Wietersheim, von, Wend
- Date of birth:
- April 18th, 1900 (Neuland/Kreis Löwenberg/Silesia, Germany)
- Date of death:
- September 19th, 1975 (Bad Honnef/North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)
- Nationality:
- German (1933-1945, German Reich)
Biography
Career:
12th August 1943 - 31st August 1943: Kommandeur 11.Panzer-division (m.d.F.b. - mit der Führung beauftragt);
1st November 1943 - 24th February 1944: Kommandeur 11.Panzer-Division;
1st May 1944 - 14th April 1945: Kommandeur 11.Panzer-Division;
10th April 1945 - 19th April 1945: Kommandeur XXXXI.Panzerkorps;
3rd May 1945 - 8th May 1945: Kommandeur 11.Panzer-Division.
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- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Hauptmann (Captain)
- Unit:
- Adjutant Stab 3.Panzer-Division
- Awarded on:
- October 1st, 1939
Details:
Had already received the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 5th April 1919.
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant-colonel)
- Unit:
- Kommandeur Kradschützen-Bataillon 1 / 1.Panzer-Division
- Awarded on:
- December 24th, 1941
Details:
Award 40/7.
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Oberstleutnant (Luitenant-kolonel)
- Unit:
- Kommandeur Schützen-Regiment 113 / 1.Panzer-Division / XXXXI.Armee-Korps / 4.Panzer-Armee / Heeresgruppe Mitte
- Awarded on:
- February 10th, 1942
Action:
In heavy defensive fighting west of Kalinin on the night of 19/20.10.1941 one of Wietersheim's weakened battalions came under attack by superior Soviet forces, their line being penetrated in several locations. A Soviet breakthrough here would have resulted in their recapture of an important railway bridge over the Volga. Wietersheim personally gathered up his scant reserve forces and led them into a counterattack, which successfully sealed off the Soviet break-in points. The importance of this action was not lost on Wietersheim's superiors and he was awarded the Knight's Cross.
Details:
854th Award.
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Oberst (Kolonel)
- Unit:
- Kommandeur Panzergrenadier-Regiment 113 / 1.Panzer-Division / zur verfügung Heeresgruppe D
- Awarded on:
- January 12th, 1943
Action:
Awarded for the successful conduct of his regiment in the battles around Rzhev in 1942. Both in the months of July and December his regiment was instrumental in encircling and destroying Soviet forces within the Rzhev salient.
Details:
176th Award.
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Awarded on:
- December 24th, 1943
Details:
The 11th Silesian Panzer-Division under the command of Major-General v. Wietersheim and the 13th Altmark Panzer-Division under the command of Major-General Hauser have particularly proven themselves in combat southeast of Kirovograd.
Action:
Awarded for the outstanding leadership of his 11. Panzer-Division during the battles on the southern sector of the eastern front throughout late 1943 and early 1944.
Details:
58th Award.
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Unit:
- Kommandeur 11.Panzer-Division
- Awarded on:
- September 4th, 1944
Details:
The 11th Panzer-Division under the command of Lieutenant-General Wend von Wietersheim, employed for the protection of our retreat in the Rhône Valley, has proved itself to be excellent in attack and defense.
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Unit:
- Kommandeur 11.Panzer-Division
- Awarded on:
- December 24th, 1944
Details:
In the Battle of Lorraine and in the advance battles of the Western Wall at the Saar, the 11th Panzer-Division under the command of Lieutenant-General Wend von Wietersheim and the 25th Panzer-Grenadier-Division under the leadership of Colonel Burmeister have fought magnificently.
Sources
- Photo 1: Willi Schumacher Collection
- Photo: Willi Schumacher Collection
- - THOMAS, FRANZ & WEGMANN, GÜNTER, Die Eichenlaubträger 1940-1945, Biblio-Verlag, 1998.
- Die Ordensträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht (CD), VMD-Verlag GmbH, Osnabrück, 2002
- Kwasny A., Kwasny G., Die Eichenlaubträger 1940-1945 (CD), Deutsches Wehrkundearchiv, Lage-Waddenhausen, 2001
- Fellgiebel W.P., Elite of the Third Reich, The recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939-1945: A Reference, Helion & Company Limited, Solihull, 2003, ISBN 1-874622-46-9
- Patzwall K., Scherzer V., Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941-1945, Geschichte und Inhaber Band II, Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt, 2001, ISBN 3-931533-45-X
- Ritterkreuztraeger-1939-45.de
- lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de
- das-ritterkreuz.de
- Axis History Factbook