Walter Krüger (General)

General of the tank troops Walter Krüger (center) with Colonel Heinrich-Walter Bronsart von Schellendorff (left) in France in June 1944

Walter Krüger (born March 23, 1892 in Zeitz ; † July 11, 1973 in Baden-Baden ) was a German general of the armored forces in World War II .

Life

Krüger joined the Royal Saxon Infantry Regiment No. 181 on March 17, 1910 as an officer candidate . In October he was assigned to the war school in Metz , his appointment as ensign on November 7, 1910 and his transfer to the Royal Saxon Hussar Regiment No. 19 on February 20, 1911. Lieutenant Krüger remained with this regiment (since August 18, 1911) until the outbreak of the First World War and came to the Western Front as platoon leader with Reserve Uhlan Regiment No. 18 . Here he was promoted to first lieutenant on October 21, 1915 and used as an orderly officer with the staff of the 24th Reserve Division (2nd Royal Saxon) . In May 1916 he took over as chief of a company in the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 107 . From 1917 on, Krüger was again active in the division headquarters and after his promotion to Rittmeister on August 18, 1918, he was given command of a battalion in Rifle Regiment No. 108.

After the end of the war, on December 18, 1918, he was transferred back to Hussar Regiment No. 19 and accepted into the Reichswehr . He then came to the 12th (Saxon) cavalry regiment and took over the 1st squadron in Grimma in August 1923 . From there he changed on April 1, 1929 to the staff of the 2nd Cavalry Division in Breslau . With simultaneous promotion to Major was admixed Kruger on October 1, 1931 as a speaker in the Cavalry Division (in 3) in the Ministry of Defense to Berlin . From 1934 to 1936 he was also a member of the Equestrian Committee of the German Olympic Committee in preparation for the 1936 Summer Games . During this period, Krüger was promoted to lieutenant colonel on October 1, 1934 . After the end of the Games, he was appointed head of the cavalry department in the Reich Ministry of War on October 1, 1936, and commander of the 10th Cavalry Regiment for one year. On April 1, 1937, he had become a colonel .

Walter Krüger (1941) (3 from left)

At the beginning of the Second World War, Krüger was given command of the Reserve Infantry Regiment 171 and on November 3, 1939, was entrusted with the command of the 1st Rifle Brigade. On February 15, 1940, he was finally given command of the unit and was used in the western campaign . Krüger was promoted to major general on April 1, 1941 , and as such, after the attack on the Soviet Union, from July 17, 1941, he was appointed to lead the 1st Panzer Division . From January 12, 1942 he was finally appointed commander and on October 1, 1942 promoted to lieutenant general. At the end of 1943 Krüger gave up command to take over the leadership of the LVIII from January 1, 1944 . Take over Panzer Corps . While at the same time being promoted to General of the Panzer Corps , Krüger was appointed Commanding General of the Panzer Corps on February 1, 1944 . He gave up command on March 24, 1945 and was transferred to the Führerreserve until April 9, 1945 . Then you put Krüger as the commanding general of the deputy general command and commander in military district IV . As such, after Germany's total surrender on May 10, 1945, he was taken prisoner by the British . He was later a US prisoner of war, from which he was released on June 26, 1947.

Awards

Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class
Knight's Cross of the Military-St. Henry's Order
Knight's Cross 2nd class of the Saxon Order of Merit with swords
Knight's Cross 2nd class of the Albrecht Order with swords
Clasp for the Iron Cross, 2nd and 1st class
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves
- Knight's Cross on July 15, 1941
- Oak leaves on January 24, 1944 (373rd award)
German cross in gold on August 27, 1942

literature

Dermot Bradley : The Generals of the Army 1921–1945. Volume 7: Knabe-Luz. Biblio Verlag, Bissendorf 2004, ISBN 3-7648-2902-8 , pp. 246-247.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres , Ed .: Reichswehrministerium , Mittler & Sohn Verlag, Berlin 1930, p. 132
↑ ^a ^b Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 1939–1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 479.

Web links

Commons : Walter Krüger (General) - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

personal data
SURNAME	Kruger, Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German General of the Armored Force in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH	March 23, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH	Time
DATE OF DEATH	July 11, 1973
Place of death	Baden-Baden

[Rangliste-1] Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres , Ed .: Reichswehrministerium , Mittler & Sohn Verlag, Berlin 1930, p. 132

[Scherzer-2] Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 1939–1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 479.