Walter Weiß
Walter Weiß
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Walter-Otto Weiß (2nd from left)
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Born | Tilsit, Province of East Prussia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire now Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russian Federation |
5 September 1890
Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Aschaffenburg, Bavaria, West Germany |
Allegiance | German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany |
Years of service | 1908–45 |
Rank | Generaloberst |
Commands held | 26. Infanterie Division Second Army Army Group North |
Battles/wars | First World War Second World war |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
General Walter-Otto Weiß, also spelt Weiss (5 September 1890 – 21 December 1967), was a Wehrmacht High Command officer in the Second World War. In 1945 he became Commander in Chief of Army Group North on the Eastern Front. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade with Oak Leaves was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
Contents
Career
Weiss was born in Tilsit, East Prussia[1] and joined the Army on 19 March 1908. At the beginning of the Second World War, during the Polish Campaign, he was given command of I. Armee-Korps, holding the position chief of the general staff, and was promoted to Generalmajor on 1 September. On 15 December 1940 he took command of the 97. Leichten Division, and on 15 January 1941 command of the 26. Infanterie-Division. This Division was subordinated to Army Group Centre and participated in Operation Barbarossa. Promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 January 1942, Weiss took command of the XXVII. Armee-Korps on 1 July 1942. Again promoted on 1 September 1942, to General der Infanterie, Weiss led the German 2nd Army on the Eastern Front from 3 February 1943 on. He received command of Heeresgruppe Nord on 12 March 1945. At the end of the war he was taken prisoner and held in American captivity until 1948.
1938 - 1939 Commanding Officer 1st Regiment
1939 - 1940 Chief of Staff I Corps
1940 - 1941 General Officer Commanding 97th Light Division
1941 - 1942 General Officer Commanding 26th Division
1942 - 1943 General Officer Commanding XXVII Corps
1943 - 1945 General Officer Commanding 2. Armee, Eastern Front
1945 Commander in Chief Army Group North, Eastern Front
1945 In reserve
1945 - 1948 Prisoner of War
Awards
- Iron Cross (1914)
- Austrian Military Merit Cross 3rd Class with war decoration
- Gallipoli Star
- The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
- Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung 4th to 1st Class
- Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
- Eastern Front Medal
- Officer Cross of the Bulgarian Order of Military Merit with Swords
- German Cross in Gold on 19 February 1943 as General der Infanterie and commanding general of the XXVII. Armeekorps[3]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross on 12 September 1941 as Generalmajor and commander of the 26.Infanterie-Division[4]
- 646th Oak Leaves on 5 November 1944 as Generaloberst and Commander-in-Chief of the 2. Armee[4]
- Mentioned twice in the Wehrmachtbericht (6 April 1944 and 2 November 1944)
Reference in the Wehrmachtbericht
Date | Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording | English translation |
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6 April 1944 | Verbände des Heeres und der Waffen-SS haben unter dem Oberbefehl des Generalobersten Weiß und unter der Führung der Generale der Infanterie Hoßbach und Mattenklott nach tagelangen harten Angriffskämpfen durch die Pripjetsümpfe bei ungewöhnlichen Geländeschwierigkeiten den feindlichen Ring um Kowel gesprengt und damit ihre Kameraden aus der Umklammerung befreit.[5] | Units of the Army and the Waffen-SS have, under the High Command of Generaloberst Weiß and under the leadership of Generals of the Infantry Hoßbach and Mattenklott, after days of harsh fighting through the Pripyat Marshes at rough terrain, broken the enemy ring at Kowel and by that our comrades were freed from the clutch. |
References
Citations
Bibliography
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External links
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Military offices | ||
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Preceded by
None
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Commander of 97. leichte-Division 15 December 1940 – January 15, 1941 |
Succeeded by General der Infanterie Sigismund von Förster |
Preceded by
General der Infanterie Sigismund von Forster
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Commander of 26. Infantrie-Division 15 January 1941 – 15 April 1942 |
Succeeded by General der Infanterie Friedrich Wiese |
Preceded by
General Hans von Salmuth
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Commander of 2. Armee 4 February 1943 – 9 March 1945 |
Succeeded by General Dietrich von Saucken |
Preceded by
Generaloberst Dr. Lothar Rendulic
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Commander of Heeresgruppe Nord 12 March 1945 – 2 April 1945 |
Succeeded by none |
- Articles containing German-language text
- Pages with broken file links
- 1890 births
- 1967 deaths
- Colonel generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht)
- Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Military personnel referenced in the Wehrmachtbericht
- People from Tilsit
- People from East Prussia
- German military personnel of World War I
- Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class
- Officers of the Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria)
- Reichswehr personnel