Officer bios
Reichsmarschall
Reichsmarschall Hermann Wilhelm Göring
Offices held: Reich Minister for Aviation (1933-1945), President of the Reichstag (1932-1945), Minister President of Prussia (1933-1945), Reich Governor of Prussia (1933-1945), Reich Minister of Forestry (1934-1945), Reich Plenipotentiary of the Four Year Plan (1936-1945)
Commands held: Supreme Commander of the Luftwaffe (1935-1945)
Highest award: Golden Nazi Party Badge (Party), Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (military)
Hermann Göring was a World War I fighter ace and one of the last recipients of the Prussian Pour le Mérite award. He joined the Nazi Party in 1922 and became one of its most senior members. When they rose to power, Göring became one of the regime's leading officials, founding the soon to be infamous Gestapo, later ceded to Heinrich Himmler's control. He also became supreme commander of the German air force, the Luftwaffe. By 1944, Hitler's second-in-command was rapidly losing favour and growing stagnant on his morphine addiction. He requested for permission to take over as leader of Germany in the face of Hitler's impending suicide but in response was forced to resign from all his posts and flee in disgrace. Capture by American forces soon followed and he was sentenced to death at the post-war Nuremberg trials, but he committed suicide via cyanide pill the night before on October 15, 1946.
Generalfeldmarschall/Großadmiral
Generalfeldmarschall Graf Helmuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, VIII Army Corps (1840-1848), Chief of Staff, 4th Army (1848-1855), Personal Advisor to the Crown Prince of Prussia (1855-1857), Chief of the Prussian General Staff (1857-1871), Chief of the Great General Staff (1871-1888)
Highest award: Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle with Collar and in Diamonds, Grand Cross of the Pour le Mérite with Oak Leaves and Crown in Diamonds
Generalfeldmarschall Albrecht Theodor Emil Graf von Roon
Staff positions held: Prussian Minister of War (1859-1873), Prussian Naval Minister (1861-1873), Minister President of Prussia (1873)
Highest award: Order of the Black Eagle, Pour le Mérite
Generalfeldmarschall Edwin Karl Rochus Freiherr von Manteuffel
Commands held: 5th Uhlans Regiment (1853-1857), Army of the Main (1866), IX Army Corps (1866-1867), I Army Corps (1870-1871), 1st Army (1871), Army of the South (1861)
Staff positions held: Chief of the Prussian Military Cabinet (1857-1861)
Offices held: Governor of Alsace-Lorraine (1879-1885)
Highest award: Grand Cross of the Iron Cross
Generalfeldmarschall Karl Konstantin Albrecht Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal
Commands held: 31st Infantry Regiment (1860-1862), 14th Infantry Division (1866-1870), IV Army Corps (1871-1888)
Staff positions held: Personal adjutant to Prince Frederick Charles (1859-1860), Chief of Staff, III Army Corps (1862-1864), Chief of Staff, Army against Denmark (1864), Chief of Staff, 2nd Army (1866), Chief of Staff, 3rd Army (1870-1871), VI and II Army Inspectorates (1888-1896)
Highest award: Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, Pour le Mérite with Oak Leaves
Generalfeldmarschall Alfred Ludwig Heinrich Karl Graf von Waldersee
Commands held: 13th Uhlan Regiment (1871-1873), IX Army Corps (1894-1898), Supreme Commander of the Eight-Nation Alliance (1900-1901)
Staff positions held,: Chief of Staff, X Army Corps (1873-1882), Quartermaster General of the Great General Staff (1882-1888), Chief of the Great General Staff (1888-1891), Inspector, 3rd Army (1898-1900, 1901-1904)
Highest award: Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, Pour le Mérite with Oak Leaves
Generalfeldmarschall Alfred Graf von Schlieffen
Staff positions held: Deputy Chief of the Great General Staff (1886-1891), Quartermaster General of the Great General Staff (1887-1891), Chief of the Great General Staff (1891-1906)
Highest award: Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle
Großadmiral Prince Albert William Henry of Prussia
Commands held: 1st Torpedo Boat Division (1887-1888), SMY Hohenzollern (1888), SMS Irene, SMS Beowulf, SMS Sachsen, SMS Worth (1889-1890), Great East Asia Squadron (1899-1903), Baltic Sea Naval Station (1903-1906), High Seas Fleet (1907-1909), Baltic Fleet (1914-1917)
Staff positions held: Inspector General of the Navy (1909-1918)
Highest award: Order of the Black Eagle, Pour le Mérite with Oak Leaves
Großadmiral Alfred Peter Friedrich von Tirpitz
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, Baltic Squadron (1890-1892), Chief of the Imperial Naval Staff (1892-1896), State Secretary of the Imperial Naval Office (1897-1916)
Commands held: East Asia Squadron (1896-1897)
Highest award: Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, Pour lé Merite
Generalfeldmarschall Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg
Commands held: 91st Oldenburg Infantry Regiment (1893-1896), 28th Infantry Division (1900-1903), IV Army Corps (1903-1911), 8th Army (1914), 9th Army (1914), Supreme Commander East (1914-1916), Chief of the Supreme Army Command (1916-1919)
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, VIII Army Corps (1896-1897), Chief of the Great General Staff (1916-1918)
Offices held: President of the German Reich (1925-1934)
Highest award: Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross
Generalfeldmarschall Karl Wilhelm Paul von Bülow
Commands held: 9th Guards Regiment (1894-1897), Guards Division (1901-1903), III Army Corps (1903-1912), 2nd Army (1914-1915)
Staff positions held: Director of the Central Department, Ministry of War (1897-1901), Inspector, 3rd Army (1912-1914)
Highest award: Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle with Chain, Pour le Mérite
Generalfeldmarschall Anton Ludwig Friedrich August Mackensen
Commands held: 1st Life Hussars Regiment (1893-1898), Life Hussar Brigade (1901-1903), 36th Division (1903-1908), XVII Army Corps (1908-1914), 9th Army (1914-1915), 11th Army (1915), Army Group Mackensen - Poland (1915), Army Group Mackensen - Serbia (1915-1916), Army Group Mackensen - Romania (1916-1918), German Occupation Forces in Romania (1918)
Staff positions held: Adjutant to the Kaiser (1898-1900)
Highest award: Grand Cross of the Iron Cross
Generalfeldmarschall Leopold Maximilian Joseph Maria Arnulf, Prinz von Bayern
Commands held: 1st Royal Bavarian Cuirassier-Regiment (1873-1875), 1st Royal Bavarian Cavalry Brigade (1875-1881), 1st Royal Bavarian Division (1881-1887), I Royal Bavarian Army Corps (1887-1892), 9th Army (1915-1916), Army Group Prince Leopold (1915-1916), Supreme Commander East (1916-1918)
Staff positions held: IV Army Inspectorate (1892-1913), Inspector General of the Bavarian Army (1893-1913)
Highest award: Grand Cross of the Iron Cross
Generalfeldmarschall Albrecht Herzog von Württemberg
Commands held: 4th Guards Cavalry Brigade (1898-1900), 51st Infantry Brigade (1900-1901), 26th Infantry Division (1901-1906), XI Army Corps (1906-1908), XIII (Royal Württemberg) Corps (1908-1913), VI Inspectorate Corps (1913-1914), 4th Army (1914-1916), Army Group Duke Albrecht (1917-1918)
Highest award: Grand Cross of the Württemburg Crown, Pour le Mérite with Oak Leaves
Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Emil Gottfried von Eichhorn
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, VI Army Corps (1897-1901), VII Army Inspectorate (1912-1914)
Commands held: 9th Division (1901-1904), XVIII Army Corps (1904-1912), 10th Army (1915-1918), Army Group Eichhorn (1916-1918), Army Group Kiev (1918), Military governor of Ukraine (1918)
Highest award: Order of the Red Eagle, Grand Cross with Oak Leaves, Pour le Mérite with Oak Leaves
Generalfeldmarschall Martin Wilhelm Remus von Woyrsch
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, VII Army Corps (1892-1894), Chief of Staff, Guard Corps (1894-1896)
Commands held: 1st Guards Füsilier Regiment (1896-1897), 8th Guards Infantry Brigade (1897-1901), 12th Infantry Division (1901-1903), VI Army Corps (1903-1911), Landwehr Corps (1914-1916), Armee-Abteilung Woyrsch (1914-1917), Army Group Woyrsch (1916-1917)
Highest award: Order of the Black Eagle, Pour le Mérite
Großadmiral Henning Rudolf Adolf Karl von Holtzendorff
Commands held: I Battle Squadron (1905-1909), High Seas Fleet (1909-1913)
Staff positions held: Chief of the Imperial Admiralty Staff (1915-1918)
Highest award: Order of the Black Eagle with Collar, Pour le Mérite with Oak Leaves
Generalfeldmarschall Werner Eduard Fritz von Blomberg
Staff positions held: Chief of the Troop Office (1927-1929), Minister of Defence (1933-1935), Reich Minister of War (1935-1938)
Commands held: 1st Division, Wehrkreis I (1929-1933)
Highest award: Pour le Mérite
The first field marshal appointed by Hitler, Werner von Blomberg became Hitler's defence minister after Kurt von Schleicher fell from grace. He oversaw the first initiatives to Nazify the armed forces and pushed for them to swear allegiance specifically to Hitler. However, a rivalry with fellow officer Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler caused his downfall when they and newcomer Wilhelm Keitel used information that his new wife was involved in pornography to force him to resign. Blomberg spent World War II in relative obscurity and died on March 13, 1946 in detention at Nuremberg.
Großadmiral Erich Johann Albert Raeder
Commands held: Head of the Naval Command and Commander-in-Chief of the Reichsmarine (1928-1935), Supreme Commander of the Kriegsmarine (1935-1943)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Hitler's first commander of the navy, Raeder served in this capacity from 1928 to 1943 after a period of stagnation for his involvement in the Kapp Putsch. He was promoted to Grand Admiral in 1939 for his valuable service to the Third Reich. Despite his competence, Raeder's growing outspokenness and insistence that the Kriegsmarine was unprepared for war caused Hitler to move him to the ceremonial office of Admiral Inspector and he resigned soon after. His time in prison after the war saw him continue a long-standing rivalry with his successor Karl Dönitz. Following his release on ill-health in 1955, Raeder died on November 6, 1960.
Generalfeldmarschall Moritz Albrecht Franz Friedrich Fedor von Bock
Commands held: 2nd Division, Wehrkreis II (1931-1935), II Army Corps (1935), Gruppenkommando 3 (1936-1938), Gruppenkommando 1 (1938-1939), Army Group North (1939), Army Group B (1940-1941), Army Group Centre (1941)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, Pour le Mérite
One of Hitler's earliest favourite commanders, Fedor von Bock was among the few top officers still serving after the Blomberg-Fritsch scandal. He commanded the invasion of Vienna for the Anschluss with Austria and Army Group North for the invasion of Poland in 1939. Bock then led Army Group B in the Battle of France, where his successes earned him the rank of field marshal in 1940. However, the failure of Operation Barbarossa, particularly the entry into Moscow destroyed his standing with Hitler and he was relieved of command. Bock died on May 4, 1945 after a British strafing attack on his family's car.
Generalfeldmarschall Walther Heinrich Alfred Hermann von Brauchitsch
Commands held: 1st Division, Wehrkreis I (1933-1935), I Army Corps, Wehrkreis I (1935-1938), Supreme Commander of the Army (1938-1941)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Walther von Brauchitsch succeeded the disgraced Werner von Fritsch as Supreme Commander of the Army following the Blomberg-Fritsch scandal. Loyal and strong in front of his colleagues, Brauchitsch devolved into a nervous wreck around Hitler. He was one of the twelve generals promoted to field marshal in 1940. Failures to take Moscow in 1941 and an incurable cardiac disease caused his dismissal, and Hitler himself became the new army supreme commander. Brauchitsch died in a British-controlled military hospital in Hamburg on October 18, 1948.
Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring
Staff positions held: Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff (1936-1937)
Commands held: Luftgau I (1937-1938), Luftflotte 1 (1938-1940), Luftflotte 2 (1940-1943), Commander-in-Chief South (1943-1944, 1945), Commander-in-Chief West (1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
A Luftwaffe field marshal and Commander-in-Chief of German forces in the south. He was in charge of the entire Mediterranean theater, including North Africa. Late in the war, he was transferred to relieve Gerd von Rundstedt's command of the Western Front and became Commander-in-Chief West for the rest of the war, surrendering to American forces in May 1945. Kesselring was convicted of war crimes after the German surrender and sentenced to death, which was eventually commuted to life imprisonment. Lobbying from the media and political groups led to his release on health grounds, much to the consternation of the Italians who suffered the most from his campaigns. He died of a heart attack on July 16, 1960.
Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel
Staff positions held: Head of the Armed Forces Office, Reich Ministry of War (1935-1938), Chief of the Armed Forces High Command (1938-1945), Chief of the Army General Staff (acting, 1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
When Hitler came to power, Wilhelm Keitel was head of the all-important Armed Forces Office of the Reichswehr, the oversight body for the army, navy and air force. This poised him for future prominence as his superiors Werner von Blomberg and Werner von Fritsch fell from grace due to scandal. He was promoted to field marshal in 1940 and subsequently supervised a bloody campaign on the Eastern Front, signing the infamous Commissar Order authorizing the mass murder of Soviet political commissars. Much of the high command disparaged him as a useless, servile mouthpiece for Hitler and nicknamed him "Lakeitel" (Lakai, the German word for lackey and his surname). After the war, Keitel was arrested and sentenced to death by hanging at Nuremberg, which was carried out on October 10, 1946.
Generalfeldmarschall Günther Adolf Ferdinand von Kluge
Commands held: 6th Division, Wehrkreis VI (1934-1935), VI Army Corps, Wehrkreis VI (1935-1938), 4th Army (1939-1941), Army Group Centre (1941-1943), Commander-in-Chief West (1944)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Rundstedt's replacement as Commander-in-Chief West after the latter is dismissed for defeatism. Kluge previously commanded Army Group Center on the Eastern Front until 1943 when he was badly injured in a car accident. He was one of the twelve field marshals promoted in 1940. He famously signed an order decreeing that all women in Soviet military uniform were to be shot. Kluge was relieved of his command a month after arriving in France and summoned to Berlin to meet Hitler. Convinced that he was implicated in the 20 July plot, he committed suicide with potassium cyanide en route and died on August 19, 1944.
Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Josef Franz Ritter von Leeb
Commands held: Gruppenkommando 2 (1933-1938), 12th Army (1938-1939), Army Group C (1939-1941), Army Group North (1941-1942)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Generalfeldmarschall Siegmund Wilhelm Walther List
Commands held: 4th Division, Wehrkreis IV (1933-1935), IV Army Corps, Wehrkreis IV (1935-1938), Gruppenkommando 5 (1938), Gruppenkommando 2 (1938-1939), 14th Army (1939), 12th Army (1939-1941), Commander-in-Chief Balkans (1941), Army Group A (1942)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Generalfeldmarschall Erhard Milch
Staff positions held: State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Aviation (1933- 1940), Air Inspector General (1940-1945)
Commands held: Luftflotte 5 (1940)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Generalfeldmarschall Walter Karl Ernst August von Reichenau
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff to the Inspector of Signals, Ministry of Defence (1930-1932), Head of the Ministerial Office, Ministry of Defence (1933-1935)
Commands held: 7th Division, Wehrkreis VII (1935-1938), 10th Army (1939), 6th Army (1939-1941), Army Group South (1941-1942)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Generalfeldmarschall Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt
Commands held: 3rd Division, Wehrkreis III (1932), Gruppenkommando 1 (1932-1938), Army Group South (1939), Army Group A (1939-1940), Commander-in-Chief West (1940-1941), Army Group South (1941), Commander-in-Chief West (1942-1944, 1944-1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Gerd von Rundstedt is a veteran German officer who retired shortly before the Second World War but was recalled to lead troops invading Poland as commander of Army Group South and during Operation Barbarossa. He was one of the twelve generals that Hitler promoted to field marshal in 1940. Despite being retired by Hitler twice (the first for withdrawing troops in Rostov, and the second for defeatism on the Western Front), it never lasted long. Hitler retired him for the last time as commander-in-chief of German forces in the West for letting the Allies establish a bridgehead over the Rhine and replaced him with Albert Kesselring. Rundstedt was saved from being tried for war crimes due to poor health, and died of heart failure on October 4, 1952.
Generalfeldmarschall Hugo Otto Sperrle
Commands held: 8th Infantry Regiment (1933-1934), Fliegerdivision 1 (1934-1935), Luftkreis II (1935), Luftkreis V (1935-1936), Condor Legion (1936-1937), Luftgruppenkommando 3 (1938), Luftflotte 3 (1939-1944)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
A Luftwaffe field marshal and commander of Air Fleet 3, the aerial division protecting Western Front airspace. A veteran reconnaisance officer from World War I and famously the first commander of the Condor Legion, Sperrle was one of twelve generals promoted to field marshal in 1940 and was instrumental in carrying out the bombing campaign of London known as the Blitz. Failures and incompetence in the defence of Normandy led to his dismissal in August 1944. Sperrle was acquitted in post-war trials and lived a quiet retirement until his death on April 2, 1953.
Generalfeldmarschall Job Wilhelm Georg Erdmann Erwin von Witzleben
Commands held: 3rd Infantry Division (1934-1935), III Army Corps, Wehrkreis III (1936-1938), Gruppenkommando 2 (1938), 1st Army (1939-1940), Commander-in-Chief West (1941-1942)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Generalfeldmarschall Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel
Staff positions held: War Ministry Liaison Officer to the Hitler Youth (1937-1938)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, Pour le Mérite
Erwin Rommel is a larger-than-life figure in both Western and Allied propaganda. He reached the peak of his fame as commander of the 7th Panzer Division and commander of German forces in North Africa. By the time he was sent to reinforce the Atlantic Wall in France, his failures in North Africa and closeness with Hitler caused friction with his superiors which contributed to the collapse of the Western Front. Peripheral involvement with the conspirators behind the 20 July assassination attempt on Hitler led to his death on October 14, 1944. Rommel chose to bite on a vial of cyanide rather than face a trial and risk the safety of his family. He continues to be honoured by Germany's current armed forces, the Bundeswehr to this day.
Generalfeldmarschall Georg Carl Wilhelm Friedrich von Küchler
Commands held: 1st Infantry Division (1934-1935), I Army Corps, Wehrkreis I (1937-1939), 3rd Army (1939), Army Frontier Command North (1939), 18th Army (1939-1942), Army Group North (1942-1944)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Generalfeldmarschall Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, Wehrkreiskommando III (1934-1935), Chief of the Operations Branch of the Army General Staff (1935-1936), Deputy Chief of the Army General Staff (1936-1938), Chief of Staff, Army Group South (1939-1940)
Commands held: 18th Infantry Division (1938-1939), XXXVIII Army Corps (1940-1941), LVI Panzer Corps (1941), 11th Army (1941-1942), Army Group Don (1942-1943), Army Group South (1943-1944)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Widely perceived as Hitler's most talented strategist, Erich von Manstein devised the now-historic strategy for the invasion of France - instead of a repeat of the disastrous Schlieffen Plan, German tanks would attack through the Ardennes forest and proceed to the English Channel, cutting off French and Allied forces in Belgium and Flanders. Had it not been for a lucky last-minute escape at Dunkirk, all enemy forces would have been captured. Manstein was sent to the Eastern Front, where his victorious siege of Sevastopol earned him the rank of field marshal. However, disagreements with Hitler resulted in him being relieved of command by March 1944 and replaced by Walter Model. Post-war, he was sentenced to twelve years in prison but served only four before getting released. Manstein helped establish the new West German armed forces, the Bundeswehr before dying in Munich on June 9, 1973.
Großadmiral Karl Dönitz
Commands held: Emden (1934-1935), U-boat flotilla Weddigen (1935-1936), Commander of the U-boats (1936-1939), Supreme Commander of the U-boats (1939-1943), Supreme Commander of the Kriegsmarine (1943-1945), Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht (1945)
Offices held: President of the German Reich (1945), Reich Minister of War (1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (military), Golden Nazi Party Badge (Party)
A Grand Admiral in the German Navy and head of the navy's U-boat arm until he succeeded Erich Raeder as Supreme Commander of the Navy in 1943, a position he held until the end of the war. Dönitz was a passionate supporter of National Socialism and insisted that officers in the navy share his views. As a result, Hitler elected Dönitz as his successor once Göring was dismissed. Several officers including Keitel are sent to his side throughout the movie. He was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Nuremburg trials and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Following his release, he retired to write his memoirs and died of a heart attack on December 24, 1980.
Generalfeldmarschall Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, Panzer Headquarters (1935-1938), Chief of Staff, XVI Army Corps (1938-1939), Chief of Staff, 10th Army (1939), Chief of Staff, 6th Army (1940), Deputy Chief of the Army General Staff (1940-1941)
Commands held: 6th Army (1941-1943)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Generalfeldmarschall Ernst Bernhard Wilhelm Busch
Commands held: 9th Infantry Regiment (1933-1938), 8th Division, Wehrkreis VIII (1938), VIII Army Corps (1938-1939), 16th Army (1939-1943), Army Group Centre (1943-1944), Army Group Northwest (1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Pour le Mérite
A habitual Yes-Man, Ernst Busch was commander of the 16th Army for most of early World War II, leading it for the campaign in France and Operation Barbarossa. He was promoted to field marshal for political reasons and for all intents and purposes was basically Hitler's "Keitel" on the Eastern Front, rarely taking initiative or questioning the Führer's orders. He replaced Field Marshal von Kluge as commander of Army Group Centre when he was injured in a car accident, and oversaw a humiliating string of defeats for which Hitler relieved him of command. Busch returned to favour in March 1945 and was placed in charge of Army Group Northwest (formerly Army Group H) to protect German coastline along the North Sea, where he surrendered to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery in May. He died in a prisoner of war camp in England on July 17, 1945.
Generalfeldmarschall Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist
Commands held: 2nd Cavalry Division (1932-1934), "Breslau Army" (1934-1935), VIII Army Corps, Wehrkreis VIII (1935-1938), XXII Army Corps (1939-1940), 1st Panzer Army (1940-1942), Army Group A (1942-1943, 1943-1944)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Ewald von Kleist led the first large-scale tank unit during the war, Panzer Group Kleist (later the 1st Panzer Army) with blitzkrieg visionary Heinz Guderian under his command. In 1943 Kleist was promoted to field marshal after replacing the disgraced Wilhelm List as commander of Army Group A. Disagreements with Hitler earned him a quick dismissal in March 1944 and he was later arrested on suspicions of being involved in the 20 July plot (his cousin was an accomplice) but avoided trial. Post-war, he was extradited to Yugoslavia and then the Soviet Union where he died of heart failure on November 13, 1954.
Generalfeldmarschall Maximilian Maria Joseph Karl Gabriel Lamoral Reichsfreiherr von und zu Weichs an der Glon
Commands held: 3rd Cavalry Division (1933-1935), 1st Panzer Division (1935-1937), XIII Army Corps (1937-1939), Army Corps "Weichs" (1939), 2nd Army (1939-1941), Army Group B (1942-1943), Commander-in-Chief Southeast (1943-1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Maximilian von Weichs was commander of the 2nd Army in early World War II until 1943 when he was placed in charge of Army Group Bnote for the invasion of the Soviet Union. The defeat of Friedrich Paulus' 6th Army at Stalingrad and Weichs' suggestion to retreat in response to the Soviet encirclement codenamed Operation Uranus caused Hitler to relieve him of command. Only a few months later, Hitler promoted him to field marshal and installed him as commander-in-chief of German forces in occupied Greece, the Balkans and later Hungary. Weichs was retired in March 1945 and arrested by American troops upon German surrender, but medical issues prompted his removal from trial before he could be judged or sentenced. He died on September 27, 1984.
Generalfeldmarschall Wolfram Karl Ludwig Moritz Hermann Freiherr von Richthofen
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, Condor Legion (1937-1938), Operations Officer, Condor Legion (1938-1939)
Commands held: VIII Fliegerkorps (1939-1942), Luftflotte 4 (1942-1943), Luftflotte 2 (1943-1944)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Generalfeldmarschall Otto Moritz Walter Model
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, IV Army Corps (1938-1939), Chief of Staff, 16th Army (1939-1940)
Commands held: 3rd Panzer Division (1940-1941), XLI Panzer Corps (1941-1942), 9th Army (1942-1944), Army Group North (1944), Army Group North Ukraine (1944), Army Group Centre (1944), Commander-in-Chief West (1944), Army Group B (1944-1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
Unlike the offensively-oriented Rommel, Walter Model practiced defensive warfare and was one of Hitler's best defensive tactical commanders. He spent most of the war on the Eastern Front and went on to command Army Group North after Ernst Busch was relieved of command. By 1944, he had become one of Hitler's favourite generals. Model became a field marshal in early 1944 and several months later was sent to relieve Günther von Kluge's command of the Western Front. He commanded Army Group B for the rest of the war and dissolved his command when it became clear defeat was inevitable. He committed suicide by self-inflicted gunshot on April 21, 1945.
Generalfeldmarschall Ferdinand Schörner
Commands held: 98th Mountain Regiment (1939), 6th Mountain Division (1940-1942), XIX Mountain Corps (1942-1943), XXXX Panzer Corps (1943-1944), Army Group A (1944), Army Group South Ukraine (1944), Army Group North (1944-1945), Army Group Centre (1945), Supreme Commander of the Army (1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, Pour le Mérite
Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim
Staff positions held: Head of the Luftwaffe Research Department (1938-1939)
Commands held: Jagdgeschwader 132 (1938-1939), V Fliegerkorps (1939-1942), Luftwaffenkommando East (1942-1943), Luftflotte 6 (1943-1945), Supreme Commander of the Luftwaffe (1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, Pour le Mérite
A Luftwaffe field marshal and World War I flying ace who was an early member of the Nazi Party. He commanded air fleets in Poland and Russia, including V Fliegerkorps and Luftflotte 6. On April 26, he was summoned to Hitler’s bunker to take command of the Luftwaffe and later sent to Plön to hunt for turncoat Heinrich Himmler. His tenure as commander-in-chief lasted for only a few days before he was captured in Austria, culminating in suicide on May 24, 1945.
Generaloberst/Generaladmiral/SS Oberst-Gruppenführer und Generaloberst der Waffen-SS
Generaloberst im Range eines Generalfeldmarschalls Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg
Offices held: Elected Representative, Landtag of Prussia (1849-1851), Prussian Envoy to the Diet of the German Confederation in Frankfurt (1851-1857), Prussian Ambassador to the Russian Empire (1857-1861), Prussian Ambassador to France (1861-1862), Minister President of Prussia (1862-1873, 1873-1890), Prussian Minister of Foreign Affairs (1862-1890), Chancellor of the North German Confederation (1867-1871), Chancellor of the German Empire (1871-1890)
Highest award: Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle with Collar in Diamonds, Pour le Mérite with Oak Leaves
Generaloberst im Range eines Generalfeldmarschalls Hans Georg Hermann von Plessen
Staff positions held: Adjutant to the Kaiser (1879-1888), Commandant of the Great General Staff and His Majesty's Orderly Adjutant General (1892-1897, 1914-1918)
Commands held: 1st Foot Guards Regiment (1888-1891), 55th Infantry Brigade (1891-1892), Chief of Mounted Feldjäger (1907-1914)
Highest award: Order of the Black Eagle with Diamonds and Crosses, Pour le Mérite
Generaloberst Max Clemens Lothar Freiherr von Hausen
Commands held: 101st Grenadier Regiment "Kaiser Wilhelm König von Preußen" (1890-1892), 32nd Infantry Division (1897-1900), XI Army Corps (1900-1902), 3rd Army (1914)
Staff positions held: Chief of the Royal Saxon General Staff (1892-1895), Deputy Chief of the Great General Staff (1895-1897), Royal Saxon Minister of War (1902-1914), Adjutant General to the King of Saxony (1914-1920)
Highest award: Order of the Black Eagle
Generaloberst Maximilian “Max” Wilhelm Gustav Moritz von Prittwitz und Gaffron
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, IX Army Corps (1891-1896), I Army Inspectorate (1913-1914)
Commands held: 6th Grenadier Regiment "Graf Kleist von Nollendorf" (1896-1897), 20th Infantry Brigade (1897-1901), 8th Infantry Division (1901-1906), XVI Army Corps (1906-1913), 8th Army (1914)
Highest award: Order of the Black Eagle
Generaloberst Moriz Freiherr von Lyncker
Commands held: 23rd Guards Grenadier Regiment "Königin Elisabeth" (1898-1902), 1st Guards Infantry Brigade (1902-1905), 19th Infantry Division (1905-1907)
Staff positions held: Chief of the German Military Cabinet (1907-1918), President of the Reichs-Militärgericht (1918-1919)
Highest award: Order of the Black Eagle, Pour le Mérite
Generaloberst Alexander Heinrich Rudolph von Kluck
Commands held: 34th Füsilier Regiment "Königin Viktoria von Schweden" (1898-1899), 23rd Infantry Brigade (1899-1902), 37th Infantry Division (1902-1906), V Army Corps (1906-1907), I Army Corps (1907-1913), 1st Army (1914)
Staff positions held: VIII Army Inspectorate (1913-1914)
Highest award: Order of the Black Eagle, Pour le Mérite
Generaloberst Helmuth Johannes Ludwig Graf von Moltke
Commands held: 1st Guards Grenadier Regiment "Kaiser Alexander" (1896-1899), 1st Guards Infantry Brigade (1899-1902), 1st Guards Infantry Division (1902-1904)
Staff positions held: Adjutant General to the Kaiser (1902-1904, 1914), Deputy Chief of the Great General Staff (1904-1906), Chief of the Great General Staff (1906-1914), Chief of the General Staff Headquarters (acting, 1914)
Highest award: Order of the Black Eagle, Pour le Mérite
Generaloberst Karl Wilhelm Georg August von Einem genannt von Rothmaler
Commands held: 4th Cuirassier Regiment "von Driesen” (1893-1895), VII Army Corps (1909-1914), 3rd Army (1914-1918)
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, VII Army Corps (1895-1898), Chief of the General War Department, Ministry of War (1898-1903), Prussian Minister of War (1903-1909)
Highest award: Order of the Black Eagle with Chain, Pour le Mérite
Generaloberst Johannes "Hans" Friedrich Leopold von Seeckt
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, III Army Corps (1913-1915), Chief of Staff, 11th Army (1915), Chief of Staff, Army Group Kiev (1915), Chief of Staff, Army Group Mackensen (1915-1916), Chief of Staff, 7th Austro-Hungarian Army (1916), Chief of Staff, Army Group Archduke Karl (1916), Chief of Staff, Army Group Archduke Joseph (1916-1917), Chief of Staff, Ottoman Army (1917-1919), Chief of the Great General Staff (1919), Chief of the Troop Office (1919-1920)
Commands held: Chief of the German Army Command (1920-1926)
Highest award: Pour le Mérite with Oak Leaves
Generaloberst August Wilhelm Heye
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, Landwehr Corps (1914), Chief of Staff, Armee-Abteilung Woyrsch (1914-1916), Chief of Staff, Landwehr Infantry Regiment Nr. 37 (1916), Chief of Staff, Army Group Woyrsch (1916-1917), Chief of Staff, Chief of Staff, Army Group Prince Albrecht von Württemberg (1917-1918), Chief of Operations Section, Supreme Army Command (1918), Chief of the Troop Office (1920-1926)
Commands held: 1st Division, Wehrkreis I (1926), Chief of the German Army Command (1926-1930)
Highest award: Pour le Mérite with Oak Leaves
Generaloberst Kurt Gebhard Adolf Philipp Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord
Staff positions held: Chief of the Troop Office (1929-1930)
Commands held: Chief of the German Army Command (1930-1933), Army Group A (1939)
Highest award: Prussian Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords
Generaloberst Thomas Ludwig Werner Freiherr von Fritsch
Commands held: 1st Cavalry Division (1931-1932), 3rd Division, Wehrkreis III (1932-1934), Chief of the German Army Command (1934-1935), Supreme Commander of the Army (1935-1939)
Highest award: Order of the Red Eagle
Generaloberst Ludwig August Theodor Beck
Staff positions held: Chief of the Troop Office (1933-1935), Chief of the Army General Staff (1935-1938)
Highest award: Iron Cross 1st Class
Generaloberst Johannes Albrecht Blaskowitz
Commands held: Gruppenkommando 3 (1938-1939), 8th Army (1939), Commander-in-Chief East (1939-1940), Military governor of Northern France (1940), 1st Army (1940-1944), Army Group G (1944, 1944-1945), Army Group H (1945), 25th Army (1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Generaladmiral Rolf Hans Wilhelm Karl Carls
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, Fleet Command (1933-1934), Commander of Ships of the Line (1934-1935), Flottenchef (1936-1938)
Commands held: Commander of German Naval Forces, Spanish Civil War (1936-1937), Navy Region Commander Baltic Sea (1938-1939), Navy Group Commander East (1939-1940), Navy Group Commander North (1940-1943)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Generaloberst Friedrich Karl Albert Dollmann
Commands held: 9th Division, Wehrkreis IX (1935-1939), 7th Army (1939-1944)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Commander of the 7th Army, the formation stationed in Normandy. Dollmann specialized in artillery command and by 1939 was Chief of Artillery in the Ministry of Defense. He was loyal to the new regime after Hitler rose to power but like most of the army was not a committed National Socialist. He was made commander of the 7th Army less than a week before the invasion of Poland and held this command for most of the war, thus becoming one of two WW2 German generals who never served on the Eastern Front. Dollmann's distinguished service would end abruptly after the fall of Cherbourg where Hitler relieved him of command despite opposition from von Rundstedt and Rommel. He died soon after under mysterious circumstances on June 28, 1944, the cause of death theorized to be suicide by poisoning or a heart attack.
Generaloberst Nikolaus von Falkenhorst
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, Wehrkreiskommando III (1935-1936)
Commands held: 32nd Infantry Division (1936-1939), XXI Army Corps (1939-1940), Commander-in-Chief Norway (1940-1944)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Generaloberst Friedrich Fromm
Commands held: Replacement Army (1939-1944)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Chief of Army Equipment and Commander of the Replacement Army. Fromm's position makes him crucial to the success of Operation Valkyrie due to being able to command all the soldiers housed in Germany and its occupied territories not in active combat zones. He remains quiet about the conspiracy in exchange for becoming a top official of the new government. When he discovered that Hitler survived the explosion, Fromm immediately tried to arrest Stauffenberg and the plotters but got arrested himself as a result. He hurriedly tried to cover his tracks when the coup fell apart and sentenced all conspirators within reach to death by firing squad (except Beck, who chose to shoot himself), but this only further proved his guilt. He was executed by firing squad on March 12, 1945.
Generaloberst Heinz Wilhelm Guderian
Commands held: XIX Army Corps (1939-1940), 2nd Panzer Army (1940-1941)
Staff positions held: Inspector General of Armoured Troops (1943-1944), Chief of the Army General Staff (acting, 1944-1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Hitler's foremost expert in armoured warfare, Heinz Guderian pioneered (but did not invent) the infamous blitzkrieg tactic; the use of rapid tank warfare supported by motorized infantry and air support which fueled many of Germany's early victories in World War II. This was made official when he became the first Inspector General of Armoured Troops for the German Army in 1943. Despite never identifying himself as a Nazi and being one of Hitler's most rebellious generals, he nonetheless oversaw the politicization of the general staff after being elected Chief of the Army General Staff in the wake of the 20 July plot. Guderian was never prosecuted for war crimes because he cooperated with the United States after his capture in 1945, but remained an ardent German nationalist until his death on May 14, 1954.
Generaloberst Franz Halder
Commands held: 7th Infantry Division (1934-1936)
Staff positions held: Director of the Wehrmacht Manoeuvres Staff (1936-1937), Director of the Training Branch, Army General Staff (1937-1938), Chief of the Army General Staff (1938-1942)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Generaloberst Hermann Hoth
Commands held: 18th Infantry Division (1934-1938), XV Army Corps (1938-1940), 3rd Panzer Group (1941), 17th Army (1941-1942), 4th Panzer Army (1942-1943)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Generaloberst Erich Kurt Richard Hoepner
Commands held: 1st Light Division (1938), XVI Army Corps (1938-1941), 4th Panzer Group (1941-1942)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Generaloberst Alfred Keller
Commands held: IV Fliegerkorps (1939-1940), Luftflotte 1 (1940-1943)
Offices held: Korpsführer (1943-1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Generaloberst Hans-Jürgen Stumpff
Staff positions held: Chief of the Luftwaffe Personnel Office (1933-1937), Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff (1937-1939, 1945)
Commands held: Luftflotte 5 (1940-1943), Luftflotte Reich (1944-1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Generaloberst Ernst Udet
Staff positions held: Chief of the Development Wing, Reich Ministry of Aviation (1936-1939), Luftwaffe Director-General of Equipment (1939-1941)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Generaloberst Alexander Löhr
Commands held: Luftflotte 4 (1939-1942), 12th Army (1942), Army Group E (1942-1945), Commander-in-Chief Southeast (1943, 1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Generaloberst Georg-Hans Reinhardt
Commands held: 4th Panzer Division (1939-1940), XXXXI Panzer Corps (1940-1941), 3rd Panzer Army (1941-1944), Army Group Centre (1944-1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Generaloberst Rudolf Schmidt
Commands held: 1st Panzer Division (1936-1939), XXXIX Panzer Corps (1940-1941), 2nd Army (1941-1942), 2nd Panzer Army (1941-1943)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Generaloberst Hans Jeschonnek
Staff positions held: Adjutant to the State Secretary, Reich Ministry of Aviation (1934-1936), Chief of the Luftwaffe Operations Staff (1938-1939), Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff (1939-1943)
Commands held: Kampfgeschwader 152 (1933-1936), Head of Training Group III of Air Administrative Area I (1936-1938)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer und Generaloberst der Waffen-SS Josef "Sepp" Dietrich
Commands held: Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (1938-1943), I SS Panzer Corps (1943-1944), 5th Panzer Army (1944), 6th Panzer Army (1944-1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
The highest-ranking officer in the Waffen-SS and commander of the I SS Panzer Corps during the Battle of Normandy. Dietrich joined the Nazi Party in 1928 as Hitler's first chauffeur and bodyguard, receiving rapid promotions after the purge of the SA in the Night of the Long Knives. He commanded the elite SS division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler for most of World War II. The defeat at Normandy was followed by a calamitous defeat at the Battle of the Bulge. Having lost Hitler's confidence by failing to seize Germany's last oil reserves in Hungary, Dietrich surrendered to American troops in Vienna. Post-war, he received two separate prison sentences for the Malmedy massacre in Belgium and the SA purge in the Night of the Long Knives. Dietrich participated in the SS lobby group HIAG before dying of a heart attack on April 21, 1966.
Generaloberst Eduard Wohlrat Christian Dietl
Commands held: 3rd Mountain Division (1938-1940), 20th Mountain Army (1942-1944)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Generaloberst Georg Lindemann
Commands held: 36th Infantry Division (1936-1940), L Army Corps (1940-1942), 18th Army (1942-1944), Army Group North (1944), Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces in Denmark (1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Generaloberst Hans-Jürgen Bernard Theodor von Arnim
Commands held: 52nd Infantry Division (1939-1940), 17th Panzer Division (1940-1941), XXXIX Panzer Corps (1941-1942), 5th Panzer Army (1943), Army Group Africa (1943)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Generaloberst Gotthard Fedor August Heinrici
Commands held: XII Army Corps (1940), XXXXIII Army Corps (1940-1942), 4th Army (1942-1944), 1st Panzer Army (1944-1945), Army Group Vistula (1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Generaloberst Hans Eberhard Kurt Freiherr von Salmuth
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, II Army Corps (1934-1937), Chief of Staff, 2nd Army (1938-1939), Chief of Staff, Army Group North (1939), Chief of Staff, Army Group B (1939-1940)
Commands held: XXX Army Corps (1941), 17th Army (1942), 4th Army (1942), 2nd Army (1942-1943), 4th Army (1943), 15th Army (1943-1944)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Commander of the 15th Army, the formation stationed at Pas-de-Calais. Salmuth was previously chief of staff to Fedor von Bock before attaining command duties on the Eastern Front. He was transferred to the Western Front in command of the 15th Army in August 1943. One year later, the Allied breakout from Normandy and the disintegration of the front line in France led to Salmuth's relief of command. He remained off-duty for the rest of the war. War crimes pursuant to the Commissar Order earned Salmuth a twenty year prison sentence which was commuted to twelve years. He was released in 1953 and died on January 1, 1962.
Generaladmiral Wilhelm Marschall
Commands held: Commander of German Naval Forces, Spanish Civil War (1937-1938), Navy Group Commander South (1941-1942), Commanding Admiral of France (1942), Navy Group Commander West (1943)
Staff positions held: Commander of Battleships (1938-1939), Flottenchef (1939-1940), Inspector of Naval Education (1940-1941)
Highest award: Pour le Mérite
Generaloberst Walter Heitz
Staff positions held: President of the Reichskriegsgericht (1936-1939)
Commands held: Commander-in-Chief Danzig-West Prussia (1939), VIII Army Corps (1939-1943)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Generaloberst Bruno Loerzer
Staff positions held: Inspector of Fighters (1938-1939), Chief of the Luftwaffe Personnel Office and Chief of Personnel Armament and National Socialist Leadership of the Luftwaffe (1943-1944)
Commands held: II Fliegerkorps (1939-1943)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Generaloberst Friedrich August Eberhard von Mackensen
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, General Inspectorate of the Cavalry (1933-1934), Chief of Staff, X Army Corps (1934-1937), Chief of Staff, Wehrkreiskommando V (1939), Chief of Staff, 14th Army (1939), Chief of Staff, 12th Army (1939-1940-1941)
Commands held: 1st Cavalry Brigade (1937-1939), III Army Corps (1941-1942), 1st Panzer Army (1942-1943), 14th Army (1943-1944)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Generaloberst Heinrich Gottfried Otto Richard von Vietinghoff genannt Scheel
Commands held: 5th Panzer Division (1939), XXXXVI Panzer Corps (1940-1942), 15th Army (1941-1943), 10th Army (1943-1944), Army Group C (1944-1945), Army Group Courland (1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Generaloberst Karl-Adolf Hollidt
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, I Army Corps (1935-1938), Chief of Staff, Commander-in-Chief East (1939-1940)
Commands held: 52nd Infantry Division (1939), 50th Infantry Division (1940-1942), XVII Army Corps (1942, twice), 6th Army (1943-1944)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Generaloberst Alfred Josef Ferdinand Jodl
Staff positions held: Chief of Operations Staff of the Armed Forces High Command (1939-1945), Chief of the Army General Staff (acting, 1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (with Oak Leaves, unlawful)
Wilhelm Keitel's deputy and Chief of Operations Staff of the Armed Forces High Command, responsible for drafting and disseminating operational orders. Jodl was previously a staff officer in the Truppenamt, the predecessor to the OKW. While not as sycophantic as Keitel, Jodl's job descended into signing criminal orders on Hitler's behalf including the Commissar and Commando Orders. He signed the German instrument of surrender in 1945 before being brought to trial at Nuremberg. Jodl was sentenced to death by hanging alongside his superior which was upheld on October 16, 1946.
Generaloberst Kurt Zeitzler
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, XXII Army Corps (1939-1940), Chief of Staff, 1st Panzer Army (1940-1942), Chief of Staff, Commander-in-Chief West (1942), Chief of the Army General Staff (1942-1944)
Commands held: 60th Infantry Regiment (1939)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Generaloberst Lothar Rendulic
Commands held: "Schnellen Brigade" (1934-1936), 14th Infantry Division (1940), 52nd Infantry Division (1940-1942), XXXV Army Corps (1942-1943), 2nd Panzer Army (1943-1944), 20th Mountain Army (1944-1945), Commander-in-Chief Norway (1944-1945), Army Group Courland (1945, twice), Army Group North (1945), Army Group Ostmark (1945)
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, XVII Army Corps (1939-1940)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Generaloberst Hans-Valentin Hube
Commands held: 16th Infantry Division (1940), 16th Panzer Division (1940-1942), XIV Panzer Corps (1942-1943), 1st Panzer Army (1943-1944)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
Generaloberst Kurt Arthur Benno Student
Commands held: Commander of the Fallschirmjäger (1938-1945), 1st Parachute Division (1938-1940), XI Fliegerkorps (1940-1944), 1st Parachute Army (1944), Army Group Vistula (1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Generaloberst Günther Korten
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, Luftflotte 4 (1939, 1941-1942), Chief of Staff, Luftflotte 3 (1940), Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff (1943-1944)
Commands held: XI Fliegerkorps (1942-1943), Luftflotte 1 (1943)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer und Generaloberst der Waffen-SS Paul Hausser
Staff positions held: Inspector of the SS-VT (1936-1939)
Commands held: 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich (1939-1941), II SS Panzer Corps (1942-1944), 7th Army (1944), Army Group Oberrhein (1945), Army Group G (1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
A Waffen-SS general and Friedrich Dollmann's replacement as commander of the 7th Army. Hausser was previously an officer in the Reichswehr. He joined the WW1 veterans' organization Der Stahlhelm which became part of the SS, rising to head the SS-VT, the predecessor to the Waffen-SS. He commanded the II SS Panzer Corps for most of World War II. In 1944, he replaced Friedrich Dollmann as commander of the 7th Army after his untimely death. Hausser commanded Army Group Oberrhein and then Army Group G for the last months of the war before being relieved of command. After the war, Hausser became the first spokesperson for HIAG, a lobbying group aiming to rehabilitate Waffen-SS members. He died on December 21, 1972.
Generaloberst Erhard Raus
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, XVII Army Corps (1939-1940)
Commands held: 243rd Infantry Regiment (1940-1941), 6th Motorised Infantry Brigade (1941), 6th Panzer Division (1942-1943), XI Army Corps (1943), 4th Panzer Army (1943-1944), 1st Panzer Army (1944), 3rd Panzer Army (1944-1945), XI SS Panzer Corps (1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Generaloberst Carl Hilpert
Staff positions held: Chief of Staff, Army Group A (1939-1940), Chief of Staff, 1st Army (1940), Chief of Staff, Commander-in-Chief West and Army Group D (1940-1942)
Commands held: LIX Army Corps (1942), XXIII Army Corps (1942-1943), LIV Army Corps (1943), XXVI Army Corps (1943-1944), I Army Corps (1944), Army Group Courland (1945)
Highest award: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
