Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte

Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte (30 March 1907 – 7 July 1994) was a German paratroop officer during World War II who later served in the armed forces of West Germany, achieving the rank of General.

Following the war, Heydte pursued academic, political and military careers, as a Catholic-conservative professor of political science, a member of the Christian Social Union political party, and as a Bundeswehr reservist.

Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte joined the Reichswehr in April 1925.

In 1927, he was released from military service to attend Innsbruck University, receiving a degree in economics.

In 1927, Heydte was awarded his degree in law at Graz University.

He joined the NSDAP on 1 May 1933, obtaining membership number 2.134.193.

He entered the Sturm Abteilung the same year.

Meanwhile, Heydte had begun his academic career in international law in 1933 as a private assistant to Hans Kelsen in Cologne on Alfred Verdross's recommendation.

Following Kelsen's dismissal in the wake of the Nazi seizure of power in Germany, Heydte became Verdross's assistant at the Consular Academy in Vienna (1933–1934).

Because of his National Socialist activities, he had to leave the Consular Academy in 1934 and became an assistant to Karl Gottfried Hugelmann at the University of Münster.

Heydte took part in the invasion of Poland and the Battle of France as a junior commander.

In 1935 Heydte re-joined the Reichswehr where he attended staff training.

In May 1940, he was transferred to Luftwaffe's parachute arm; he commanded a battalion during the Battle of Crete in May 1941.

In July 1942 Heydte was sent to Libya as commander of the Fallschirm-Lehrbataillon, part of the Ramcke Parachute Brigade.

Heydte was an officer in the Ramcke Brigade in North Africa until February 1943 when he and several other officers were transferred to France to form the nucleus of the new 2nd Fallschirmjäger Division under command of major-general H.B. Ramcke.

He was posted as an operations officer in the divisional HQ.

After the fall of Sicily during the summer of 1943, the Germans grew wary of a potential Italian defection to the Allies.

To counter this event the 2nd Fallschirmjäger Division was transferred from France to Rome on 6 August.

Heydte gained audience with Pope Pius XII and befriended the Pope's "Throne Assistant", the theologian Alois Hudal, who would later become a key person in helping Nazi war criminals evade the courts of justice during the post-war war-crime trials.

The division participated in taking Rome under German control as part of the German Operation Achse.

Heydte was given command of a regiment of the 2nd Fallschirmjäger Division in January 1944.

In 1962, Heydte was involved in the Spiegel affair.

By the time of Operation Overlord, the 6th Fallschirmjäger Regiment had been attached to the 91st Luftlande Infantry Division.

Heydte's unit took part in the Battle of Carentan, Operation Lüttich, and in fighting against the Allied forces in Operation Market Garden.

Prior to the Ardennes Offensive, the Germans planned Operation Stösser to drop paratroopers behind the American lines 11 km north of Malmédy and to seize a key crossroads (N68-N672) leading to the towns of Eupen and Verviers.

To conceal the plans from the Allies and preserve secrecy, Heydte wasn't allowed to use his own, experienced troops.

Most of the new paratroops had little training.

The Luftwaffe assembled 112 Ju 52 transport planes; they were manned by inexperienced pilots.

It was the German paratroopers' only nighttime drop during World War II.

While the aircraft took off with around 1,300 paratroops, the pilots dropped some behind the German front lines, others over Bonn, and only a few hundred in widely scattered locations behind the American lines.

Some aircraft landed with their troops still on board.

Only a fraction of the force landed near the intended drop zone.

The kampfgruppe was tasked with dropping at night onto a strategic road junction 11 kilometers north of Malmédy and to hold it for approximately twenty-four hours until relieved by the 12th SS Panzer Division, with the aim of hampering the flow of Allied reinforcements and supplies.

The planes that were relatively close to the intended drop zone were buffeted by strong winds that deflected many paratroopers and made their landings far rougher.

Since many of the German paratroopers were very inexperienced, some were crippled upon impact and died where they fell.

Some of their bodies were found the following spring as the snow melted.

Heydte broke his arm upon landing from his jump.

Initially, only 125 men made it to the correct landing zone, with no heavy weapons.

By noon on 17 December, Heydte's unit had scouted the woods and rounded up a total of around 300 troops.

With only enough ammunition for a single fight, the force was too small to take the crossroads on its own.