__NOTOC__ General Walter-Otto Weiß, also spelt Weiss (5 September 1890 – 21 December 1967), was a German 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In 1945 he became commander in chief of

Army Group North Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comman ...

on the Eastern Front. He was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves 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

Weiss was born in

Tilsit Sovetsk (russian: Сове́тск; german: Tilsit; Old Prussian: ''Tilzi''; lt, Tilžė; pl, Tylża) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania. Geography S ...

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 ...

and joined the Army on 19 March 1908. At the beginning of the Second World War, during the Polish Campaign, he was given command of I. Army Corps, holding the position chief of the general staff on 1 September. On 15 December 1940 he took command of the 97th Light Division, and on 15 January 1941 command of the 26th Infantry Division. This Division was subordinated to

Army Group Centre Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army for ...

and participated in

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

. Weiss took command of the XXVII Army Corps on 1 July 1942. Weiss led the 2nd Army on the Eastern Front from 3 February 1943 on. He received command of

on 12 March 1945 with which he surrendered to the American forces.

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 es ...

(1914) 2nd Class (9 September 1914) & 1st Class (15 December 1915)Thomas 1998, p. 429. *

Clasp to the Iron Cross The Clasp to the Iron Cross (Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz) was a white metal medal clasp displayed on the uniforms of German Wehrmacht personnel who had been awarded the Iron Cross in World War I, and who again qualified for the decoration in World W ...

(1939) 2nd Class (19 September 1939) & 1st Class (2 October 1939) *

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 19 February 1943 as ''

General der Infanterie General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imp ...

'' and commanding general of the XXVII. ArmeekorpsPatzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 504. *

** Knight's Cross on 12 September 1941 as ''

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-s ...

'' and commander of the 26.Infanterie-DivisionScherzer 2007, p. 776. ** Oak Leaves on 5 November 1944 as ''

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German ''Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. The rank was ...

'' and Commander-in-Chief of the 2. Armee

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Walter 1890 births 1967 deaths German Army generals of World War II Colonel generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves People from Tilsit People from East Prussia German Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Officers of the Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria) Reichswehr personnel