Walther Graessner

General of the Infantry Walther Graeßner

Walther Graeßner (born January 31, 1891 in Magdeburg , † July 16, 1943 in Troppau ) was a German officer , most recently General of the Infantry in World War II .

Life

Graessner joined the Metz Infantry Regiment No. 98 on March 24, 1909 as a flag junior and was promoted to lieutenant on August 22, 1910 . As such, he became adjutant of the 1st Battalion on October 1, 1913 and was deployed with his regiment on the western front after the outbreak of the First World War and mobilization . From October 1, 1914, he was used there as a regimental adjutant. On January 27, 1916, he was promoted to lieutenant and on March 4, 1917, he was transferred to the 66th Infantry Brigade as an adjutant. He was supposed to stay here until after the end of the war, in order to be assigned to the General Staff from April 29 to June 12, 1919 .

Then his company was taken over into the realm resistance and is first used it at the headquarters of the army brigade 4. From there on October 1, 1920, the transfer to the Rifle Regiment 7 and 1 January 1921 in the 12th Infantry Regiment of Dessau . From January 1 to 17, and from March 24 to April 22, 1921, he was simultaneously assigned to the staff of Artillery Leader IV. With his promotion to captain on March 20, 1922, he was appointed adjutant of the 1st battalion of the 12th Infantry Regiment. From August 1 to September 30, 1922, he was a machine-gun officer on the regimental staff. The time up to his appointment as company commander on April 5, 1925, he spent with various commandments. Initially for a year with military district command IV, then with the 8th company of the regiment and for a short time with the staff of the 2nd battalion. On October 1, 1925, he was transferred to the Reichswehr Ministry in Berlin and a year later to the staff of the 2nd Cavalry Division in Breslau . Graeßner was to stay here until he was appointed company commander in the 8th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment on February 1, 1929. On April 1, 1931 GRAESSNER was Major and as such from 1 October 1931 to 31 March 1934 in the headquarters of the 1st Division of Konigsberg added. Then he was promoted to lieutenant colonel at the Leipzig headquarters, from which the 14th Infantry Division was formed on October 15, 1935 , to which he then belonged as first general staff officer (Ia). As a colonel (since January 1, 1936) he acted as commander of the 53rd Infantry Regiment from October 12, 1937, and on July 1, 1939, he was commander of the supplementary troops of the XVII. Army Corps .

From August 26, 1939, he acted as commander of the replacement troops in military district XVII ( Vienna ) and, after his promotion to major general on October 1, 1939, from October 15, 1939 as commander of the replacement troops in military district XVII / 2. The 187th Division was formed from the association on November 9, 1939 , and Graeßner commanded it until February 5, 1940. He then took over in the same function until December 9, 1941, in the 298th Infantry Division, and in the meantime was promoted to Lieutenant General on October 1, 1941 . He was then transferred to the Führerreserve until February 17, 1942 and then appointed as the commanding general of the XII. Army Corps . In this capacity he became General of the Infantry on June 1, 1942. On February 16, 1943, after being seriously wounded, he was reassigned to the Führerreserve. Graeßner died on July 16, 1943 in the reserve hospital in Troppau.

Awards

Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class
Lippe War Merit Cross
Clasp for the Iron Cross, 2nd and 1st class
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on January 27, 1941

literature

Dermot Bradley : Die Generale des Heeres 1921–1945, Volume 4: Fleck-Gyldenfeldt , Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1996, ISBN 3-7648-2488-3 , pp. 380–381

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres , Ed .: Reichswehrministerium , Mittler & Sohn Verlag , Berlin 1930, p. 135.
↑ Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 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. 344.

personal data
SURNAME	Graessner, Walther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German officer, most recently General of the Infantry in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH	January 31, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH	Magdeburg
DATE OF DEATH	July 16, 1943
Place of death	Troppau

[Rangliste-1] Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres , Ed .: Reichswehrministerium , Mittler & Sohn Verlag , Berlin 1930, p. 135.

[2] Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 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. 344.