Nickname: No information
Date of Birth: 18 April 1900, Neuland, Lower Silesia, German Empire (now Lwówek Śląski, Poland)
Date of Death: 19 September 1975, Bad Honnef-Aegidienberg (West Germany)
Battles and Operations: World War I, Invasion of Poland (1939), Battle of France (1940), Operation Barbarossa (1941), Battles on the Eastern Front (1941-1944), Operation Dragoon and battles in southern France (1944), Western Front (1945)
NSDAP-Number: No information (not affiliated)
SS-Number: No information (not affiliated)
Religion: No information
Parents: Walter Eduard Gustav von Wietersheim (1863-1919, chamberlain), mother unknown
Siblings: Mark von Wietersheim, Alfred Ferdinand Anton Gustav Eugen Gabriel von Wietersheim
Spouse: Rosi Dorothee Charlotte Paula Alexandra Margaret Anna von Cölln
Children: Gero von Wietersheim (1930-2018), Armin Hans-Georg Kurt Mark von Wietersheim (1931-2007)
Promotions:
01.04.1924 Leutnant
01.02.1930 Oberleutnant
01.09.1935 Hauptmann
01.08.1939 Major
01.01.1941 Oberstleutnant
01.01.1942 Oberst
01.09.1943 Generalmajor
01.08.1944 Generalleutnant
Career:
00.00.1914 - 00.00.1919 Fahnenjunker and service in World War I with 4. Husaren-Regiment "von Schill" Nr. 4
01.10.1918 Transferred to Reichswehr
00.00.1924 - 00.00.1938 Service in cavalry regiments of the Reichswehr and early Wehrmacht
00.00.1938 Transferred to Panzer troops as adjutant in 3. Panzer-Division
09.1939 Participated in Invasion of Poland with 3. Panzer-Division
00.00.1940 Commander of Kradschützen-Bataillon 1 / 1. Panzer-Division during Battle of France
20.07.1941 - 00.00.1942 Commander of Schützen-Regiment 113 / 1. Panzer-Division during Operation Barbarossa and Eastern Front operations under Panzergruppe 4
00.00.1942 - 00.00.1943 Commander of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 113 / 1. Panzer-Division on Eastern Front
04.03.1943 - 01.04.1944 Commander of 11. Panzer-Division on Eastern Front
00.00.1944 Commander of 11. Panzer-Division in southern France during Allied Operation Dragoon
10.04.1945 - 19.04.1945 Commander of XXXXI. Panzerkorps
05.1945 Surrendered to U.S. forces in Czechoslovakia near Bavarian border
Postwar: No further military service, lived in West Germany until death
Awards and Decorations:
Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse (1914) (05.04.1919)
Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse (1914)
Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz II. Klasse (1939) (01.10.1939)
Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz I. Klasse (1939) (20.05.1940)
Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz (1939)
Panzerkampfabzeichen in Silber
Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (24.12.1941 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Kradschützen-Bataillon 1)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (10.02.1942) as Oberstleutnant and commander of Schützen-Regiment 113 / 1.Panzer-Division. During heavy defensive fighting west of kalinin on the night of 19 to 20 october 1941, one of wietersheims weakened battalions came under attack by superior soviet forces, resulting in the line being penetrated in several locations. a soviet breakthrough in this sector would have allowed them to recapture an important railway bridge over the volga river. recognizing the criticality of the situation, wietersheim personally assembled his limited reserve forces and led them in a decisive counterattack that sealed off the soviet penetration points and restored the defensive line. this action prevented a potential collapse in the german position and was cited as the primary reason for the award.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #176 (12.01.1943) as Oberst and commander of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 113. At the end of november 1942, while operating in the toropez area, wietersheim was ordered to conduct a counterattack with his kampfgruppe against soviet positions. seizing a favorable opportunity, he advanced aggressively, throwing back numerically superior soviet forces and eliminating the immediate threat of a hostile breakthrough that could have compromised the german front. a contemporary newspaper excerpt described the event, emphasizing how his initiative turned a defensive crisis into a successful repulsion of the enemy.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #58 (26.03.1944) as Generalmajor and commander of 11. Panzer-Division. This award recognized wietersheims outstanding leadership of the 11 panzer-division during intense battles on the southern sector of the eastern front throughout late 1943 and early 1944. specific actions included directing defensive and counteroffensive operations against soviet advances, maintaining divisional cohesion under heavy pressure, and contributing to the stabilization of german lines in key engagements. his tactical acumen in armored warfare during this period, involving withdrawals and counterattacks in ukraine and related areas, was highlighted as exemplary, though detailed battle-by-battle accounts are generalized in sources as sustained excellence in command rather than a single event.
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Wend von Wietersheim was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II, born on 18 April 1900 in Neuland, Silesia, within the German Empire, now part of Poland. He rose to the rank of Generalleutnant and commanded several key armored formations, notably the 11th Panzer Division, during major campaigns on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. A recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, one of the highest military honors in Nazi Germany, Wietersheim demonstrated tactical acumen in defensive and counteroffensive operations against superior forces. His military career spanned from World War I through the end of World War II, after which he lived quietly in West Germany until his death on 19 September 1975 in Bad Honnef-Aegidienberg at the age of 75. Coming from a noble family with a tradition of service, his father was the chamberlain Walter Eduard Gustav von Wietersheim, who lived from 1863 to 1919, and he had siblings including Mark and Alfred Ferdinand Anton Gustav Eugen Gabriel von Wietersheim. He married Rosi Dorothee Charlotte Paula Alexandra Margaret Anna von Cölln, and they had two sons, Gero born in 1930 and Armin Hans-Georg Kurt Mark born in 1931.
Wietersheim's early military service began during World War I when, as a young Fahnenjunker, he joined the 4th Hussars Regiment "von Schill" Number 4 on 26 September 1918, shortly before the war's end. He earned the Iron Cross Second Class on 5 April 1919 for his actions in that conflict. Following the armistice, he was transferred to the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic, where he continued in cavalry units, being demobilized briefly on 15 May 1920 before reactivation. His interwar career involved steady promotions and assignments in various cavalry and motorized formations, reflecting the German military's transition from traditional horse-mounted troops to mechanized warfare. On 1 October 1923, he was assigned to the 2nd Squadron of Reiter-Regiment 12 in Grossenhain, and by 17 June 1925, he moved to the 4th Squadron of Reiter-Regiment 7 in Lüben. He advanced to Oberleutnant on 1 February 1930 and took command roles, such as chief of the 3rd Squadron of Reiter-Regiment 4 in Potsdam starting 1 January 1934. His promotion to Hauptmann came on 1 September 1935, and he shifted toward motorized units, serving as chief of the 1st Company in Kraftfahrkampf-Abteilung 3 in Wünsdorf from 15 August 1934.
By the late 1930s, Wietersheim fully transitioned to the Panzer forces, becoming adjutant of the 3rd Panzer Division in Berlin on 12 October 1937. With the outbreak of World War II, he participated in the invasion of Poland in September 1939 as part of this division, earning the Clasp to the Iron Cross Second Class on 1 October 1939. Promoted to Major on 1 August 1939, he then commanded the Motorcycle Battalion 1 of the 1st Panzer Division during the Battle of France in 1940, where his unit played a role in the rapid advances through the Low Countries and into France. For his leadership there, he received the Iron Cross First Class on 20 May 1940 and the Panzer Badge in Silver later that year. As the war expanded to the Eastern Front with Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, Wietersheim, now an Oberstleutnant from 1 January 1941, took command of Schützen-Regiment 113 within the 1st Panzer Division on 20 July 1941. This regiment operated under Panzer Group 4, later Army Group North, engaging in fierce battles around Leningrad and the northern sector.
One of Wietersheim's most notable actions occurred during heavy defensive fighting west of Kalinin on the night of 19 to 20 October 1941, where his weakened battalion faced superior Soviet attacks that penetrated the German lines in several places. Recognizing the threat to a vital railway bridge over the Volga River, he personally assembled reserve forces and led a counterattack that sealed the breaches and restored the defensive position, preventing a potential Soviet breakthrough. This feat earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 10 February 1942. Earlier, on 24 December 1941, he had been awarded the German Cross in Gold for his command of the Motorcycle Battalion. Promoted to Oberst on 1 January 1942, he continued leading what became Panzergrenadier-Regiment 113, and at the end of November 1942 in the Toropez area, he seized an opportunity to launch a counterattack with his Kampfgruppe against numerically superior Soviet forces, repelling them and averting a major breakthrough. This action led to the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 12 January 1943.
In 1943, Wietersheim assumed higher command, becoming Generalmajor on 1 September 1943 and taking over the 11th Panzer Division on 4 March 1943, leading it through intense Eastern Front battles in Ukraine and related sectors. His division's performance southeast of Kirovograd in late 1943 and early 1944, involving sustained defensive and counteroffensive operations against Soviet advances, showcased his tactical skill in armored warfare, maintaining cohesion under pressure and stabilizing German lines. For this outstanding leadership on the southern Eastern Front, he received the Swords to his Knight's Cross on 26 March 1944, becoming one of only 159 recipients of this prestigious award. The division was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 24 December 1943 for its distinguished combat alongside the 13th Panzer Division. Promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 August 1944, Wietersheim shifted the 11th Panzer Division to southern France in mid-1944, where it faced the Allied Operation Dragoon landings near Toulon and Nice in August. Tasked with protecting the German retreat up the Rhône Valley, his unit excelled in both attack and defense, earning another Wehrmachtbericht mention on 4 September 1944.
As the war neared its end, Wietersheim's division fought in the Battle of Lorraine and advance battles at the Western Wall in the Saar region, again praised in the Wehrmachtbericht on 24 December 1944 for magnificent fighting alongside the 25th Panzer-Grenadier Division. From 10 April to 19 April 1945, he briefly commanded the XXXXI Panzer Corps before returning to reserve status. He surrendered to U.S. forces of the 90th Infantry Division in Czechoslovakia near the Bavarian border in May 1945, marking the end of his active military service. Postwar, Wietersheim faced no major trials and lived in West Germany, passing away in 1975. His career was marked by a progression from cavalry to elite Panzer command, with additional decorations including the Wound Badge in Black, the Eastern Front Medal, and various service awards reflecting long-term dedication. Despite the controversies of serving in the Wehrmacht, his record highlights operational effectiveness rather than political involvement, as he was not affiliated with the NSDAP or SS.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wend_von_Wietersheim
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/W/WietersheimWv.htm
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/20818/Wietersheim-von-Wend-Hans-Georg-Herbert-Egmond-C.htm
https://www.geni.com/people/Wend-von-Wietersheim/6000000015233255164
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=160872
https://books.google.com/books/about/United_States_Army_in_World_War_II.html?id=1_duQav2AQAC
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Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z. Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
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