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Gustav Anton von Wietersheim (11 February 1884 – 25 April 1974) was an officer in the German Army from 1902 to 1942, and a General in the Heer during World War II. He led the XIV Motorized Corps (after 21 June 1942, XIV Panzer Corps) from its creation on 1 April 1938 until 14 September 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad.〔Notes on dates related to XIV Motorized/Panzer Corps from Samuel W. Mitcham, ''The Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of World War II and Their Commanders (Westport'': Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000), 263.〕 ==Early history, World War I, and Reichswehr== Little is known about Wietersheim's early life; most of it must be derived from the nature of his military training, assignments, and known activities. He was born in Breslau in 1884, at that time part of the German Empire, now present-day Wrocław, in Polish Silesia, attended a ''Kadettenanstalt'' (an institute for military cadets), and began his military career as soon as he came of age, receiving his commission (''patent'') as a ''Leutnant'' (second lieutenant) in June 1902, shortly after his 18th birthday. After serving for a year with the rank of ''Fähnrich'', or ensign, conceivably while continuing his officer training, Wietersheim received his commissioned rank in November 1903 and was assigned to the 4th Guards Grenadiers. This unit was one of five regiments designated grenadiers in the Prussian Guards. The Guards were the most prestigious formation in the Imperial German Army. Of course, those officers with influential connections, especially via the links of the Prussian nobility, could gain a place in the Guards regiments much more readily than an officer who was merely qualified in a technical sense. Wietersheim in all likelihood held such connections, evidenced not only because of the "von" in his name, signifying his status as a ''Junker'', or landed aristocrat of Prussian lineage (of which German Silesian Breslau was a part),〔Also, John Wingate and Leo Kessler, on p. 69 of their book, ''Betrayal at Venlo: The Secret Story of Appeasement and Treachery, 1939-1945'' (London: L. Cooper, 1991), refer to Wietersheim as an "aristocratic Prussian officer."〕 but by the basic requirements the army had of its officers in the issue of their placement. That is, the realistic possibility of a non-Prussian, non-noble officer being given a guards position as their first assignment was very low, if not impossible, in the Imperial German Army, although this is complicated by the fact that the second half of the 19th century saw an obsession among the industrial class to "aristocratize" themselves by obtaining for their sons these very kind of positions traditionally limited to the Prussian nobility.〔Han-Ulrich Wehler, ''The German Empire, 1871-1918'', trans. Kim Traynor (Oxford: Berg Publishers, 1985), 45.〕 Yet whether Wietersheim's family was "new" or "old" aristocracy, he must have shown a high degree of personal skill to have been assigned to one of the elite grenadier units, as over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries the German General Staff increasingly emphasized individual skill in the assignment of position in the military hierarchyas long as one had the requisite pedigree.〔See Trevor Nevitt Dupuy, A Genius for War: The German Army and General Staff, 1807-1945 (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1977).〕 From 1903 until the end the First World War Wietersheim served in the Guards, as his service records do not denote a change in assignment until after the war had ended. It is not clear in what exact capacity Wietersheim served in the 4th Guards Grenadiers, nor what his specific accomplishments were, but he was given the ''Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer'', or Honor Cross for (World War I) Combatants, which was awarded by President and Field Marshal, Paul von Hindenburg, for those who, at least in theory, had some kind of front line assignment. In reality, it was mainly intended as a commemorative medal for Great War veterans, so Wietersheim may or may not have actually seen combat and still have received a medal. He was however awarded the Iron Cross, both 1st and 2nd Class, during World War I as well, so he must have continued to impress his superiors regardless of the duties he was assigned. Given that the majority of his overall career was spent as a staff officer, it is most likely that Wietersheim served as an officer of the General Staff attached to his Garde du Corps unit. Indeed, after the war, as one of the 4,000 officers Germany was allowed to maintain in its army, Wietersheim had two simultaneous General Staff assignments,〔Although the General Staff was officially outlawed by the Treaty of Versailles, the Germany army effectively set up the same system of general staff activity through the ''Truppenamt'', the Troop Office.〕 as a ''Hauptmann'' (captain) in the staff of the 3rd Division, and also the general staff of the XXV Reserve Corps.〔See Wietersheim's bio, from Wolf Keiling's ''Die Generale des Heeres'' (1983), p. 370 (in German): ()〕 During the 1920s, Wietersheim continued to climb slowly up the ladder of ranks in the Reichswehr (the very selective 100,000-man army Germany was allowed by the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles), as even experienced officers still had to compete with the other, as mentioned, 4,000 highly qualified officers serving in the army's few, abridged units. The exact dates of promotion after his 1903 assignment as a second lieutenant are not available until he was made an ''Oberstleutnant'' (lieutenant colonel) in February 1930, although he entered the Reichswehr as a captain and remained so for quite some time; Telford Taylor lists him as still at this rank in April 1924.〔Telford Taylor, ''Sword and Swastika: Generals and Nazis in the Third Reich'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1952), 402-403.〕 Eventually, though, he was promoted to Major and was made an ''Abteilungsleiter'', or department manager, at the Reich Defense Ministry (''Reichswehrministerium''), the governmental organ that determined the overarching policy of the Reichswehr in relation to the Weimar Republic.〔Wietershiem's bio from ''Die Generale des Heeres'' says, "Anschließend diente er als Major und Abteilungsleiter im Reichs-Kriegsministerium (von Wietersheim served as a major and department manager in the Reichs-Kriegsministerium )," which is a misleading comment, as this body was not called the Reichskriegsministerium until it was reorganized out of the Weimar's/Reichswehr's Reichwehrministerium upon the formation of the Wehrmacht in 1935; further, Wietersheim's rank of major only lasted until 1930. He did however continue to serve in the ministry until 1936, after the transition and his promotion to lieutenant colonel in 1930.〕 During the early 1930s, Wietersheim served as the Chief of Staff of the 3rd Division and continued his work with the Defense Ministry. He was promoted to ''Oberst'' (colonel) in November 1932 and to ''Generalmajor'' (major general) in July 1934. When the Defense Ministry was reorganized as the War Ministry (''Reichskriegministerium'') under Adolf Hitler, chancellor of Germany and dictator since 1933, in 1935 to match Hitler's simultaneous dissolution of the Reichswehr and creation of the greatly expanded, war-oriented Wehrmacht, Wietersheim was made the ''Oberquartiermeister'' I (O. Qu. I) of the General Staff. This position, "immediately subordinated to the Chief of the General Staff," entailed the control of several departments of General Staff, "carrying command of the operations, transport and supply sections."〔Taylor, 101.〕 As the General Staff was put on a war footing, this high-level logistics command was a "key position," and von Wietersheim, "a brilliant ''Generalmajor''," held this role from March 1935 until later-Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, at that time junior to von Wietersheim, took over for him in October 1936.〔 During this time Wietersheim had been promoted to ''Generalleutnant'', in April 1936, and, after handing over his post as O. Qu. I to Manstein, he took over command of the 29th Division his first real position outside the internal command structure of the General Staff. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gustav Anton von Wietersheim」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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