Enno von Rintelen | |
|---|---|
 WithBenito Mussolini (right) inCivitavecchia, 1 February 1942 | |
| Born | (1891-11-06)6 November 1891 Stettin, Germany |
| Died | 7 August 1971(1971-08-07) (aged 79) Heidelberg, Germany |
| Allegiance |  German Empire (1910–1918) Weimar Republic (1918–1933) Nazi Germany (1933–1945) |
| Branch |  Prussian Army (1910–1922) Reichsheer (1922–1935) German Army (1935–1944) |
| Years of service | 1910–1944 |
| Rank | General der Infanterie |
| Battles / wars | World War I |
| Awards | Iron Cross |
| Relations | Countess Clotilde of Nassau-Merenberg (daughter-in-law) |
Enno Emil von Rintelen (6 November 1891 – 7 August 1971) was a German general who served in the First and Second World Wars. During the latter, he was the Germanmilitary attaché in Italy.
Enno Emil von Rintelen was born inStettin on 6 November 1891,[1] the son ofPrussian ArmyGeneralleutnant Wilhelm Rintelen and his wife Hedwignée Russell. The family was ennobled in 1913, and added thenobiliary particle "von" to their surname. He was initiallyhomeschooled, then attended the Schiller-Realgymnasium in Stettin,gymnasiums inStargard andStralsund, thelyzeum inStrassburg, and the gymnasium inKüstrin.[citation needed]
Rintelen joined the Prussian Army and was promoted on 17 September 1910 as afahnenjunker in theGrenadier-Regiment „König Friedrich Wilhelm IV.“ (1. Pommersches) Nr. 2 [de]. He was promoted tounteroffizier on 27 January 1911,fähnrich on 23 May 1911, andleutnant on 27 January 1912, with seniority backdated to 30 January 1910. During theFirst World War he served on theWestern andEastern fronts. He wasadjutant of the III. Battalion of the 2nd Reserve Infantry Regiment from 2 August to 24 September 1914, then ordnance officer on the staff of the 81. Reserve Infantry Brigade from 13 January to 22 August 1915. He was promoted tooberleutnant on 18 September 1915.[citation needed]
On 13 December 1915, he joined the staff of the 2nd Grenadier Regiment, becoming adjutant on 13 January 1916, and a company commander on 15 September 1917. From 7 December 1917 to 23 May 1918, he was on the staff of the109th Infantry Division, except from 24 January to 4 March 1918, when he commanded the 227th Field Artillery Regiment in that division. On 24 May 1918 he was posted to the staff of theXI Corps. He joined the staff of the78th Reserve Division on 14 July, and the44th Landwehr Division [de] For his services, he was promoted tohauptmann on 18 October 1918. He was awarded both classes of theIron Cross.[citation needed]
After the war, Rintelen was one of the officers who was retained in theReichswehr. He married Ernina Boy-Kessler on 9 June 1920 in Stettin. The couple had a daughter and a son, Enno, who later marriedCountess Clotilde of Nassau-Merenberg. Rintelen was posted to the staff ofGruppenkommando [de] 1 in Berlin on 1 October 1921. On 1 October 1922 he was transferred to the staff of the6th Division inMünster, and then, on 1 October 1922, to that ofGruppenkommando 2 inKassel. On 1 October 1925, he assumed command of the 16th Company of the15th Infantry Regiment [de]. On 1 October 1928, he returned to staff duties on the staff of the2nd Cavalry Division.[citation needed]
Promotion was slow in the inter-war years, and he was not promoted tomajor until 1 April 1931 (with seniority backdated to 1 October 1929). Thereafter, promotion became faster, and he was promoted toOberstleutnant on 1 December 1933, and assumed command of the 1st Battalion of Infantry RegimentDöberitz on 1 October 1934. He was promoted toOberst on 1 October 1935, and entered theWehrmachtsakademie [de].[citation needed]
On 1 October 1936, Rintelen was posted toRome as the Germanmilitary attaché in Italy. He would remain in this post for the rest of his military career, although he was promoted togeneralmajor on 1 June 1939,generalleutnant on 1 June 1941, andgeneral der infanterie on 1 July 1942.[citation needed] After Italy entered theSecond World War in June 1940, he became the representative of theOberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) to the Italian High Command (Comando Supremo). As such, he was answerable to theOberkommando des Heeres, the OKW and the Foreign Office. He learned to speak Italian fluently, and established good relationships with the Italian civil and military leadership.[2]
When German troops started moving into Italy (Operation Achse), Rintelen exercised command over them, although operational units came under Italian tactical command. He was given the title ofDeutscher General bei dem Hauptquartier der italienischen Wehrmacht (German General at the Headquarters of the Italian Armed Forces).GeneralfeldmarschallAlbert Kesselring was appointedOB Süd in December 1941, but initially controlled only the air forces in Sicily. Rintelen was subordinated to him in October 1942, but could still communicate with the OKW directly as its representative in Italy.[2]
Despite his warm relations with the Italians, Rintelen was under no illusions about the military prowess of Italy, which he felt was exaggerated by theNazis due to their political affinity withfascism.[2] In May 1943, he submitted a report on combat effectiveness of the Italian armed forces, concluding that they "have not up to now fulfilled the missions assigned them in this war, and have actually failed everywhere."[3] He concluded that the Italians could not repel a full-scale Allied invasion of Italy without substantial German assistance. In response, OKW ordered Kesselring to reconstitute three divisions that had been destroyed in theTunisian campaign.[3]
When the Italian government changed in July 1943, Rintelen accepted the explanation of GeneralVittorio Ambrosio that it would have no effect on military operations and that Italy would remain in the war as an ally of Germany.Adolf Hitler did not believe it, and used Rintelen, whom he considered an "Italophile", as cover while OKW preparedFall Achse (Operation Axis) to disarm the Italian forces and occupy Italy.[4] When he found out about it, Rintelen considered it a breach of faith with the Italians, and urged Kesselring to resign rather than implement it. Rintelen went to see Hitler in person. Hitler was far from convinced, and suspected Rintelen was a traitor. Nonetheless, he let him return to his post in Italy as if nothing had happened.[5]
On 1 September 1943, Rintelen was transferred to theFührerreserve and was succeeded byRudolf Toussaint. On 31 December 1944, Rintelen retired, and was awarded theGerman Cross in Silver for his services. He had also been awarded the ItalianOrder of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.[citation needed]
Rintelen worked for the US Army's Historical Division in 1946 and 1947, writing a monograph on German-Italian Cooperation.[citation needed] He also wrote about his experiences in Italy in a bookMussolini als Bundesgenosse: Erinnerungen des deutschen Militärattachés in Rom, 1936–1943 ("Mussolini as ally: Memoires of the German military attaché in Rome, 1936-1943") (1951). It was translated into Italian but never published in English. He died inHeidelberg on 7 August 1971.[1]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
