Walter Krueger
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| Walter Krueger | |
|---|---|
| 1881-1967 | |
 General Walter Krueger |
|
| Place of birth | Flatow, West Prussia |
| Place of death | Valley Forge, Pennsylvania |
| Allegiance | U.S. Army |
| Years of service | 1898-1946 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | Sixth Army Third Army VIII Corps 2nd Infantry Division |
| Battles/wars | Spanish American War Mexican Punitive Expedition World War I World War II |
Walter Krueger (January 26, 1881-August 20, 1967) was a German-American soldier and general in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his command of the U.S. Sixth Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II.
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[edit] Youth & Enlistment
Krueger was born in Flatow, West Prussia (now Złotów, Poland). His family immigrated to the United States when he was eight years old.
In 1898, Krueger enlisted as a volunteer for service in the Spanish-American War. The following year, having served in Cuba, he enlisted as a private in the regular army. While serving in an infantry unit in the Philippines, he was promoted to sergeant and by 1901 had been commissioned as a second lieutenant, and was posted to the 30th Infantry Regiment (United States).
[edit] Early Commissioned Service
Krueger returned to the U.S. in 1903, graduated from the Infantry-Cavalry School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1906 and from the General Staff College in 1907. After a second tour in the Philippines, he was assigned to non-operational duties.
[edit] Mexican Punitive Expedition & World War I
In 1916, Krueger took part in the Mexican Punitive Expedition under General John J. Pershing. In February 1918, after the US joined commenced hostilities in World War I, Krueger went to France and served as Assistant Chief of Staff for the 26th Infantry Division, later with the U.S. 84th Infantry Division and as Assistant Chief of Staff with the Tank Corps. Following the end of the war, Krueger was assistant chief of staff of VI and IV Corps on occupation duty, advancing to the rank of temporary colonel.
[edit] Interwar Years
After periods at the Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia, and in command of the 55th Infantry Regiment at Camp Funston, Kansas, Krueger attended the Army War College, graduating in 1921, and remaining for a year as an instructor. In 1922-25, he was in the War Plans Division of the U.S. General Staff. Krueger graduated from the Naval War College in 1926, and from 1928 to 1932 taught there.
He commanded the 6th Infantry Regiment at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, for two years and then returned to the War Plans Division, becoming chief of the division in May 1936 and receiving promption to temporary brigadier general in October. In June 1938, Krueger went to Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, as commander of the 16th Infantry Brigade. He was promoted to temporary Major General in February 1939, then commanded the 2nd Infantry Division (United States) at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, rising in October to the command of VIII Corps.
[edit] World War II
In May 1941, Krueger was promoted to temporary lieutenant general, in command of the U.S. Third Army and the Southern Defense Command, a post he held for more than a year after the U.S entered World War II.
A month after the activation of the Sixth Army, in January 1943, Krueger took command of the army, based in Australia. He remained in command of the Sixth Army — which included in various combinations at different times I, X, XIV and XXIV Corps — throughout its combat duties. These included the assaults on Japanese positions on Kiriwina and Woodlark Islands (July 1943) as part of Operation Coronet; New Britain (December 1943-February 1944); Admiralty Islands (February-May 1944); mainland New Guinea (July-August 1944); Morotai (Netherlands East Indies, September-October 1944); Leyte and Mindoro (the Philippines, October-December 1944); and Luzon (January-February 1945).
Krueger was promoted to temporary General (four-star) in March 1945. In September 1945, the Sixth Army took up occupation duty in Japan. In January 1946 it was deactivated and Krueger reverted to lieutenant general. However, he retired as a full general in July 1946.
Not only was Krueger an expert on discipline and training, he was also a noted military historian and scholar of military affairs. He published translations of several classic German military texts and his WWII memoirs were published in 1953 as From Down Under to Nippon: the Story of the 6th Army In World War II.
In 1962, a middle school in San Antonio, Texas, was established. The school, Walter Krueger Middle School is Home of the Fighting Falcons.
Krueger died at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania in 1967 and was buried in Section 30 of Arlington National Cemetery, among a number of family members.
Krueger made an appearance as a character in the 2005 war film, The Great Raid. In an interesting twist, Krueger, a US Army general, was portrayed by Dale Dye, a retired captain of the US Marine Corps.
| Preceded by Herbert Brees |
Commanding General of the Third United States Army 1941-1943 |
Succeeded by Courtney Hodges |
