Background
Maximilian von Weichs was born in Dessau on 12 November 1881.
military General Fielf Marshal
Maximilian von Weichs was born in Dessau on 12 November 1881.
He entered the Reichswehr in 1919 with the rank of Captain after serving in World War I as an Adjutant. Promoted to Major General in 1933, he organized and commanded the First Panzer Division in the new German army, three years later.
In 1938 he commanded the Thirteenth Army Corps which invaded Austria and the Sudetenland. General of Cavalry from October 1937, von Weichs was awarded the Knight’s Cross in July 1940 following his participation in the western campaign. Put in charge of the central sector in the Balkan campaign, he was then transferred to the Russian front, commanding an army group in the southern sector. In February 1943 he was promoted to General Field Marshal.
In April 1944 von Weichs was Commander of all German troops stationed in Hungary. In February 1945 he was awarded the Oak Leaves of the Knight’s Cross.
Von Weichs died in Rösberg-Cologne on 27 September 1954.