Who was the highest commander of the German military during World War II?
676824#0
Franz Halder (30 June 1884 – 2 April 1972) was a German general and the chief of the "Oberkommando des Heeres" staff (OKH, Army High Command) from 1938 until September 1942, when he was dismissed after frequent disagreements with Adolf Hitler. During the invasion of the Soviet Union Halder insisted on focusing on Moscow, despite Hitler's objections. Until December 1941 Halder's military position corresponded to the old Chief of the General Staff position, which during World War I had been the highest military office in the German Imperial Army. Halder's diary during his time as chief of OKH General Staff has been a source for authors that have written about such subjects as Hitler, World War II, and the Nazi Party. In William Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", Halder's diary is cited hundreds of times.
Franz Halder
28954564#16
When World War II began, Hitler appointed himself to the unique title "First Soldier of the German Reich" ("Erster Soldat des Deutschen Reiches") and began wearing a gray military jacket with swastika eagle sewn on the upper left sleeve (contrary to depictions in movies and popular culture, Hitler very rarely wore his brown Nazi party uniform during World War II). Throughout the war, the only military decorations Hitler displayed were his Wound Badge and Iron Cross from World War I and the Nazi Golden Party Badge. Hitler's position in World War II was essentially supreme commander of the German Armed Forces ("Oberbefehlshaber der Deutschen Wehrmacht").
Military career of Adolf Hitler
9490205#0
Engelbert Endrass () (2 March 1911 – 21 December 1941) was a German U-boat commander in World War II. He commanded the Type VIIB U-boat and the Type VIIC , being credited with sinking twenty-two ships on ten patrols, for a total of of Allied shipping, to purportedly become the 23rd highest scoring U-boat commander of World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. It was Germany's highest military decoration at the time of its presentation to Endrass.
Engelbert Endrass
38382922#0
Kurt Renner was a German general (Generalleutnant) in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the 211th Infantry Division and the 174th Reserve Division. He was killed whilst in command of the 174th Reserve Division on 26 August 1943 by Polish underground forces becoming the highest ranking German officer killed by the Polish resistance during the war.
Kurt Renner
7745661#0
Joachim Schepke (8 March 1912 – 17 March 1941) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the seventh recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. It was Germany's highest military decoration at the time of its presentation to Joachim Schepke.
Joachim Schepke
6407967#8
During World War II, Schramm volunteered again for service in the Wehrmacht and, given the rank of major, served in various staff positions until he was selected as the official staff historian, or diarist, for the German High Command Operational Staff ("Wehrmachtführungsstab"), replacing Helmuth Greiner, whose removal was orchestrated by Martin Bormann, the head of the Nazi Party chancellery. Schramm's duties involved keeping detailed records about the day-to-day activities and decisions of the General Staff, which included the top military field commanders in the German Army. This allowed Schramm unprecedented access to the highest echelons of the German military and its inner workings.
Percy Ernst Schramm
6311049#0
Georg Stumme (29 July 1886 – 24 October 1942) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who briefly commanded of the Axis forces at the beginning of the Second Battle of El Alamein. He took part in the Battle of France, the invasion of Yugoslavia and the invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the highest award in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.
Georg Stumme
21422524#0
Desiderius Hampel (20 January 1895 – 11 January 1981) was a "SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS" during World War II who commanded the 13th "Waffen" Mountain Division of the SS "Handschar" (1st Croatian) and was possibly awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross ("Ritterkreuz"), the highest award in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. After the war the Yugoslavian government asked for his extradition to charge him with war crimes, but he managed to escape from a British internment camp.
Desiderius Hampel
35040542#3
During his Army service in Germany, Melvin learned German and developed an interest in German military history. The product of this was his 2010 biography of Erich von Manstein. Manstein is widely regarded as the most gifted German commander of World War II, but he was also a convicted war criminal who never acknowledged his own or the German Army's responsibility for the crimes committed on the Eastern Front while he held major commands there. In his prologue to the book, Melvin writes:
Mungo Melvin
17885#30
Throughout the history of Nazi Germany, the "Luftwaffe" had only two commanders-in-chief. The first was Hermann Göring, with the second and last being "Generalfeldmarschall" Robert Ritter von Greim. His appointment as commander-in-chief of the "Luftwaffe" was concomitant with his promotion to "Generalfeldmarschall", the last German officer in World War II to be promoted to the highest rank. Other officers promoted to the second highest military rank in Germany were Albert Kesselring, Hugo Sperrle, Erhard Milch, and Wolfram von Richthofen.
Luftwaffe