Otto Heidkämper

Otto Heidkämper
Born	13 March 1901 Lauenhagen, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, German Empire
Died	Bückeburg, Lower Saxony, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1918–45
Rank	Generalleutnant
Commands held	4. Panzer-Division XXIV. Panzerkorps Division Nr. 464 Army Group Centre
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of Belgium Battle of France Operation Barbarossa Battle of Białystok–Minsk Battle of Kiev (1941) Battle of Moscow Battles of Rzhev Battle of Voronezh (1942) Battle of Stalingrad Operation Bagration Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive Lublin–Brest Offensive Prague Offensive
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Otto Heidkämper (13 March 1901 – 17 February 1969) was a highly decorated Generalleutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded several divisions. During the invasion of France he served as Ia or Chief of Staff to Erwin Rommel and his 7th Panzer Division. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Otto Heidkämper was captured by American troops in early May 1945 and was released later that month.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (25 September 1939)
  • 1st Class (4 October 1939)
• Eastern Front Medal
• German Cross in Gold (7 March 1942)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 8 February 1943 as Oberst i.G. and Chef des Generalstabes XXIV. Panzerkorps

External links

• World War 2 Awards.com
• Lexikon der Wehrmacht
• Otto Heidkämper @ Axis Biographical Research at the Wayback Machine (archived November 16, 2010)

Military offices
Preceded by General der Panzertruppen Heinrich Eberbach	Commander of 4. Panzer-Division 2 March 1942 – 4 April 1942	Succeeded by General der Panzertruppen Heinrich Eberbach
Preceded by Generalleutnant Karl Eibl	Commander of XXIV. Panzerkorps 21 January 1943 – 9 February 1943	Succeeded by General der Panzertruppen Walther Nehring
Preceded by General der Infanterie Hans Krebs	Chief of the General Staff of HeeresGruppe Mitte 1 September 1944 - January 1945	Succeeded by Generalleutnant Wolf-Dietrich Ritter und Edler von Xylander
Preceded by Generalmajor Eugen Theilacker	Commander of Division Nr. 464 27 April 1945 – 8 May 1945	Succeeded by None