Walter 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1945 he became commander in chief of Army Group North 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 (), 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. While it was lower in precedence than the Grand C ...

Career

Weiss was born in Tilsit,

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

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 Jäger Division, leading the division with the rank of major-general until 15 January 1941. On 15 January 1941 command of the 26th Infantry Division. This Division was subordinated to Army Group Centre and participated in

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

. 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. From 27 July to 5 August 1944, this involved leading the 2nd Army's defence and withdrawal battles during the Russian summer offensive

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration () was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (), a military campaign fought between 22 June and 19 August 1944 in Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Byelorussia in the Eastern ...

between the

Pripyat Pripyat, also known as Prypiat, is an abandoned industrial city in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat (river), Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 1970 as the ninth ''atomgrad'' ...

and Bug River, including the evacuation of Brest-Litovsk on 28 July 1944. In January 1945, he asked

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

for permission to withdrawal his forces further west as a result of attacking forces under the leadership of Konstantin Rokossovsky having reached the Vistula Lagoon. Hitler denied the request. He also requested to withdrawal his forces from the town of

Grudziądz Grudziądz (, ) is a city in northern Poland, with 92,552 inhabitants (2021). Located on the Vistula River, it lies within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the fourth-largest city in its province. Grudziądz is one of the oldest citie ...

but was denied permission by Reichsführer

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

, resulting in a significant battle that destroyed much of the town. He received command of Army Group North on 12 March 1945 and was tasked with the defence of Gdańsk Bay which his forces were unable to achieve. He later surrendered the Army Group to the American forces. He died 21 December 1967.

Awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1914) 2nd Class (9 September 1914) & 1st Class (15 December 1915)Thomas 1998, p. 429. * Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (19 September 1939) & 1st Class (2 October 1939) *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), 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 repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold on 19 February 1943 as '' General der Infanterie'' and commanding general of the XXVII. ArmeekorpsPatzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 504. *

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

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

'' and commander of the 26.Infanterie-DivisionScherzer 2007, p. 776. ** Oak Leaves on 5 November 1944 as '' Generaloberst'' and Commander-in-Chief of the 2. Armee

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

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