Heinz Greiner

Heinrich "Heinz" Greiner (12 August 1895 – 19 November 1977) was a highly decorated German officer in the Imperial German Army during World War I and the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

Early Life and World War I
Greiner was born 12 August 1895 in Amberg, Bavaria. Upon graduating from Amberg Gymnasium, Greiner joined the Bavarian Army as an Officer Cadet and was assigned to the 13th Infantry Regiment in March 1914. Less than five months later Greiner's unit was mobilized and the young officer saw action with the German Army on the Western Front. Eventually taking command of a Machine Gun Company he saw fierce combat in Belgium and was wounded outside Flanders leading to a brief period of convalescence before returning to his unit for the remainder of the War.

Interwar Period
With the conclusion of the First World War Greiner returned to Bavaria as commander of the 19th Infantry Regiment. He later became a respected instructor and tactical theorist at the Military Academy of Munich, saw assignments to both Augsburg and Landshut and served as an adviser in the suppression of the Bavarian Spartacist uprising.

World War II
At the opening of the Second World War, Heinrich Greiner had reached the rank of Oberst and was Commander of the 268th Infantry Regiment. His unit, leaning heavily upon its engineer elements, was one of the first German Army units to see action in Poland. He went on to a short staff position during the Battle of France and returned to the Eastern Front just prior to Operation Barbarossa and led the 499th Regiment. Greiner and the 499th were responsible for preventing a complete Soviet encirclement in the Yelnya Offensive, during which Greiner, for his stiff, hold-out defense of Wehrmacht forces evacuating the salient, earned the nickname the "Lion of Yelnya" from his soldiers. His leadership qualities were swiftly recognized and he was subsequently awarded command of the 268th Infantry Division. That command was to last until 1944 when the Division, along with much of Army Group Centre was nearly obliterated by the Soviet Army as the tide of the war began to turn. Greiner was then transferred to Italy where he took command of the 362nd Infantry Division in the defense of the peninsula against invading Allied forces. He led a series of decisive counterattacks on Allied forces outside of Rome that slowed enemy progress up the peninsula and earned Greiner his final promotion to Generalleutnant in addition to a lengthy stay in a Bavarian Hospital due to wounds sustained in combat.

Greiner was released from medical care in early April 1945 and finding the war all but lost began preparations for an orderly surrender of German forces throughout Italy and Southern Germany. In his final action as a Wehrmacht General, Greiner deposed Nazi officials who stubbornly attempted a final defense of Munich. Following his capitulation Greiner was held as an Allied Prisoner of War until his release and subsequent retirement in 1947.

Greiner died 19 November 1977.

Awards and decorations

 * Iron Cross (1914)
 * 2nd Class (4 December 1914)
 * 1st Class (25 November 1918)
 * Wound Badge (1914)
 * in Black
 * Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (4 October 1939)
 * 1st Class (20 October 1939)
 * Eastern Front Medal
 * Clasp to the Iron Cross
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
 * 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
 * Wehrmacht Long Service Award First Class
 * Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht (2 June 1944)