Walther Fischer von Weikersthal
Walther Fischer von Weikersthal | |
|---|---|
Army | |
| Years of service | 1909–45 |
| Rank | General der Infanterie |
| Commands held | 35. Infanterie-Division LIII. Armeekorps LXVII. Armeekorps |
| Battles/wars | World War I
|
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Walther Fischer von Weikersthal (15 September 1890 – 11 February 1953) was a German general in the
During Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, and the Battle of Moscow, Weikersthal was implicated in war crimes, including approvals for the execution of hostages, the burning of villages, and public hangings of alleged partisans. He was dismissed from command in late December 1941, during the Soviet winter counter-offensive, for disobeying Hitler's "no-retreat" order.
Early life and World War I
Weikersthal was born in 1890 to an aristocratic family, the son of a captain in the Army of Württemberg. He attended Gymnasium in Rottweil and Stuttgart, then entered the 1. Württembergisches Grenadier-Regiment in 1909.[2]
Weikersthal served on both fronts in World War I, including sixteen months on the Western Front and nine months on the Eastern Front (from December 1914 to September 1915). He was wounded in France in September 1914. Fighting in the 26th Infantry Division, he served in Poland before his division was transferred to Serbia. As general staff officer of XIII Army Corps, he assisted with secretive troop demobilizations in autumn 1918.[3]
World War II
Under the
In October 1940, Weikersthal was appointed commander of the 35th Infantry Division, which was earmarked for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.[6] Before the invasion, the German military's Supreme Command issued the Commissar Order on 6 June 1941, ordering the Wehrmacht to summarily execute captured Soviet political officers.[7] While Freiherr von Welck claims that Weikersthal "expressly forbade the passing of this order down to [his] troops", the division shot three commissars by the end of its first week of combat in Barbarossa.[8]
Weikersthal's 35th Division fought in the battles of Białystok–Minsk, Smolensk, and Vyazma, the three major battles of encirclement on the Eastern Front, in which German forces captured over 1.2 million Soviet prisoners. At Smolensk, Weikersthal was awarded the Knight's Cross. In intense fighting against determined Soviet troops, the German military became increasingly brutalized; a "no-prisoners mentality" became predominant among the 35th Division, which executed Red Army prisoners and shot Jews in reprisals.[9] David Wildermuth notes that Weikersthal's position on prisoner executions was one of "silent acquiescence," and his stance on the murder of Soviet Jews "[lay] between silent acquiescence and undocumented approval."[10]
At the same time, Weikersthal attempted to curb the forced requisitioning by his troops, concerned about maintaining the public image of the German military "as the representative of Anti-bolshevism."[11] Still, although he urged the "correct and respectful comportment" of his troops towards Soviet POWs and civilians, incidents of looting, rape, and violence against the populace were widespread in the Ninth Army by August.[12]
From August to September, the 35th Division was situated in the Wassiljewa region while it prepared for
On 1 December Weikersthal was promoted to
When Guderian was dismissed on 26 December, after disobeying Hitler's no-retreat order,[18] Rudolf Schmidt was promoted to command Second Panzer Army. Schmidt soon ordered the retreat of Weikersthal's units from Kosjolsk, but the Second Panzer Army command soon insisted that "not one foot of ground should be surrendered."[19] Weikersthal attempted to improve morale and discipline by forming squads to punish deserters, but his control over the tactical situation was beginning to erode as Schmidt gained control over his forces. In January 1942, Weikersthal insisted to Schmidt that counterattacks to restore the German lines were unfeasible due to a lack of reinforcements, and that "abandoning... some present positions" might be necessary.[20] However, this led to a direct order from Hitler for LIII Corps to hold its positions "to the last moment."[21] When Weikersthal ordered some of his units under pressure to retreat, leading to another argument between LIII Corps and Second Panzer Army, he was relieved of command on 25 January and placed in the Führerreserve, under the guise of health problems.[22]
From the end of April 1942 to mid-June 1942, he was mentioned as commander of Höheres Kommando z.b.V. XXXIII in Central Norway. In September 1942, he was appointed commanding general of the LXVII Reserve Army Corps in Brussels. He led this general command, also after the renaming into LXVII Army Corps in January 1944, until the summer of 1944. Then he was again transferred to the Führer Reserve. In March 1945 he was reappointed, now as commanding general of the Higher Command Oberrhein.[23]
Weikersthal was released from American custody in 1947, and died in 1953.[14]
Awards
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 6 August 1941 as Generalleutnant and commander of 35. Infanterie-Division[24]
References
Citations
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, pp. 307, 318.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, pp. 307–308.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, pp. 308–310.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, pp. 309–310.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, p. 309.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, pp. 307, 310.
- ^ "COMMISSAR ORDER". Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, pp. 310–311.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, pp. 311–313.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, pp. 312–313.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, p. 314.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, p. 315.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, pp. 315–317.
- ^ a b Wildermuth 2012, p. 324.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, p. 307.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, pp. 315–320.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, p. 320.
- ^ Beevor 2012, p. 258.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, pp. 320–321.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, pp. 321–322.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, p. 322.
- ^ Wildermuth 2012, p. 307, 322.
- ^ Lexikon der Wehrmacht
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 152.
Bibliography
- Beevor, Antony (2012). The Second World War. New York: Back Bay Books. ISBN 978-0-316-02375-7.
- ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
- Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
- Wildermuth, David W. (2012). "Widening the Circle: General Weikersthal and the War of Annihilation, 1941–42". Central European History. 45 (2): 306–324. S2CID 146250458.
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