Henri Winkelman

Henri Gerard Winkelman

Henri Gerard Winkelman (born August 17, 1876 in Maastricht , † December 27, 1952 in Soesterberg ) was a Dutch general . In 1940 he was in command of the Dutch armed forces and signed the surrender after their defeat in the German campaign in the west .

Life

Winkelman graduated from school in 1892 and then attended the Koninklijke Militaire Academie in Breda . In 1894 he joined the infantry ; In 1896 he was promoted to lieutenant . Between 1902 and 1905 he attended the Hogere Krijgsschool in The Hague to be prepared for staff work. Employments in the General Staff of the War Ministry followed. In 1923 he was promoted to major . In 1931 he became Chief of Staff and in the same year took over command of the 4th Military Division as Major General .

Winkelman retired in 1934, but was reactivated in 1939 after the mobilization of the Dutch troops and was appointed Commander of the Dutch Air Defense . On February 6, 1940, he also assumed command of the army and navy . On May 10, 1940, the German attack on the Netherlands began , which they had little to counter. The Dutch government left the country and gave him the power to decide at his own discretion when the time was right to surrender .

On May 15, 1940, Winkelman signed the deed of surrender in Rijsoord and then supervised the demobilization of the Netherlands. In July 1940 he was deported to Germany, where he remained until the end of the war. On May 12, 1945 he returned and took command of the army again. In October 1945 he finally retired.

literature

• Alan Axelrod, Jack A. Kingston (Eds.): Encyclopedia of World War II. New York 2007. ISBN 978-08-1606-022-1 .
• Teo van Middelkoop: General HG Winkelman. Standvastig strijder (1876-1952) . Zaltbommel 2006. ISBN 978-90-5994-103-8 .