Maximilian von Weichs
Maximilian Maria Joseph Karl Gabriel Lamoral Reichsfreiherr[a] von und zu Weichs an der Glon (12 November 1881 – 27 September 1954) was a German Generalfeldmarschall (Field marshal) in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II.
Maximilian von Weichs
Born into an aristocratic family, Weichs joined the Bavarian cavalry in 1900 and fought in the First World War. At the outbreak of the Second World War he commanded the XIII Corps in the invasion of Poland. He later commanded the 2nd Army during the invasions of France, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union.
In August 1942 during Case Blue, the German offensive in southern Russia, he was appointed commander of Army Group B. In 1944, Weichs commanded Army Group F in the Balkans overseeing the German retreat from Greece and most of Yugoslavia. During the Nuremberg Trials, Weichs was implicated in war crimes committed in the Balkans, and was scheduled to take part in the US Army's Hostages Trial. He was removed from the proceeding for "medical reasons" without having been judged or sentenced.
Early life and career[edit]
World War I[edit]
Born in 1881 into an aristocratic family, Maximilian von Weichs entered the Bavarian cavalry in 1900 and participated in World War I as a staff officer. After the war he remained in the newly created Reichswehr where he worked at a number of General Staff positions.