Wilhelm Keitel

Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (September 22, 1882 – October 16, 1946) was a German Field Marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) and a senior military leader during World War II.

Early life and career

The son of Carl Keitel, a middle-class landowner, he was born in Helmscherode near Hanover, Germany. After completing his education in Göttingen, he embarked on a military career in 1901, becoming a Fahnenjunker (Cadet Officer), joining the 6th Lower-Saxon Field Artillery Regiment. He married Lisa Fontaine in 1909. During World War I Keitel served on the Western front with the 46th Artillery Regiment. In September 1914, during the fighting in Flanders, he was seriously wounded in his right forearm by a shell fragment.

Related Topics:
Hanover - Germany - 1901 - 1909 - World War I - September - 1914 - Flanders

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He recovered, and therafter became a member of the German General Staff in early 1915. After World War I ended, he stayed in the newly created Reichswehr, and played a part in organizing Freikorps frontier guard units on the Polish border. Keitel also served as a divisional general staff officer, and later taught at the Hanover Cavalry School for two years.

Related Topics:
German General Staff - 1915 - Reichswehr - Freikorps - Polish

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In late 1924, he was transferred to the Reich Defence Ministry, serving with the Troop Office or (Truppenamt), the post-Versailles disguised General Staff. He was soon promoted to the head of the organizational department, a post he retained after the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, in 1935, based on a recommendation by Werner von Fritsch he became chief of the newly-created Armed Forces Office (Wehrmachtamt).

Related Topics:
1924 - Truppenamt - Versailles - General Staff - Nazi - 1933 - 1935 - Werner von Fritsch - Wehrmachtamt

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