Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma

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Wilhelm Josef Ritter von Thoma (November 11, 1891, Dachau – April 30, 1948, Dachau) was a German officer who served in World War I, the Spanish Civil War and as a General der Panzertruppe during World War II.

Contents 1 Early life 2 First World War 3 Weimar Republic 4 Panzer Commander 5 Spanish Civil War 6 Second World War 7 Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma and the Secret of Peenemünde 8 Promotions 9 Decorations & Awards 10 See also

[edit] Early life

Von Thoma was born in Dachau in 1891. From 1903-1912 he attended the Humanist Ludwigs-Gymnasium (High School) in München, and attained his certificate of graduation from that institution. On September 23, 1912 he began a military career - entering the Royal Bavarian Army as a Fahnenjunker in the Bavarian 3. Infanterie-Regiment (3rd Infantry Regiment) Prinz Karl von Bayern. From October 1, 1913 - August 1, 1914 he was detached to the War School in München.

[edit] First World War

On the outbreak of the First World War, on August 2, 1914 Thoma took the field with the Bavarian 3rd Infantry Regiment. On September 25, 1914 he was wounded (being grazed by a shot to the head) during a Battle on the Somme, in France. He was treated at the front and remained with the troops. On September 28, 1914 he became commander of the 11th Company of the Bavarian 3rd Infantry Regiment. On October 2, 1914 he was wounded again (hit by shrapnel in the right elbow).

On January 24, 1915 he was made Regimental Adjutant of the Bavarian 3rd Infantry Regiment. The regiment was transferred east to the Russian front, being based initially in Galicia in Poland. He participated in many actions, including the taking of Brest Litovsk. In October 1915, he was sent to the Serbian front in that year, to assist Austro-Hungarian forces in their offensive against Serbia. On October 12, 1915, Von Thoma was wounded by a gun shot to the chest and spent five days in hospital.

Thoma was sent back to France in early 1916 and fought from February 28, 1916 - May 17,1916 in the Battle of Verdun –often considered one of the most brutal battles of modern times. In June, Thoma was sent east again, to Romania and fought in the German conquest of that country. On November 11, 1916, he was appointed a Knight of the Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order with effect from July 5, 1916. On June 4, 1916, the Russians unleashed the Brusilov Offensive against the Austro-German forces on the Eastern Front. It was during this offensive, leading a rearguard action on July 5, 1916, that Leutnant Thoma performed the deed that garnered him the Knight’s Cross of the Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order, the highest purely military decoration that could be bestowed on Bavarian officers for bravery in war.

Returning to the Western Front, Thoma was then withdrawn for a time from frontline service to undertake various training courses in preparation for the great German offensive in the West of Spring 1918. From April 4 to 8, 1917, he was detached to a training course with Field Airship Detachment 14, Colmar. From February 4 to 9, 1918 he was detached to the 62nd Course at the Army Gas School in Berlin and from March 23 to 27, 1918 he was detached to the 6th Leader Course in Wörth.

Returning to the front, on April 25, 1918 he was wounded by a grenade fragment in right wrist during the Battle of Kemmel in Belgium. On May 2, 1918, he was made Leader of the 3rd Machinegun Company of the Bavarian 3rd Infantry Regiment and on May 14, 1918 was put in command of the I Battalion of the Bavarian 3rd Infantry Regiment. After the failure of the fifth and last of the German “Ludendorff Offensives” (July 1918), the French and Americans, backed by heavy French tank support, launched the first phase of the Aisne-Marne counteroffensive against the German lines southwest of Soissons on the July 18. On this date, Ritter von Thoma was captured by American troops, probably Major General Charles P. Summerall’s U.S. 1st Division, while leading the I Battalion of the Bavarian 3rd Infantry Regiment in a bitter defence of his division’s right flank. He remained in French/American captivity until – October 27, 1919.

[edit] Weimar Republic

After the war, Thoma remained in the German Army. From October 28, 1919 - February 9, 1920 he was placed on leave following release from captivity. On February 10, 1920 he was transferred to Reichswehr-Schützen (Rifle)-Regiment 42 of Reichswehr-Brigade 21 commanded by Oberst Franz Ritter von Epp. From February 11, 1920 - April 1, 1920: he acted as Leader of the Recruiting Post Office of Reichswehr-Brigade 21 (listed as Brigade “Epp” in Ritter von Thoma’s service record). From May 17 to 25, 1920: Deputy Battalion Adjutant in Reichswehr-Schützen-Regiment 42 of Reichswehr-Brigade 21. From May 29, 1920 – June 10, 1920: Deputy Hauptmann on the Staff of Reichswehr-Schützen-Regiment 42 of Reichswehr-Brigade 21. On January 1, 1921 he was transferred to Infantry Regiment 19 upon the formation of the new Reichsheer from the Übergangsheer or Transitional Army (the reduced German Army under the condition of the Treaty of Versailles.

On May 15, 1921 he was put in command of the 6th Company of Infantry Regiment 19. On July 1, 1922 he was transferred to the 7th (Bavarian) Motorized Battalion as Battalion Adjutant. Thoma took part in the suppression of the Nazi uprising (Adolf Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch) in München, November 8 to 23, 1923. On November 27, 1923 he was made Company Officer in the 2nd Company of the 7th (Bavarian) Motorized Battalion. Over the following ten years, he participated in many training courses concerned with mechanised warfare, pre-figuring his later role as a tank commander. In 1924 he attended a course for the leading and use of armored motor vehicle platoons and was made Leader of a motorcycle platoon to the exercises of Reiter (Mounted)-Regiment 18 at Grafenwöhr. On April 1, 1925 he was made Chief of the 2nd Company of the 7th (Bavarian) Motorized Battalion and in October 1929 he was transferred to Group Command 2 and detached to the Motorized Training Command of the 3rd (Prussian) Motorized Battalion. In December 1930 he was detached to a Gas Protection Course in Berlin. On February 1, 1931 he was transferred to the 7th (Bavarian) Motorized Battalion and detached to the staff of the 7th Division as the Staff Officer for Motor Transport. Later he was moved again to the 7th (Bavarian) Medical Battalion and detached to the staff of the 7th Division as the Staff Officer for Motor Transport. On October 6 to 31, 1931, he was detached to the Motorized Demonstration Staff in Berlin for participation in a course for the training and testing of military motor vehicle driving experts. In November 1931 he participated in an examination of the assembly process of the Krupp-Daimler 100-horsepower chassis at the Daimler-Benz Firm in Berlin.

[edit] Panzer Commander

After the accession of the Nazi Party to power in 1933, the German military was greatly expanded and heavily invested in. Particular emphasis during this period of re-arming was placed on the use of armour. Given Thoma’s extensive experience in mechanised military formations, he was a logical choice to head one of the first solely mechanised units in the world. On August 1, 1934, he was transferred to the Motorized Demonstration Command Ohrdruf. This unit was formed in 1934 at Ohrdruf, the Kraftfahr-Lehrkommando or Motorized Demonstration Command and was Germany’s first dedicated tank unit and, in the words of Ritter von Thoma himself, was “the grandmother of all the others.” Initially composed of one battalion, the unit later gained a second battalion and was equipped with Germany’s first new tank, the small two-man PzKpfw I light tank armed with two machineguns. A second Motorized Demonstration Command was later established at Zossen. These two commands provided the nucleus from which several panzer regiments were born.)

Thoma’ promotion within the new armoured formations was rapid. On October 15, 1935 he was made Commander of the II Battalion of Panzer Regiment 4 of the 2nd Panzer Division. This date marked the official formation of Germany’s first three armoured divisions. The 1st Panzer Division commanded by General der Kavallerie Maximilian Freiherr von und zu Weichs an der Glon at Weimar; the 2nd Panzer Division commanded by Oberst (later Generalmajor) Heinz Guderian at Würzburg; and the 3rd Panzer Division commanded by Generalleutnant Ernst Feßmann at Berlin. On December 9 to 14, 1935, Thoma was detached to the Army and Luftwaffe Signals Course at the Halle/Salle Signals School – presumably to learn to co-ordinate the movements of air and armoured units.

[edit] Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936, with an uprising by right wing General against the left wing Popular Front government. Hitler intervened on the side of the right wing, or "Nationalists" led by Francisco Franco and used the war as an opportunity to test his new air and armoured units in action From September 23, 1936 – June 8, 1939: Thoma was sent by the Army High Command &x2013 to Spain as; Commander of Group “Imker” (Beekeeper), the ground contingent of the German Condor Legion. Arriving in Spain in early October 1936, the personnel of Group “Imker” were originally volunteers from Panzer Regiment 6 “Neuruppin” of the 3rd Panzer Division. Tasked with training General Francisco Franco’s Spanish Nationalist officers and men in tanks, infantry tactics, and artillery and signals employment, Group “Imker” maintained two, then three panzer training companies equipped with PzKpfw I light tanks (panzer units were codenamed Group “Drohne” or Drone.

After completion of their training, the Spanish troops took custody of the tanks at which time a new shipment of PzKpfw I tanks arrived from Germany. Additionally, Group “Drohne” made use of large numbers of the superior Russian tanks captured from Republican forces (the T-26 tank was particularly prized). While ostensibly in Spain in a training capacity, the German Army instructors also rotated to the front to provide further technical advice to the Spanish and to engage in direct combat operations. Ritter von Thoma was a frequent visitor to the combat zones; for instance leading an armoured assault on Madrid personally during the Battle of Madrid in November 1936. He later claimed to have taken part in 192 tank actions in Spain.

After the war ended, on June 8, 1939, Thoma was allocated as a Staff Officer in Berlin – duties determined by the General of the Mobile Troops and from August 1, 1939 – September 18, 1939 he was transferred to the staff of Panzer Regiment 3 of the 2nd Panzer Division and, at the same time, delegated with the leadership of the regiment.

[edit] Second World War

The Second World War began with the invasion of Poland in September 1939. The 2d Panzer Division commanded by Generalleutnant Rudolf Veiel took part in the invasion of Poland as a component of General der Kavallerie Ewald von Kleist’s XXII Army Corps (Motorized). Attacking from its staging area in the Orava Valley in Slovakia, von Kleist’s corps advanced south of Kraków and took river crossings on the Dunajec River at Tarnów. Continuing its advance from Rzeszów, the corps then seized a bridgehead on the San River at Jarosław from whence the 2nd Panzer Division advanced northeast to Zamošč. The 2nd Panzer Division then engaged Polish forces at Rawa Ruska, Kulikow, Zolkiew, Tomaszów and Krasnobród before ending its advance and retiring behind the San River that served as the German-Soviet demarcation line in that sector. Ritter von Thoma received the 1939 Bars to both of his First World War Iron Crosses for his performance during the campaign.)

There followed a rapid series of promotions for Von Thoma. From September 19, 1939 - March 5, 1940: he acted as Commander of Panzer Regiment 3 of the 2nd Panzer Division. On March 5, 1940 he was made General of the Mobile Troops in the Army High Command. On July 17, 1941 - September 15, 1941 he was delegated with the leadership of the 17th Panzer Division on the Eastern Front.

Commanded by Generalmajor Dipl. Ing. Karl Ritter von Weber (acting commander in place of Generalleutnant Hans-Jürgen von Arnim who had been wounded on June 26, 1941 near Stolpce), the 17th Panzer Division was engaged in the invasion of the Soviet Union as a component of Army Group Center. On July 17, 1941, Ritter von Thoma assumed temporary command of the division after Generalmajor Ritter von Weber—a fellow holder of the Knight’s Cross of the Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order—was severely wounded near Krassnyj, south of Smolensk (he died two days later). Generaloberst Heinz Guderian, the Commander of Panzer Group 2, remarked on Ritter von Thoma’s appointment to the 17th Panzer Division in his memoirs, Panzer Leader: “He was one of our most senior and experienced panzer officers; he had been famous for his icy calm and exceptional bravery both in the First World War and in Spain, and was now to prove his ability once again.” Ritter von Thoma led the division until September 15, 1941, when Generalleutnant Hans-Jurgen von Arnim, since recovered from his wounds, resumed command.)

On September 15, 1941 Thoma was made Army High Command Leader Reserve – his duties being determined by the Commander of Wehrkreis (Military District) III, Berlin. On October 14, 1941 - July 1, 1942 he was made Commander of the 20th Panzer Division on the Eastern Front. Succeeding Generalmajor Horst Stumpff as divisional commander, Ritter von Thoma led his new command on the drive on Moscow that began on November 15, 1941. Despite the onset of a brutal winter, the Germans doggedly advanced on Moscow from the north and the south in an attempt to close the pinchers around the Russian capital. However, the increasing cold, fierce local counterattacks and lack of reserves slowed the German advance. On December 6, 1941, the Russians launched the first of a series of major counteroffensives that forced the Germans back from Moscow. By the end of the month, Ritter von Thoma received the coveted Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross for organizing and holding a new defensive position on the Ruza River despite being closely pursued by strong Soviet forces. On January 15, 1942, Hitler finally bowed to the inevitable and authorized his freezing and exhausted armies to slowly pull back in measured stages to the Rzhev-Gzhatsk-Orel-Kursk line (KÖNIGSBERG Line). After continuing to serve on the Moscow front, Ritter von Thoma relinquished command of the 20th Panzer Division to Generalmajor Walther Düvert.)

From September 1, 1942 - November 4, 1942 Thoma was transferred to the North African front and was delegated with the leadership of the German Afrika Korps for the duration of the absence of the commanding general. In the early morning hours of August 31, 1942, General der Panzertruppe Walther Nehring, the Commanding General of the German Afrika Korps, was wounded when a British aircraft bombed his command vehicle during the Battle of Alam Halfa. Temporary command of the corps passed briefly to Nehring’s chief of staff, Oberst Fritz Bayerlein, until later in the morning when Generalmajor Gustav von Vaerst relinquished command of the 15th Panzer Division to assume leadership of the German Afrika Korps. Although formally appointed to command on September 1, 1942, various sources indicate Ritter von Thoma did not actually arrive in North Africa to take command of the German Afrika Korps until the 17th of September.

On October 23, 1942, the decisive Battle of El Alamein commenced when General Sir Bernard Law Montgomery’s British Eighth Army began its offensive against the German-Italian Panzer Army Afrika front in Egypt. Ritter von Thoma briefly took command of the combined Axis army after its commander, General der Kavallerie Georg Stumme, suffered a fatal heart attack during the heavy British bombardments at the start of the battle. At the time, Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel was en route to North Africa from Germany where he had been on sick leave. Rommel arrived on October 25, and resumed command of Panzer Army Afrika.

In the face of rapidly mounting losses and dangerous penetrations into his line, Rommel prepared to withdraw his army into Libya. However, Adolf Hitler intervened and, on November 3, issued the astonishing order for Panzer Army Afrika to remain and fight where it was. Ominously, Hitler concluded his order with these sober words to Rommel: “As to your troops, you can show them no other way than that to victory or death.” Appalled at this controversial order, Ritter von Thoma declared it “madness” and, with his German Afrika Korps grinding itself to pieces in desperate counterattacks and virtually bereft of tanks, he mounted one of the tanks of his headquarters guard unit and drove to the apex of the battle.

On November 4, 1942, Thoma was captured by the British at the hill of Tel el Mampsra, west of El Alamein, Egypt. With his tank hit several times and on fire, Thoma dismounted and stood quietly amongst a sea of burning tanks and German dead scattered around the small hill where he was taken prisoner by Captain Allen Grant Singer of the 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales’s Own). Rommel later opined that Thoma was probably seeking his death in battle while other staff officers quietly speculated that he went to the front to deliberately surrender. That evening, Thoma dined with General Montgomery at his headquarters to discuss the battle. B.H. Liddell Hart later recorded Thoma’s reaction to Montgomery’s revelations over dinner: “I was staggered at the exactness of his knowledge…He seemed to know as much about our position as I did myself.”)

For the remainder of the war, November 4, 1942 - 1946: Thoma was a Prisoner of war in British captivity. Over the next several years, Ritter von Thoma was held in several senior officer prisoner of war camps in Great Britain including Trent Park (Barnet, Middlesex), Wilton Park (Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire), Grizedall Hall (Hawkshead, Lancashire) and Island Farm (Bridgend, Glamorgan. In late 1945, SS-Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer, captured in Belgium in September 1944 while commanding the 12th SS-Panzer Division “Hitler Jugend”, arrived at Trent Park and noted Ritter von Thoma, the German camp leader, was “…highly thought of by the English. Relations between him and the guards is excellent.” In 1945, Ritter von Thoma had one of his legs amputated at Wilton Park and was fitted with an artificial limb in Cardiff.)

His record in captivity was as follows:

• November 20, 1942: transferred to Trent Park Camp 11 sorting camp.
• July 21, 1946: transferred to Camp 160 Military Hospital from Camp 300.
• July 20, 1946: Held on strength of Island Farm Special Camp 11 with effect from this date (UM/M/1879/PW1)
• September 23, 1947: transferred to Island Farm Special Camp 11 from Camp 99
• November 25, 1947: Repatriated.

[edit] Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma and the Secret of Peenemünde

Although the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) had learned in 1939 that a German experimental station existed at Peenemünde on the Baltic coast, its true function was not known. By the end of 1942, the SIS had received many fragmented and conflicting reports that the Germans were developing a long-range rocket program with probable launching sites in France. Additionally, aerial reconnaissance photographs taken in early 1943 revealed the Germans had recently built new structures and a power station at Peenemünde. Shortly thereafter, the SIS received a valuable tip from a most unusual source. On March 22, 1943, Generals der Panzertruppe Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma and Ludwig Crüwell, both captured by the British in North Africa, were heard discussing Germany’s rocket program while being held in London. With a microphone planted in the room, the SIS listened as Ritter von Thoma discussed a rocket test he had witnessed at Kummersdorf West while in the company of Generalfeldmarschall Walther von Brauchitsch, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and other technical program details. Spurred on by this plausible information, further British reconnaissance flights over Peenemünde in May - June 1943 brought back unmistakable images of rockets at the facility. The Allies were on target: Peenemünde was the German center for research and testing of the pilotless, guided missiles and long-range ballistic missiles better known as the V-1 “Buzz Bomb” or “Doodlebug” and the V-2 respectively.

[edit] Promotions

• Fahnenjunker: September 23, 1912
• Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier: January 25, 1913
• Fähnrich: May 20, 1913
• Leutnant: August 1, 1914
• Oberleutnant: December 14, 1917
• Hauptmann: February 1, 1925
• Major: April 1, 1934
• Oberstleutnant: August 1, 1936
• Oberst: April 1, 1938
• Generalmajor: August 1, 1940
• Generalleutnant: August 1, 1942
• General der Panzertruppe: November 1, 1942

[edit] Decorations & Awards

• Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross: December 31, 1941, Generalmajor, Commander of the 20th Panzer Division.
• Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order, Knight’s Cross: July 5, 1916, Leutnant, Adjutant of the Royal Bavarian 3. Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Karl von Bayern.
• Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class (1914): June 3, 1915.
• Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1914): October 17, 1914.
• 1939 Bar to the Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class: 1939.
• 1939 Bar to the Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class: 1939.
• Medal for the Winter Campaign in Russia 1941/1942 (“East Medal”) – It is unknown if Ritter von Thoma actually received this medal before his capture, but his service on the Eastern Front during the winter of 1941-1942 fit the award criteria.
• Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4th Class with Swords: November 16, 1914.
• Cross of Honor for Combatants 1914-1918: 1935.
• Armed Forces Long Service Award, 1st Class (25-year Service Cross)
• Armed Forces Long Service Award, 3rd Class (12-year Service Medal)
• Austrian Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with War Decoration: April 5, 1916.
• German Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords and Diamonds
• Spanish Military Medal with Diamonds
• Spanish Campaign Medal
• Condor Legion Panzer Badge in Gold – This unique version of the standard silver badge was presented to Ritter von Thoma by the men of his command at the Nationalist Victory Day Parade in Madrid, Spain on May 19, 1939.
• Wound Badge in Silver – World War I award: November 22, 1916 (Ritter von Thoma was wounded four times in World War I.)

[edit] See also

Military decoration of the Third Reich