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Lemm, Heinz-Georg "Hein Lemm"

Date of birth:
June 1st, 1919 (Schwerin/Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany)
Date of death:
November 17th, 1994 (Ruppichteroth/North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)
Nationality:
German (1933-1945, Third Reich)

Biography

Lemm eventually reached the rank of Generalleutnant in the Bundeswehr.

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Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Leutnant (Second-lieutenant)
Unit:
Reiterzugführer Infanterie-Regiment 27/12. Infanterie-Division/3. Armee
Awarded on:
October 6th, 1939
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Leutnant (Second-lieutenant)
Unit:
Bataillonsadjutant III./Infanterie-Regiment 27/12. Infanterie-Division
Awarded on:
December 31st, 1940
Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Leutnant (Second-lieutenant)
Unit:
Bataillonsadjutant III./Infanterie-Regiment 27/12. Infanterie-Division

Silver version.
Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Oberleutnant (Lieutenant)
Unit:
Kompaniechef 2./I./Infanterie-Regiment 27/12. Infanterie-Division/16. Armee
Awarded on:
December 19th, 1941
Deutsches Kreuz in Gold
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Hauptmann (Captain)
Unit:
Kommandeur 2./I./Infanterie-Regiment 27/12. Infanterie-Division/II. Armeekorps/16. Armee
Demjanskschild
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Hauptmann (Captain)
Unit:
Kommandeur I./Füsilier-Regiment 27/12. Infanterie-Division/16. Armee
Awarded on:
April 14th, 1943
Awarded for his leadership of the I./Füsilier-Regiment 27 near Penna (south of Staraja Russa). Here Lemm’s Füsiliers, along with the Sturmgeschütze of Hauptmann Hegele, were able to destroy 46 Soviet tanks within the space of three days. After this, following a penetration by fresh Soviet forces, Lemm and his men (again supported by Hegele’s Sturmgeschütze) were able to eliminate the hostile penetration while destroying 5 tanks.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Major
Unit:
Kommandeur I./Füsilier-Regiment 27/12. Infanterie-Division/16. Armee
Panzervernichtungsabzeichen in Silber
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Major
Unit:
Kommandeur I./Füsilier-Regiment 27/12. Infanterie-Division/4. Armee
Awarded on:
July 11th, 1944
On the 22.06.1944 Lemm and his Bataillon stood in the Pronja bridgehead (near Tschaussy), in the Mogilev sector. Over the next 72 hours Lemm and his men formed the rearguard of the retreating 12. Infanterie-Division. As commander of a Kampfgruppe, he broke out of the Mogilev area towards the Beresina and soon established contact with his old Division. Lemm would be decorated with the Oakleaves for managing to escape the jaws of Operation Bagration where so many others had failed.

525th Award.
Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant-colonel)
Unit:
Kommandeur Füsilier-Regiment 27/12. Volks-Grenadier-Division/15. Armee
Awarded on:
March 15th, 1945
Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern
Awarded for the leadership of his Regiment in the battles around Aachen and in the Ardennes Offensive. In this time his unit’s most notable successes were the capture of Eschweiler and part of Stolberg, as well as breaking through the Losheim Gap during the Battle of the Bulge.

137th Award.
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant-colonel)
Unit:
Kommandeur Füsilier-Regiment 27/12. Volks-Grenadier-Division/15. Armee
Nahkampfspange in Silber
Rank:
Generalmajor
Unit:
Kommandeur, 5. Panzerdivision, Bundesheer
Awarded on:
1972
Commandeur in de Orde van Oranje Nassau (ON.3)
Rank:
Generalleutnant
Unit:
Chef, Truppenamt der Bundeswehr, Bundeswehr
Awarded on:
1979
Großes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern des Verdienstordens der BRD
Rank:
Generalleutnant
Unit:
Chef, Truppenamt der Bundeswehr, Bundeswehr
Awarded on:
1979
Legion of Merit - Officer (LoM - O)

Sources

  • Photo 1: Peter van Holsteijn
  • - THOMAS, FRANZ & WEGMANN, GÜNTER, Die Eichenlaubträger 1940-1945, Biblio-Verlag, 1998.
    - Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer, Elite of the Third Reich - The Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939-45: A Reference, Helion & Company Limited, England, 2003
    - Helden der Wehrmacht II, Sammelband (Miscellany), FZ-Verlag GmbH, München, Deutschland, 2003
    - Williamson, G., Knight’s Cross, Oak-Leaves and Swords Recipients 1941-45, Osprey Publishing Ltd., Great Britain, 2005
    - Berger, F., Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern – Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges, Selbstverlag Florian Berger, Wien, Österreich, 2002/03
    - Waffenhq.de
    - Ritterkreuztraeger-1939-45.de

Photo