Karl Henke (22 July 1896 in Berlin – 27 April 1945 in Neutief) was an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

in the '' Reichsheer'' during World War I, in the German inter-war army, the ''

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' (; ) was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

'', and in the ''

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

''.

Military service, World War I

Henke's military service began in 1914 as a

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

with a pioneer battalion. He was promoted to officer in 1915, but in 1916 was seriously wounded and unable to return to frontline service. Posted to Libau, he became involved in developing

landing operation A landing operation is a military operation during which a landing force, usually utilizing landing craft, is transferred to land with the purpose of power projection ashore. With the proliferation of aircraft, a landing may refer to amphibiou ...

s, an area in which he specialised for the remainder of his career. Continuing to serve with the ''Reichswehr'' and then the ''Wehrmacht'', by 1939 Henke had been promoted to lieutenant-colonel.

Military service, World War II

On September 1, 1939, Henke was involved in the first major battle of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, the Battle of Westerplatte, where he led the assault engineer company. Henke was intended to lead Operation ''Nordlicht'', the attempt to take

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

in 1942, but when this was cancelled was transferred to the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, where the Seventeenth Army was eventually trapped by Soviet forces. Here, Henke organised the evacuation of troops across the

Strait of Kerch The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia's Krasnodar Krai in the east. The strait is to wide and u ...

, an action for which he received the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), 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. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

, and from the

Kuban bridgehead The Kuban Bridgehead (), also known as the "Goth's head position" (), was a German military position on the Taman Peninsula, Russia, between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Existing from January to October 1943, the bridgehead formed after th ...

. Promoted to major-general, and appointed the senior commander of ''Wehrmacht'' landing operations, Henke oversaw the evacuation of German troops from islands in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

and from

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

late in 1944. From January 1945 Henke became responsible for the supply of Fourth Army, trapped in the

Heiligenbeil pocket The Heiligenbeil Pocket or Heiligenbeil Cauldron () was the site of a major encirclement battle on the Eastern Front during the closing weeks of World War II, in which the Wehrmacht's 4th Army was almost entirely destroyed during the Soviet B ...

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. In this role he was in part responsible for the evacuation of up to a million civilians from East Prussia and through the port of

Pillau Baltiysk ( ); ; Old Prussian: ''Pillawa''; ; ; is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separ ...

, which was retained as long as possible; on 24 April, he was placed in command of the 290th Infantry Division, which had been transported by sea from the

Courland Pocket The Courland Pocket was a Pocket (military), pocket located on the Courland Peninsula in Latvia on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 9 October 1944 to 10 May 1945. Army Group North of the ''Wehrmacht'' were ...

. Henke and his unit finally abandoned Pillau on 25 April for the nearby ''Batterie Lehmberg'' fortifications at Neutief (Noytif was Russian correspondence of Neutef before 1946) http://vddb.library.lt/fedora/get/LT-eLABa-0001:J.04~2005~ISSN_1392-3137.N_1_30.PG_69-76/DS.002.1.01.ARTIC An article about tourism aim at Russian part of Vistula Spit on the Frische Nehrung. After a failed breakout attempt around 200 men continued to resist the besieging Soviet forces to the last round at 15:30 on 27 April; Henke, refusing to surrender, then shot himself. It is said that the opposing Soviet commander praised Henke's bravery and treated Henke's surviving men well - unusual conduct for either side on the Eastern Front.

Awards and decorations

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1914) ** 2nd Class ** 1st Class *

Wound Badge The Wound Badge () was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the Imperial German Army, German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between the worl ...

(1914) ** in Black * Cross of Honor *

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a List of military decorations of the Third Reich, military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March 1936, Adolf ...

4th to 1st Class *

Sudetenland Medal The 1 October 1938 Commemorative Medal () was commonly known as the Sudetenland Medal. It was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded during the interwar period, and the second in a series of Occupation Medals. Description Instituted on 18 October ...

with Prague Castle Bar *

War Merit Cross The War Merit Cross () 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 Merit Cross was reissued in 1957 ...

with Swords ** 2nd Class *

(1939) ** 2nd Class ** 1st Class *

on 4 August 1943 as

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

and commander of Pionier-Landungs-Regiment 770 (motorized)

References

Lexikon der Wehrmacht - Karl Henke
at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de German-language article at ''Lexicon der Wehrmacht'' *

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henke, Karl 1896 births 1945 deaths Major generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) German Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Berlin Military personnel from the Province of Brandenburg Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Prussian Army personnel Suicides by firearm in Germany Suicides in Germany German military personnel who died by suicide

Military service, World War I

Military service, World War II

Awards and decorations

See also

References

Footnotes