__NOTOC__ Friedrich Erich Walther (5 August 1903 – 26 December 1948) was a German

paratroop A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...

general 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 with Oak Leaves and Swords of

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 ...

. Walther commanded the Hermann Göring 2nd Parachute Panzer-Grenadier Division in

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

. He was promoted to

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...

on 30 January 1945. Walther surrendered to the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

on 8 May 1945. He died at Soviet Special Camp 2 on 26 December 1948.

World War II

During World War II Walther fought over much of Europe as a paratroop officer. In April 1940 he participated in the Norwegian Campaign as a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. In May 1940 Walther participated in the airborne attack in the Netherlands and was promoted to the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. In May 1941 he participated in an airborne attack on the island of Crete. Since September 1941 Walther fought on the eastern front, fighting near Leningrad. In January 1942 he was promoted to a

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. In July 1943 Walther fought on the island of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, later in mainland

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. In September 1944 Walther became battlefield commander, fighting in the

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...

area. In the end of September 1944 he became Commander in the East Front, fighting in

. In January 1945 until he became a Soviet

Prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

on May 8 the same year, Walther was ranked Generalmajor.

Awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

(1939) 2nd Class (18 April 1940) & 1st Class (26 April 1940) *

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 31 March 1942 as ''

'' in the I./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 *

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords 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' ...

** Knight's Cross on 24 May 1940 as ''Major'' and commander of the I./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 ** 411th Oak Leaves on 2 March 1944 as ''

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

'' and commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 4 ** 131st Swords on 1 February 1945 as ''Oberst'' and leader of Fallschirm-Panzergrenadier-Division 2 "Hermann Göring"

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walther, Erich 1903 births 1947 deaths Luftwaffe World War II generals Fallschirmjäger of World War II Military personnel from Brandenburg People from the Province of Saxony Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union German people who died in Soviet detention Major generals of the Luftwaffe