Heinrich Kreipe
Karl Heinrich Georg Ferdinand Kreipe (5 June 1895 – 14 June 1976) was a German career soldier who served in both World War I and World War II. While leading German forces in occupied Crete in April 1944, he was abducted by British SOE officers, Patrick Leigh Fermor and William Stanley Moss, with the support of the Cretan resistance.
Early life and career
Kreipe was born in Niederspier, Thuringia. When World War I began, he volunteered for the army, and rose through the ranks. He was commissioned a lieutenant in December 1915. After the war, Kreipe enlisted in the Hessen-Thüringen-Waldeck Freikorps, and then joined the new Reichswehr in October 1919. He was retained in the greatly reduced German armed forces permitted by the Treaty of Versailles, a testament to his abilities as a soldier. By 1939, he had risen to the rank of colonel.
World War II
As commander of Infantry Regiment 209 of the 58th Infantry Division, Kreipe participated in the Battle of France and the drive towards Leningrad during Operation Barbarossa. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 13 October 1941. Kreipe remained in the Leningrad front until May 1942, when he was transferred back to Germany, where he took up administrative and teaching positions. In June–October 1943, he was returned to the Eastern Front, where he led the 79th Infantry Division. On 1 March 1944, Kreipe was appointed Commander of the 22nd Air Landing Infantry Division, operating on Crete, replacing General Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller, who had been made the German commander of Crete in Hania.