August Wilhelm Heye (31 January 1869,

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

– 11 March 1947,

Braunlage Braunlage () is a town and health resort in the Goslar district of Lower Saxony in Germany. Situated within the Harz mountain range, south of the Brocken massif, Braunlage's main business is tourism, particularly skiing. Nearby ski resorts inclu ...

) was a German officer who rose to the rank of

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German ''Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. The rank was ...

and became head of the Army Command within the Ministry of the Reichswehr in the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a Constitutional republic, constitutional federal republic for the first time in ...

. One of his sons was admiral Hellmuth Heye.

Biography

The son of a Prussian officer, Heye joined the Army in 1888 and subsequently became a member of the

German General Staff The German General Staff, originally the Prussian General Staff and officially the Great General Staff (german: Großer Generalstab), was a full-time body at the head of the Prussian Army and later, the German Army, responsible for the continuou ...

. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he served on both the East and Western fronts, eventually becoming the last chief of the operations department at the

Oberste Heeresleitung The ''Oberste Heeresleitung'' (, Supreme Army Command or OHL) was the highest echelon of command of the army (''Heer'') of the German Empire. In the latter part of World War I, the Third OHL assumed dictatorial powers and became the ''de facto'' ...

(Supreme Army Command). After the end of the war, he assisted Hans von Seeckt in organising the new Reichswehr, serving as the second Chief of the Truppenamt and later commander of the Wehrkreis I (Military District I). In 1926, he replaced Seeckt as Chief of Army Command and held that position until retiring in 1930.

Decorations and awards

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 es ...

of 1914, 1st and 2nd class * Knight's Cross of the Royal

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern (german: Hausorden von Hohenzollern or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various ...

with Swords *

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eag ...

(20 August 1916) with oak leaves (3 April 1918) *

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful se ...

, 4th class with Swords (Prussia) * Order of the Crown, 3rd class (Prussia) * Service Award (Prussia) * Commander of the Cross of Honor of the

with swords * Officer's Cross of the Military Merit Order with Swords (Bavaria) * Knight's Cross, First Class of the Albert Order with swords (Saxony) * Commander of the Military Merit Order (Württemberg) * Commander, Second Class of the Friedrich Order with Swords (Württemberg) *

Hanseatic Cross The Hanseatic Cross (German: ''Hanseatenkreuz'') was a military decoration of the three Hanseatic city-states of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were members of the German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 188 ...

of Hamburg *

War Merit Cross The War Merit Cross (german: Kriegsverdienstkreuz) was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. By the end of the conflict it was issued in four degrees and had an equivalent civil award. A " de-Nazified" version of the War Meri ...

, 2nd class (Brunswick) * Commander of the

House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis The House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis (German: ''Haus und Verdienstorden von Herzog Peter Friedrich Ludwig'') or proper German Oldenburg House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis (German: ''Oldenburgische Haus- und Verdi ...

with swords and laurel (Oldenburg) * Friedrich August Cross, 1st and 2nd class (Oldenburg) *

Cross for Merit in War The Cross for Merit in War (german: Kreuz für Verdienste im Kriege) was a military decoration of the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen established by Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen on 7 March 1915. Criteria The Cross for Merit in War was awarded to o ...

(Saxe-Meiningen) *

(Lippe) *

of Lübeck * Commander of the Order of Leopold with war decoration (Austria) *

Order of the Iron Crown The Order of the Iron Crown ( it, link=no, Ordine della Corona Ferrea) was an order of merit that was established on 5 June 1805 in the Kingdom of Italy by Napoleon Bonaparte under his title of Napoleon I, King of Italy. The order took its name ...

, 2nd class with War Decoration (Austria) * Military Merit Cross, 2nd class with War Decoration (Austria-Hungary) * Order of Osmanieh, 2nd class with Swords * Silver Liakat Medal with swords * Gallipoli Star ("Iron Crescent", Ottoman Empire) * Grand Officer of the Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria) *

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March, 1936, Adolf Hitler ordered the institution of a service awar ...

, 4th to 1st class.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heye, Wilhelm 1869 births 1947 deaths People from Fulda German Army personnel of World War I Colonel generals of the Reichswehr Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Hanseatic Cross (Lübeck) Recipients of the Silver Liakat Medal Grand Officers of the Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria) Prussian Army personnel People from Hesse-Nassau