Wilhelm Knüppel

Wilhelm Knüppel
Birth date	12 November 1902
Place of birth	Suckow an der Ihna, Kreis Saatzig, Province of Pomerania, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	26 September 1968 (aged 65)
Place of death	Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, West Germany
Allegiance	Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Reichswehr Heer
Years of service	1922–1945
Rank	Major General
Battles/wars	World War II Western Campaign Operation Barbarossa
Awards	Blood Order Iron Cross German Cross in Gold
Relations	∞ 27 November 1937 Ursula Thon; 2 children (son and daughter)

Wilhelm Knüppel (12 November 1902 – 26 September 1968) was a German officer of the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht, finally Major General in World War II.

Life

Colonel in General Staff (i. G.) Wilhelm Knüppel (left), General der Kavallerie Philipp Kleffel (right) and Generaloberst Georg Heinrich Lindemann (background) on 18 July 1943 during a visit of the Blue Division (250. Infanterie-Division).

Wilhelm was the son of the pastor and later school inspector Friedrich Knüppel and his wife Marie. He attended Gymnasium and achieved his Abitur. On 1 April 1922, he joined the Reichswehr as an officer candidate.

Chronology

• 1 April 1922 8. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment in Frankfurt an der Oder
• 21 September 1923 I. Course at the Infantry School in Munich
  • The School Commander, 20 regular officers and 80 officer candidates, among them Knüppel, were ordered to take part in the March to the Feldherrnhalle as part of the Ludendorff Assault Column (Sturmkolonne Ludendorff).
• 1 December 1925 Commissioned as officer in the 10th Company/III. Battalion in Görlitz
• c. 1930/31 Transferred to the 4th (Machine Gun) Company/I. Battalion in Frankfurt an der Oder
• Spring 1934 He passed the military district examination, which was the basic requirement for training as a general staff officer and was mandatory for every Reichswehr officer.
• 1 October 1934 to 30 September 1936 Attended the War Academy (Kriegsakademie)
• 1 October 1936 Commanded to the Staff of the Küstrin Border Command
• March 1938 Officlallytransferred to theto the Staff of the Küstrin Border Command
• 1 November 1938 Commander of the 5th Company/II. Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment 107 in Bad Kreuznach
• August/September 1939 Chief of Operations (Ia) in the General Staff of the 246. Infanterie-Division
• April 1940 Chief of Operations (Ia) in the General Staff of the XXXXIII. Armeekorps
• November 1942 Appointed leader of the Grenadier-Regiment 483 near Spass-Demensk
• January to December 1943 General Staff and Head of the German Liaison Staff of the Spanish Blue Division
  • During the repatriation of the Blue Division at the end of 1943, Wilhelm Knüppel arrived in Madrid, where he remained until January 1944.
• January/February 1944 Chief of General Staff of the XXXVIII. Armeekorps (renamed XXXVIII. Panzerkorps on 31 December 1944) in the north of the Eastern Front
• 28 January 1945 Chief of General Staff of the 4. Panzer-Armee at the Eastern Front
  • Until the end of the war, there were still retreat battles in the Ore Mountains and on both sides of the Elbe.
• 8 May 1945 to 31 March 1948 POW

Promotions

• 1 April 1922 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
• 1 October 1924 Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 1 September 1925 Oberfähnrich (Senior Officer Cadet)
• 1 December 1925 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
• 1 August 1928 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 1 September 1934 Hauptmann (Captain)
• 1 April 1940 Major
• 1 March 1942 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)
• 1 January 1943 Oberst (Colonel)
• 1 May 1945 Generalmajor (Major General)

Awards and decorations

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 3rd Class for 12 years on 2 October 1936
• Commemorative Medal of 9 November 1923
• Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 17 May 1940
  • 1st Class on 14 June 1940
• Eastern Front Medal on 18 July 1942
• Spanish War Cross on 18 July 1943
• German Cross in Gold on 15 December 1943 as Colonel in General Staff and Head of the German Liaison Staff of the Spanish Blue Division

Gallery

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