Alfred Wäger (17 August 1883 – 9 July 1956) was a General of the Infantry in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

who commanded several units. He was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

Career

After the beginning of the Second World War, Wäger was the commanding general of the XXV Army Corps. From 6 November 1939 to 23 December 1941, he led the XXVII Army Corps in the West. Finally, he commanded the Höheres Kommando z.b.V. XXXIV on the central section of the Eastern Front, which was defeated in the

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between September 1941 and January ...

. He was transferred to the

Führerreserve The (“Leaders Reserve” or "Reserve for Leaders") was set up in the German Armed Forces during World War II in 1939 as a pool of temporarily unoccupied high-ranking military officers awaiting new assignments. The various military branches and ...

in early January 1942 and finally retired in August 1942. Wäger settled in

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

and in the last days of the war was able to hand over the city to the advancing French without a fight. A bridge over the Oos river was named after him in 1995.

Sources

Alfred Wäger on lexikon-der-wehrmacht

Armed conflicts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wäger, Alfred 1883 births 1956 deaths People from Bamberg Generals of Infantry (Wehrmacht) German Army personnel of World War I German Army generals of World War II Reichswehr personnel Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Military personnel from Bavaria