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Wilhelm Heye

Wilhelm Heye (31 January 1869 – 11 March 1947) was a Prussian and German officer who rose to the rank of Generaloberst and became Chief of the Army Command within the Ministry of the Reichswehr in the Weimar Republic.

Colonel General
Wilhelm Heye
Wilhelm Heye in a photograph by Nicola Perscheid
3rd Chief of the German Army Command
In office
October 9, 1926 – October 31, 1930
PresidentPaul von Hindenburg
Preceded byHans von Seeckt
Succeeded byKurt von Hammerstein-Equord
2nd Chief of the German Troop Office
In office
March 26 1920 – October 9, 1926
Preceded byHans von Seeckt
Succeeded byOtto Hasse
Personal details
Born(1869-01-31)31 January 1869
Fulda
Died11 March 1947(1947-03-11) (aged 78)
Braunlage
RelationsHellmuth Heye (son)
AwardsPour le Mérite with Oak Leaves
Military service
Allegiance German Empire
 Weimar Republic
Branch/servicePrussian Army
Reichsheer
Years of service1888–1930
RankGeneraloberst
Battles/warsWorld War I

Family

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Maximilian Henry Friedrich Wilhelm Heye was born on 31 January 1869 in Fulda as the son of Wilhelm Heye (1824-1899), a Prussian Oberstleutnant, and Charlotte, née von Finckh (1834-1871). His paternal grandfather Ernst Heye was a lawyer in Oldenburg and his maternal grandfather Alexander von Finckh was a senior official of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg. His brother Alexander (1860-1915) was a Prussian Generalmajor zur Disposition and author. [1] His brother-in-law Eugen von Finckh [de] (1860-1930) served as Minister-President of the Free State of Oldenburg from 1923 to 1930.

Wilhelm was married on 29 September 1894 to Elisabeth ("Else") Anna Karcher (1875-1961). The couple had two daughters and three sons. [1][2] The eldest son was the later Vizeadmiral Hellmuth Heye. Their middle son, Friedrich Wilhelm (1898-1918), died of wounds as a lieutenant and their youngest son, Hans-Joachim (1901-1935), was an officer in the Reichsmarine.[3][4] Both daughters married army officers.

Military Career in the Prussian Army

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Heye graduated from the Prussian cadet corps (Kadettenkorps) and entered the Prussian Army on 22 March 1888 as a Seconde-Lieutenant in Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 70.[2] He served as a battalion adjutant from 1892 to 1896 and was promoted to Premier-Lieutenant on 22 March 1895.[2]

Heye attended the War Academy (Kriegsakademie) from 1896 to 1899. As part of his preparation for general staff service, he spent several months aboard a naval vessel learning naval gunnery and several months in Russia studying the Russian language.[2] Heye was commanded to the Prussian Army Great General Staff for one year on 1 April 1900 and, with his promotion to supernumary Hauptmann on 23 March 1901, he was officially transferred to the general staff.[2] He returned to troop service on 27 January 1904 as a company commander in Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 58 but was transferred back to the general staff on 1 January 1906 with an assignment to the general staff of the 5th Division in Frankfurt an der Oder.[2]

Heye served from 27 January 1906 to 31 March 1908 in the Schutztruppe in German South West Africa, participating in the Herero Wars as a staff officer.[1][2] While there, he was promoted to Major on 11 September 1907.[2] Upon returning to the Prussian Army from the Schutztruppe, Heye was assigned to the general staff of the 33rd Division in Metz.[2] From 25 April 1910 to 18 April 1913, Heye was in charge of the counterintelligence section (Abteilung III b) of the general staff.[2][1] Heye was named a battalion commander in Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 74 on 18 April 1913 and was promoted to Oberstleutnant on 18 December 1913.[2]

At the start of World War I on 2 August 1914, Heye was named chief of the general staff of the Landwehr Corps under Remus von Woyrsch, which later evolved into the Army Detachment Woyrsch, serving with distinction on the Eastern Front.[1][2] He was promoted to Oberst on 18 August 1916 and named chief of the general staff of Army Group Woyrsch (Heeresgruppe Woyrsch) on 23 September 1916.[2]

On 9 September 1917, Heye was transferred to the Western Front and was named chief of the general staff of the Army Group Duke Albrecht (Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht) under the command of Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg.[1][2] On 7 September 1918, Heye was transferred to the general staff of the field army (Generalstab des Feldheeres) and named chief of the operations section (Operationsabteilung) in the Supreme Army Command (Oberste Heeresleitung), serving under Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, as well as Ludendorff's successor Wilhelm Groener.[1][2]

 
Wilhelm Heye (left), 1929

Military Career in the Reichswehr

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After the Armistice ending World War I, Heye participated in the defense of Germany's post-war eastern frontier (Grenzschutz Ost) as (from 26 April 1919) chief of the general staff of the Army High Command "Border Protection North (Armeeoberkommando Grenzschutz Nord) in East Prussia.[2] He was the successor to Hans von Seeckt, with whom Heye's military career in the subsequent years would remain closely connected.

On 1 October 1919, Heye became chief of staff of the Troop Office (Truppenamt) in the Ministry of the Reichswehr in Berlin.[2] The Truppenamt served as the covert general staff of the Reichswehr; Seeckt, as chief of the Truppenamt, was effectively chief of the general staff of the Reichswehr, and Heye was his principal deputy.

In the aftermath of the failed Kapp Putsch in March 1920, Seeckt was named Chief of the Army Command (Chef der Heeresleitung), and Heye succeeded him as Chief of the Truppenamt (redesignated as the "Allgemeines Truppenamt").[1][2] Heye was promoted to Generalmajor on 16 June 1920 and, with effect from 1 April 1922, simultaneously promoted to Generalleutnant and named chief of the Army Personnel Office (Heerespersonalamt).[1][2] On 1 Novembver 1923, he was named commander of the Reichswehr's 1st Division in Königsberg in East Prussia, in which capacity he also commanded Military District I (Wehrkreis I).[1][2][5]

On 9 October 1926, Heye once again succeeded Seeckt, being named Chef der Heeresleitung. During his tenure, the Heeresleitung lost much of the political influence it had under Seeckt, while the authority of the Ministry of the Reichswehr increased, principally under Wilhelm Groener and his protegé Kurt von Schleicher.[1][2] Heye was promoted to General der Infanterie on 1 November 1926 and to Generaloberst on 1 January 1930.[2] He retired on 31 October 1930 and was succeeded by Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord.[1][2]

 
Gravesite in Braunlage

Later Years

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Generaloberst Heye was placed "zur Verfügung des Heeres" (at the disposal of the army) on 1 November 1938 but was not called up during World War II.[6][2] He died on 11 March 1947 in Braunlage in the Harz mountains and was buried there.

Decorations and awards

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Notes

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  1. ^ Although Heye entered service in 1888, he reached 25 years of service in 1911 as Prussian regulations allowed for the double-counting of war years.
  2. ^ The Kaiser Wilhelm I Centenary Medal was not typically listed in rank lists, but the award was automatic for active Prussian Army personnel at the time it was instituted.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Thilo Vogelsang: Heye, Wilhelm, in: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Band 9, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1972, ISBN 3-428-00190-7, p. 79
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd German Federal Archives, Army Personnel File for Wilhelm Heye, BArch PERS 6/35
  3. ^ Verein für Computergenealogie, Verlustlisten 1. Weltkrieg
  4. ^ Berlin Marriage Register, 29 June 1929
  5. ^ Ministry of the Reichswehr: Rangliste des Deutschen Reichsheeres, Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1926, p. 9
  6. ^ German Federal Archives, Generalskartei von Wilhelm Heye, BArch PERS 6/299856
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Ministry of the Reichswehr: Rangliste des Deutschen Reichsheeres, Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1926, p. 109

Bibliography

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Thilo Vogelsang: Heye, Wilhelm, in: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Band 9, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1972, ISBN 3-428-00190-7, p. 79 (https://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/0001/bsb00016326/images/index.html?seite=93).

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