Walter Wittke

Walter Wittke
Birth name	Walter Ernst Wittke
Birth date	26 September 1887(1887-09-26)
Place of birth	Danzig, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	20 July 1955 (aged 67)
Place of death	???
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army Freikorps Vorläufige Reichswehr Police Heer
Years of service	1907–1943
Rank	Generalleutnant
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Iron Cross, German Cross in Gold

Walter Ernst Wittke (26 September 1887 – 20 July 1955) was a German officer since 1907, finally Generalleutnant of the Wehrmacht in World War II. He must neither be confused with the film director Walter Wittke nor with the academic civil engineer Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr.-Ing. E. h. Walter Wittke from Hamburg.

Military career (day, month, year)

Generalmajor Walter Wittke, Commander of the 170. Infanterie-Division (Christmas celebration)

• Cadet Corps (Kadettenkorps)
• 14.3.1907 10. Kompanie/1. Masurisches Infanterie-Regiments Nr. 146
  • later he served in the 9th (1909), then 4th (1910–1912), then in the 2nd Company (1913–1914)
    • his younger brother Konrad (1890–1954) also joined the regiment, was promoted to Leutnant on 24 March 1909 (received Patent on 24 June 1909), to Hauptmann on 15 July 1918 and served in WWII as an Oberstleutnant of the Wehrmacht.
• 1914–1918 In WWI, he was transferred to the Fliegertruppe and served as an observer and/or pilot with the Feld-Flieger-Abteilung Nr. 15
  • 26 May 1915 wounded during aerial combat (Luftkampf) near Sniadowo/Kolno; his pilot, Oberleutnant Reinhold Rosenbaum, was also wounded and died the next day in the Feldlazarett 5.
• 1920 Discharged from the Vorläufige Reichswehr, transition to the Hamburg Police
• 1935 Commander of the State Police Bremen as successor to Police Colonel Hans Potel (1933–1935)
• 1.10.1935 Transfer to the Wehrmacht
  • Commander of the II. Bataillon/Infanterie-Regiment 4 in Deutsch Krone
• 1.4.1937 Commander of the Infanterie-Regiment 46 in Neumünster
• 1.10.1939 Commander of the 170. Infanterie-Division
  • 10.7.1941 After riots in Belzy, Romanians rounded up 400 Jews to punish them in retaliation for terror attacks on their military with dead soldiers. Wittke could, at the last moment, force the Romanian commander to limit himself to 15 male Jews as the regulations stipulated.
• 11.2.1942 Führerreserve
• 25.6.1942 General z. b. V. (at special disposal) of the Heeresgruppe Süd
• 9.7.1942 General z. b. V. (at special disposal) of the Heeresgruppe B
• 9.2.1943 Führerreserve
• 31.10.1943 Retired

Promotions

German Army

• 14.3.1907 Leutnant without Patent
  • 14.6.1907 Patent as 2nd Lieutenant received
• 24.12.1914 Oberleutnant
• 5.10.1916 Hauptmann (Captain)

Police

• 1920 Polizei-Hauptmann
• Polizei-Major
• 1930 Polizei-Oberstleutnant
• 1935 Polizei-Oberst (Police-Colonel)

Wehrmacht

• 1.10.1935 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)
• 1.8.1939 Generalmajor
• 1.8.1941 Generalleutnant

Awards and decorations

• Prussian Observer's Badge 1914 (Abzeichen für Beobachtungsoffiziere aus Flugzeugen)
  • Other sources state he received the Prussian military pilot badge (Preußisches Militär-Flugzeugführer-Abzeichen) on 15 August 1914
• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • EK II on 2 September 1914
  • EK I on 21 May 1915
• Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer on 10 October 1935
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 1st Class
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
• Romanian Order of Michael the Brave, 3rd Class on 19 September 1941
• German Cross in Gold on 19 December 1941 as Generalleutnant and Commander of the 170. Infanterie-Division