__NOTOC__ August Wittmann (20 July 1895 – 29 March 1977) was a general 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 ...

during

World War II 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 ...

. 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' ...

Life and career

August Wittmann was born in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

on 20 July 1895. He entered the

Bavarian Army The Bavarian Army was the army of the Electorate (1682–1806) and then Kingdom (1806–1919) of Bavaria. It existed from 1682 as the standing army of Bavaria until the merger of the military sovereignty (''Wehrhoheit'') of Bavaria into that of t ...

as a volunteer shortly after the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in August 1914, joining a Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment. Commissioned lieutenant in 1917, he left the army in December 1918. He then served with the

Bavarian State Police The Bavarian State Police (german: Bayerische Staatliche Polizei) is the state police force of the German state of Bavaria under the umbrella of the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior. It has approximately 33,500 armed officers and roughly 8,500 o ...

until 1935. In October 1935 Wittmann rejoined the army and was given command of a ''Gebirgs'' (mountain) artillery battalion, rising to lead an artillery regiment three years later. In June 1941, during the

battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island ...

, he was awarded the

for his leadership of a mountain artillery regiment. Becoming a divisional commander from February 1943, he commanded the 390th Field Training Division and then the 3rd Mountain Division on the Eastern Front, followed by the 117th Jäger Division and the 1st Mountain Division in the Balkans and Austria. He surrendered with his unit in May 1945. Wittmann ended the war as a ''

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...

'', after promotion to this rank in April 1944.

Awards and decorations

* Mentioned in the ''

Wehrmachtbericht ''Wehrmachtbericht'' (literally: "Armed forces report", usually translated as Wehrmacht communiqué or Wehrmacht report) was the daily Wehrmacht High Command mass-media communiqué and a key component of Nazi propaganda during World War II. Pr ...

'' (Armed Forces Report) of 11 June 1941 as ''

Oberstleutnant () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedis ...

'' and commander of ''Gebirgs-Artillerie-Regiment 95'' (95th Mountain Artillery Regiment) during the

. *

on 21 June 1941 as ''Oberstleutnant'' and commander of the 95th Mountain Artillery Regiment during the battle of Crete. *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Gold on 25 August 1944 as ''

'' and commander of the ''3 Gebirgs-Division'' (3rd Mountain Division) on the Eastern Front.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wittmann, August 1895 births 1977 deaths Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Battle of Crete German Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Munich Gebirgsjäger of World War II