(1900-09-18)18 September 1900 Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Province of Saxony, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died
1 May 1982(1982-05-01) (aged 81) near Ried im Innkreis, Bezirk Ried im Innkreis, Upper Austria, Austria
Allegiance
Weimar Republic (1920–1933) Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
Service/branch
Reichsheer German Army
Years of service
1920–45
Rank
General der Panzertruppe
Commands held
12th Army
Battles/wars
World War I (noncombat) World War II
Awards
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Other work
Arms Manufacturing
Walther Wenck (German:[ˈvaltɐˈvɛŋk]) (18 September 1900 – 1 May 1982) was a German officer and industrialist. He was the youngest General of the branch[1] (General der Truppengattung) in the German Army and a staff officer during World War II. At the end of the war, he commanded the German Twelfth Army that took part in the Battle of Berlin.[2] Wenck left the military after surrendering to the Allies. He was asked to become Inspector General of the Bundeswehr as West Germany was re-arming in 1957, but declined to take the post when conditions he set were not met, such as the Inspector General being the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, not just an administrative leader.
Historians consider Wenck a capable commander and a brilliant improviser, although incapable of the impossible task he was given of saving Berlin in 1945.[3][4][5]
^O'Reilly & Dugard 2014, p. 231.
^O'Reilly & Dugard 2014.
^Mitcham & Mueller 2012, p. 167.
^Mcateer, Sean M. (2009). 500 Days: The War in Eastern Europe, 1944-1945. Dorrance Publishing. p. 338. ISBN 9781434961594.
WaltherWenck (German: [ˈvaltɐ ˈvɛŋk]) (18 September 1900 – 1 May 1982) was a German officer and industrialist. He was the youngest General of the branch...
and American illustrator WaltherWenck (1900–1982), German army officer Wenk This page lists people with the surname Wenck. If an internal link intending...
Berlin to link up with the German Twelfth Army commanded by General WaltherWenck with the intention of heading west and surrendering to the Western Allies...
to relieve Berlin. Holste was to attack from the north while General WaltherWenck attacked from the west and General Theodor Busse attacked from the south...
proceeded to have an even more heated argument when Guderian insisted that WaltherWenck direct the offensive rather than Heinrich Himmler (the commander of...
demanded that General WaltherWenck be given a special mandate to command the offensive by Army Group Vistula. Hitler sent Wenck with a "special mandate"...
1230), High German lyric poet WaltherWenck (1900–1982), youngest general in the German Army during World War II Walther Wever (general) (1887–1936), German...
plan involved General WaltherWenck and his Twelfth Army. Wenck's army faced the Americans to the west. The new plan had Wenck attack with his army to...
Rokossovsky Ivan Konev Andrei Yeremenko Gotthard Heinrici Theodor Busse WaltherWenck Ferdinand Schörner Strength 1,000,000 280,000 192,143+ German soldiers...
would be lost. Keitel promised to exert the utmost pressure on Generals WaltherWenck, commander of XII Army, and Theodor Busse, commander of the IX Army...
the men to break through to General Wenck's 12th Army. Hitler further told them: "Send my regards for WaltherWenck. He should make haste, before it is...
of Kapurthala (1935) Walter Staudinger (1942) Ismail of Johor (1942) WaltherWenck (1943) Emmerich Jordan (1944) Samuel C. Cumming Paul de Smet de Naeyer...
Tangermünde c. 200,000 (195,000 German, 5,000 troops from the Soviet Union) WaltherWenck (12 Army) May 7 May 7 No commander for the 9th Army Germany All forces...
(13 May – 16 July 1943) Hans Röttiger (16 July 1943 – 24 March 1944) WaltherWenck (24 March – 22 July 1944) Wolf-Dietrich von Xylander (28 September 1944...
northern Germany and were placed under the 12th Army under General WaltherWenck. On May 7 it surrendered to US troops at Tangermünde with the rest of...
Ernst-Felix Fäckenstedt (24 April 1942 – 15 March 1943) Generalmajor WaltherWenck (15 March 1943 – 15 March 1944) Generalmajor Carl Wagener (15 March...
Hitler out of his rage, General Alfred Jodl speculated that General WaltherWenck's XII Army, which was facing the Americans, could move to Berlin because...
of breaking out to the southwest to link up with General WaltherWenck's 12th Army. Wenck's spearhead had reached the village of Ferch on the banks of...
ultimately managed to break through to the west to link up with General WaltherWenck’s 12th Army south of Beelitz and then to withdraw west to the Elbe, cross...
attack the Soviet forces encircling Berlin. The plan called for General WaltherWenck's Twelfth Army on the Elbe and Mulde fronts to be turned around and to...
link up with General WaltherWenck's unit, just south of Potsdam, because of the strong Soviet Red Army forces. On 28/29 April, Wenck's 12th Army held the...
General Christian Weber, SS General Dr. Friedrich Weber, SS General WaltherWenck, German Army General Richard Wendler, SS General Otto Winkelmann, SS...
Global Information
Weimar Republic (1920–1933)
Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
Reichsheer
German Army
General der Panzertruppe