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Maximilian von Weichs

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German Field Marshal

Maximilian von Weichs
Weichs,c. 1943–1945
Born	(1881-11-12)12 November 1881 Dessau,Germany
Died	27 September 1954(1954-09-27) (aged 72) Bonn,West Germany
Allegiance	Germany
Branch	German Army
Years of service	1900–1945
Rank	Generalfeldmarschall
Commands	1st Panzer Division XIII Corps 2nd Army Army Group B Army Group F OB Südost
Battles / wars	World War I World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Invasion of Yugoslavia Operation Barbarossa Battle of Stalingrad Belgrade Offensive Battle of Pezë (1943) Albanian Civil War (1943–1944) German winter offensive in Albania (1943–1944) LANÇ counter-offensive in Albania (1944)
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Signature

Maximilian Maria Joseph Karl Gabriel Lamoral Reichsfreiherr^[a] von und zu Weichs an der Glonn (12 November 1881 – 27 September 1954) was a GermanGeneralfeldmarschall (Field marshal) in theWehrmacht ofNazi Germany duringWorld War II.

Born into an aristocratic family, Weichs joined the Bavarian cavalry in 1900 and fought in theFirst World War. At the outbreak of the Second World War he commanded theXIII Corps in theinvasion of Poland. He later commanded the2nd Army during the invasions ofFrance,Yugoslavia andthe Soviet Union.

In August 1942 duringCase Blue, the German offensive in southern Russia, he was appointed commander ofArmy Group B. In 1944, Weichs commandedArmy Group F in theBalkans overseeing the German retreat from Greece and most of Yugoslavia. During theNuremberg Trials, Weichs was implicated inwar crimes committed in the Balkans, and was scheduled to take part in the US Army'sHostages Trial. He was removed from the proceeding for "medical reasons" without having been judged or sentenced.

Early life and career

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World War I

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Born in 1881 into an aristocratic family, Maximilian von Weichs entered theBavarian cavalry in 1900 and participated inWorld War I as a staff officer. After the war he remained in the newly createdReichswehr where he worked at a number ofGeneral Staff positions.

Inter-war years

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GeneralsMilch,Keitel,Brauchitsch, AdmiralRaeder and Weichs at the 1938 Nuremberg Rally

Transferred from the 3rd Cavalry Division to command Germany's1st Panzer Division upon its formation in October 1935, he led the unit in maneuvers that impressed Army Commander-in-ChiefWerner von Fritsch.^[1] Weichs' aristocratic and cavalry credentials demonstrated the continuing influence of these military elites in Germany's modernizing force.^[2] In October 1937, he became the commander of the XIII Army Corps that later served in the 1938 German annexation of theSudetenland.

World War II

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Weichs (third from left) withJohannes Blaskowitz (right, holding map) in Warsaw during the invasion of Poland, 1939

To prepare for the Germaninvasion of Poland beginningWorld War II in 1939, Weichs was appointed head of his own Army Corps "Weichs". After the Polish surrender, he was made Commander-in-Chief of the2nd Army, a part ofGerd von Rundstedt'sArmy Group A in the West. After theBattle of France, he was awarded theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross and promoted toGeneraloberst.^[3]^[4]

Leading his army, Weichs later took part in theBalkans Campaign, where on May 19th, shortly after the capitulation of Yugoslavia, he ordered a target reprisal ratio of one hundred Serbs to be killed for each German soldier wounded byYugoslav Partisans.^[5] In preparation forOperation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, he was assigned to lead the2nd Army as a part ofFedor von Bock’sArmy Group Centre. He led the 2nd Army in 1941 through theBattle of Kiev,^[6] theBattle of Smolensk,^[7] and then on toVyazma and Bryansk.^[8]

Gerd von Rundstedt with Weichs in France, June 1940

In 1942, forFall Blau, Weichs was assigned to lead the newly createdArmy Group B.^[9] Army Group B was composed ofSalmuth's2nd Army,Hoth’s4th Panzer Army, andPaulus's6th Army. In addition to the German armies, Army Group B included the2nd Hungarian Army,8th Italian Army, theThird and theFourth Romanian Armies. The6th Army was assigned to take the city ofStalingrad and cover approximately 800 km of front.^{[citation needed]}

Weichs (right) in Russia during Case Blue, September 1942

The SovietOperation Uranus broke through theRomanian armies on his flanks, cutting off the 6th Army inside Stalingrad. Suggesting retreat, Weichs fell out of Hitler’s favor. Consequently, parts of Army Group B were taken away from the command of Weichs and incorporated into a new "Army Group Don", led byErich von Manstein. Later in February, the remaining part merged with the Don Group into a newly reinstated Army Group South, also led by Manstein. Weichs was relieved of command.

Weichs was promoted toGeneralfeldmarschall on 1 February 1943.^[4] In August 1943, Weichs was appointed commander ofArmy Group F in theBalkans directing operations against localpartisan groups.^[4] From August 1943, Weichs was alsoOB Südost, commander-in-chief of German-occupied Greece and the Balkans (Yugoslavia, Albania and Thrace). His headquarters were first in Belgrade and, from 5 October 1944, in Vukovar.^[10] In April 1944, Weichs was appointed the commander of all German troops in Hungary.^[11] In late 1944, he oversaw the German retreat from Greece and most of Yugoslavia.

Post-war years

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Weichs (right) in 1947 during The Hostages Trial

Weichs retired from his military career on 25 March 1945, and was arrested by American troops in May. During theNuremberg Trials, Weichs was said to be implicated inwar crimes committed while suppressing the partisans. He was removed from the US Army'sHostages Trial for medical reasons without having been judged or sentenced.^[12]

Weichs died on 27 September 1954 inBonn,West Germany at the age of 72.^[13]

Awards

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Iron Cross of 1914 2nd Class (20 September 1914) & 1st Class (12 November 1915)^[14]
Clasp to the Iron Cross of 1939 2nd Class (18 September 1939) & 1st Class (29 September 1939)^[14]
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross on 29 June 1940 asGeneral der Kavallerie and commander-in-chief of the 2. Armee^[15]
- Oak Leaves on 5 February 1945 asGeneralfeldmarschall and commander-in-chief of Heeresgruppe F andOB Südost (commander-in-chief south east)^[15]

Promotions

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Fahnenjunker: 15 July 1900
Leutnant: 12 March 1902
Oberleutnant: 3 March 1911
Hauptmann: 1914
Major: 1 February 1921
Oberstleutnant: 1 February 1928
Oberst: 1 November 1930
Generalmajor: 1 April 1933
Generalleutnant: 1 April 1935
General der Kavallerie: 1 October 1936
Generaloberst: 19 July 1940
Generalfeldmarschall: 1 February 1943

Notes

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^Reichsfreiherr is a Germantitle of nobility, usually translated asBaron of the Empire.Freiherr is a title usually translated as 'Baron', andReich is usually translated as 'Empire'. The female forms areReichsfreifrau andReichsfreiin. Titles using the prefixReichs- were not created after the fall of theHoly Roman Empire.

References

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Citations

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^Showalter 2009, p. 47.
^Showalter 2009, p. 59.
^Lannoy, François de; Charita, Josef (2001).Panzertruppen. Heimdal. p. 108.ISBN 9782840481515.Maximilian von Weichs.. Awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (26 June 1940)..
^^a ^b ^cBattistelli, Pier Paolo (2021).The Balkans 1940–41 (2): Hitler's Blitzkrieg against Yugoslavia and Greece. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 8.ISBN 9781472842596.
^ Kay 2021, p. 58.
^Stahel, David (2011).Kiev 1941: Hitler's Battle for Supremacy in the East. Cambridge University Press. p. 109.ISBN 9781139503600.
^Glantz, David (2012).Barbarossa Derailed: The Battle for Smolensk 10 July-10 September 1941: The German Offensives on the Flanks and the Third Soviet Counteroffensive, 25 August–10 September 1941, Volume 2. Casemate Publishers. p. 12-.ISBN 9781908916785.
^Dimbleby, Jonathan (2021).Barbarossa: How Hitler Lost the War. Penguin. p. 124.ISBN 9780241979204.
^Adam, Wilhelm; Ruhle, Otto (2015).With Paulus at Stalingrad. Translated by Tony Le Tissier. Pen and Sword Books Ltd. p. 25.ISBN 9781473833869.
^Brett-Smith 1977, p. 172"From August 1943 von Weichs, now a field-marshal, was C-in-C Yugoslavia, Albania, and Thrace, with headquarters first in Belgrade and — from 5 October 1944 — at Vukovar."
^Wistrich 2002, p. 272.
^"Subsequent Nuremberg Proceedings, Case #7, The Hostage Case".encyclopedia.ushmm.org. Retrieved2023-09-24.
^"VON WEICHS IS DEAD; A NAZI COMMANDER".The New York Times. 1954-09-29.ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved2023-09-24.
^^a ^bThomas 1998, p. 422.
^^a ^bScherzer 2007, p. 772.

Bibliography

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Goda, Norman (2005). "Black Marks: Hitler's Bribery of his Senior Officers During World War II". In Kreike, Emmanuel; Jordan, William Chester (eds.).Corrupt Histories. Toronto: Hushion House. pp. 96–137.ISBN 978-1-58046-173-3. Originally published as:Goda, Norman (June 2000). "Black Marks: Hitler's Bribery of his Senior Officers During World War II".The Journal of Modern History.72 (2):413–452.doi:10.1086/315994.S2CID 154044694.
Hürter, Johannes (2006).Hitlers Heerführer - Die deutschen Oberbefehlshaber im Krieg gegen die Sowjetunion 1941/42 (in German). München, Germany : Oldenbourg: Oldenbourg.ISBN 978-3-486-57982-6.
Megargee, Geoffrey P. (2000).Inside Hitler's High Command. Lawrence, Kansas: Kansas University Press.ISBN 0-7006-1015-4.
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.
Showalter, Dennis E. (2009).Hitler's Panzers: The Lightning Attacks That Revolutionized Warfare. New York: Berkley.ISBN 978-0-425-23004-6.
Stahel, David (2015).The Battle for Moscow. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-1-107-08760-6.
Thomas, Franz (1998).Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag.ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
Wistrich, Robert S. (2002).Who's who in Nazi Germany. Psychology Press.ISBN 978-0-415-26038-1.
Brett-Smith, Richard (1977).Hitler's generals. Presidio Press.ISBN 978-0-89141-044-7.
Kay, Alex J. (2021).Empire of Destruction: A History of Nazi Mass Killing. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press.ISBN 978-0300234053.

Military offices
Preceded by none	Commander of1st Panzer Division 1 October 1935 – 30 September 1937	Succeeded by GeneralleutnantRudolf Schmidt
Preceded by none	Commander ofXIII Army Corps 1 October 1937 – October 1939	Succeeded by GeneraloberstHeinrich von Vietinghoff
Preceded by none	Commander of2nd Army 20 October 1939 – 13 July 1942	Succeeded by GeneralHans von Salmuth
Preceded by GeneralfeldmarschallFedor von Bock	Commander ofArmy Group South July 1942 – 12 February 1943	Succeeded by GeneraloberstErich von Manstein
Preceded by none	Commander ofArmy Group F (Belgrade) 26 August 1943 – 25 March 1945	Succeeded by none
Preceded by GeneraloberstAlexander Löhr	Commander-in-Chief in the Southeast 26 August 1943 – 25 March 1945	Succeeded by GeneraloberstAlexander Löhr

GermanField Marshals andGrand Admirals ofNazi Germany

Marshal of the Reich
(Reichsmarschall)

Wehrmacht	Hermann Göring

Field Marshals
(Generalfeldmarschall)

Heer	Werner von Blomberg Fedor von Bock Eduard von Böhm-Ermolli(honorary) Walther von Brauchitsch Ernst Busch Wilhelm Keitel Ewald von Kleist Günther von Kluge Georg von Küchler Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb Wilhelm List Erich von Manstein Walter Model Friedrich Paulus Walter von Reichenau Erwin Rommel Gerd von Rundstedt Ferdinand Schörner Maximilian von Weichs Erwin von Witzleben
Luftwaffe	Robert Ritter von Greim Albert Kesselring Erhard Milch Wolfram von Richthofen Hugo Sperrle

Grand Admirals
(Großadmiral)

Kriegsmarine	Karl Dönitz Erich Raeder

v t e Major defendants at theHostages Trial
Convicted	Wilhelm List Lothar Rendulic Walter Kuntze Hellmuth Felmy Hubert Lanz Ernst Dehner Ernst von Leyser Wilhelm Speidel
Acquitted	Hermann Foertsch Kurt Ritter von Geitner
No decision	Maximilian von Weichs¹ Franz Böhme²
¹ Charges dropped due to failing health.² Committed suicide.

v t e Key people of World War II in Yugoslavia
Partisans	Josip Broz Tito Moša Pijade Milovan Đilas Aleksandar Ranković Kosta Nađ Peko Dapčević Koča Popović Petar Drapšin Svetozar Vukmanović Arso Jovanović Sava Kovačević Ivan Gošnjak Boris Kidrič Franc Rozman Mihajlo Apostolski
Chetniks	Draža Mihailović Ilija Trifunović-Birčanin Dobroslav Jevđević Pavle Đurišić Momčilo Đujić Nikola Kalabić Vuk Kalaitović Dragutin Keserović Vojislav Lukačević Petar Baćović Jezdimir Dangić Zaharije Ostojić Velimir Piletić Dragoslav Račić Zvonimir Vučković Predrag Raković Karl Novak Ismet Popovac
Germany	Maximilian von Weichs Alexander Löhr Edmund Glaise-Horstenau Artur Phleps Franz Böhme Paul Bader Lothar Rendulic Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig
Italy	Mario Roatta Alessandro Pirzio Biroli
Albania	Xhafer Deva Rexhep Mitrovica Xhem Hasa Gajur Deralla Aćif Hadžiahmetović
Independent State of Croatia	Ante Pavelić Slavko Kvaternik Dido Kvaternik Mladen Lorković Mile Budak Vjekoslav Luburić Mijo Babić Andrija Artuković
German-occupied territory of Serbia	Milan Nedić Dimitrije Ljotić Kosta Pećanac Kosta Mušicki Miodrag Damjanović Milan Aćimović Dragi Jovanović
Italian governorate of Montenegro	Sekula Drljević Blažo Đukanović
Province of Ljubljana	Leon Rupnik Ernest Peterlin
see alsoWorld War II in Yugoslavia andFactions in the Yugoslav Front