Hermann Niehoff

Hermann Niehoff
Hermann Niehoff
	File:Niefoffhermann.jpg
Born	3 April 1897
Died	5 November 1980 (aged 83)
Place of birth	Papenburg/Ems
Place of death	Riegsee
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918); Weimar Republic (to 1933); Nazi Germany;
Service/branch	Heer
Rank	General der Infanterie
Battles/wars	World War I; World War II Siege of Breslau;
Awards	Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Hermann Niehoff was a German officer during World War II. He was born on 3 April 1897 and died in 1980. Niehoff was born in Papenburg/Ems. He was a German infantry general and was the garrison commander of Fortress Breslau (Festung Breslau) during the Battle of Breslau.

Commands[]

Commanding Officer of the 211th Replacement Regiment - 1939 to 1940
Commanding Officer of the 464th Regiment - 1940 to 1943
Infantry General (General der Infanterie) of the 371st Infantry Division - 1943 to 1945
Garrison Commander of Fortress Breslau - 2 March to 6 May 1945

Actions[]

As General of the 371 Infantry Division (371.Infanterie Division), Niehoff participated in the break out from the Kamieniec-Podolski Pocket during March and April 1944. At this time, his division was part of Colonel General (Generaloberst) Hans-Valentin Hube's 1st Panzer Army. From 13 February to 6 May 1945, Breslau was besieged by the Soviet 6th Army. The 6th Army was part of the Soviet 1st Ukrainian Front commanded by Marshal Ivan Konev. On 2 March, Niehoff became the garrison commander. To oppose the Soviets, Niehoff had a mix of German Army, Home Guard, and Hitler Youth troops. During the siege, Niehoff's over-matched forces held Breslau for more than two months while much of the city was destroyed and many of his troops were killed.

On 6 May, four days after Berlin fell and only two days before the unconditional surrender of Germany, Niehoff signed a conditional surrender of Fortress Breslau to the Soviets. None of the conditions were kept by the Soviets. Niehoff remained a prisoner of war from 1945 to 1955.

Awards[]

Wound Badge in Black
Infantry Assault Badge
German Cross in Gold (6 January 1942)
Hamburg Hanseatic Cross (World War I)
Iron Cross
- 1st class on 12 June 1918
- 2nd class on 5 August 1916
Clasps to the Iron Cross
- 1st class 7 July 1941
- 2nd class 26 June 1940
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
- Knight's Cross on 15 June 1944 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 371. Infaterie-Division^[1]
- 764th Oak Leaves on 5 March 1945 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 371. Infaterie-Division^[1]
- (147th) Swords on 26 April 1945 as General der Infanterie and commander of the Festung Breslau^{[Notes 1]}
Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht

Notes[]

↑ No evidence of the award can be found in the German National Archives. The Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) only assumes that the Swords were awarded. According to Niehoff's testimony he was nominated by Gauleiter Karl Hanke. The date and sequential number "147" were assigned by the AKCR. Niehoff was member of the AKCR.^[2] The sequential numbers greater than 143 for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords are unofficial and were assigned by the AKCR and are therefore denoted in parentheses.^[3]

References[]

Citations

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Scherzer 2007, p. 569.
↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 161.
↑ Fellgiebel 2000, pp. 49–51.

Bibliography

Berger, Florian (2000). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges (in Germany). Wien, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945 (in Germany). Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II (in Germany). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 3-7648-2300-3.

External links[]

Military offices
Preceded by Generalleutnant Richard Stempel	Commander of 371. Infanterie-Division 1 April 1943 – 10 June 1944	Succeeded by Generalmajor Hans-Joachim Baurmeister
Preceded by Generalmajor Hans-Joachim Baurmeister	Commander of 371. Infanterie-Division 10 July 1944 – 2 March 1945	Succeeded by Generalmajor Rolf Scherenberg

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[4] No evidence of the award can be found in the German National Archives. The Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) only assumes that the Swords were awarded. According to Niehoff's testimony he was nominated by Gauleiter Karl Hanke. The date and sequential number "147" were assigned by the AKCR. Niehoff was member of the AKCR.^[2] The sequential numbers greater than 143 for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords are unofficial and were assigned by the AKCR and are therefore denoted in parentheses.^[3]

[Scherzer_p569-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Scherzer 2007, p. 569.

[Scherzer_p161-2] Scherzer 2007, p. 161.

[3] Fellgiebel 2000, pp. 49–51.

[1]

[Notes 1]

[2]

[3]