of Operations in the Staff of the XI. Paratroop Corps (15 December 1940 to 6 April 1942), taking part in the airborne operation on Crete. For this he was promoted to Chief of Staff of the XI. Paratroop Corps, but on 4 October 1943 was reassigned to head formation and become Commanding Officer of the 4th Paratroop Division, a command he held until 3 May 1945 when he was taken prisoner by US troops. He was later transferred to the British Army POW camp in UK, and remained incarcerated until 12 April 1948.

Post World War II

Heinrich Trettner was released as a prisoner of war in April 1948 and worked initially for the Diözesan-Caritasverband. He completed his merchant apprenticeship with "Vaupel Sohn", a glass retailer Düsseldorf, in May 1949. He then enrolled at the University of Bonn and studied Economics and Jurisprudence, and received his diploma in Economics in 1956.

Immediately after he received his diploma Heinrich Trettner then joined the Bundeswehr. He was then transferred to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe SHAPE in Paris serving as commander of the logistics department until 15 September 1959.

As Inspector General, Trettner apparently had a poor relationship with Karl Gumbel, the civilian Deputy Minister of Defence, and objected to taking orders from a civil servant, Gumbel, in the absence of the Minister. He was also opposed to a ruling by the Minister, in the face of a court order, that members of the military could join a union. These factors led to his resignation, which nearly coincided with that of Werner Panitzki, the chief of staff of the Luftwaffe.

General Trettner was one of the umpires for the 1974 Sandhurst wargame on Operation Sea Lion.

Heinrich Trettner died one day before his 99th birthday. He was the last living general of the Wehrmacht.

Awards

• Cruz de Guerra de España (30 September 1938)
• Medalla de la Campaña de España (1 December 1938)
• Cuffband Crete
• Spanish Cross in Gold (6 June 1939)
• Wound Badge (1939) in Black (3 March 1944)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (12 May 1940)
  • 1st Class (12 May 1940)
• Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 24 May 1940 as Major in the general staff and Ia (operations officer) of the 7. Flieger-Division
  • 586th Oak Leaves on 17 September 1944 as Generalmajor and commander of the 4. Fallschirmjäger-Division
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 28 June 1944
• Legion of Merit (USA) (1 November 1964)
• Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (Great Britain) (18 May 1965)
• Grand Cross of the Order of George I (Greece) (16 July 1965)
• Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) (Italy) (8 August 1965)
• Grand Cross with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (18 January 1967)
• Grand Officier of the Légion d'honneur (France) (31 December 1969)

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
28 June 1944	In den schweren Abwehrkämpfen des Trasimenischen Sees haben die 29. Panzergrenadier-Division unter Führung von Generalleutnant Fries, die 4. Fallschirmjägerdivision unter Führung von Oberst Trettner und die 356. Infanteriedivision unter Führung von Generalleutnant Faulenbach, hervorragend durch Artillerie und Flakartillerie unterstützt, alle mit überlegenen Kräften geführten Durchbruchsversuche des Feindes unter besonders hohen Verlusten für den Gegner zum Teil im Nahkampf immer wieder abgewehrt.	During the heavy defensive battles of Lake Trasimeno, the 29th Panzer Grenadier Division, led by Lieutenant General Fries, the 4th Airborne Division, led by Colonel Trettner and the 356th Infantry Division, led by Lieutenant General Faulenbach, superbly supported by artillery and antiaircraft artillery, again and again blocked all break through attempts of superior enemy forces and inflicted particularly high losses to the enemy in close combat.

External links

• Heinrich Trettner in the German National Library catalogue
• Trettner @ Bundesministerium der Verteidigung
• Heinrich Trettner @ Lexikon der Wehrmacht