József Heszlényi

József Vitéz Heszlényi (Heyszl; 24 July 1890, Igló, Szepes (county) – 2 June 1945) was a Hungarian General during World War II and commander of the 3rd Hungarian Army.

József Heszlényi
Born	24 July 1890 Igló, Szepes County, Kingdom of Hungary (now Spišská Nová Ves, Slovakia)
Died	2 June 1945 (aged 54) Zwettl, Allied-occupied Austria
Buried	German War Cemetery in Allentsteig, Lower Austria
Allegiance	Austria-Hungary (to 1918) Kingdom of Hungary
Service/branch	Austro-Hungarian Army Royal Hungarian Army
Years of service	1911–1945
Rank	Vezérezredes (Colonel General)
Commands held	IV Corps Third Army
Battles/wars	World War I World War II

On May 8, 1945 Heszlényi, along with his son József Heszlényi Jr., who served on the staff of his father, were captured by American troops. Heszlényi was then handed over to the Soviets, where he committed suicide by cutting his wrists with a razor blade on June 2, 1945 in Zwettl, Austria. On June 19, 1945 a military tribunal posthumously demoted and dishonorably discharged Heszlényi from the Hungarian Army.

Military career

• Commanding Officer 23rd Infantry Brigade, November 1938 - 1 March 1940
• Commanding Officer 2nd Motorized Brigade, 1 March 1940 - 1 November 1940
• Deputy Chief of Supply Bureau, Ministry of Defense, 1 November 1940 - 1 May 1941
• Chief of Supply Bureau, Ministry of Defense (HM/III), 1 May 1941 - 1 May 1942
• Chief of Main Supply Bureau, Ministry of Defense, 1 May 1942 - December 1942
• G.O.C. IV. Army Corps, December 1942 - September 1944
• Acting Commander-in-Chief, 3rd Army

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (28 October 1944)

References

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Kovács, Attila Ótott (2006). Die ungarischen Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes. Ranis: Scherzers Militaer-Verl. ISBN 978-3-938845-02-8.