Walther Wenck

Walther Wenck
Wenck in 1943
Nickname(s)	Boy General
Born	(1900-09-18)18 September 1900 Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Province of Saxony, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	1 May 1982(1982-05-01) (aged 81) near Ried im Innkreis, Bezirk Ried im Innkreis, Upper Austria, Austria
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (1920–1933)  Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
Service/branch	Reichsheer  German Army
Years of service	1920–45
Rank	General der Panzertruppe
Commands held	12th Army
Battles/wars	World War I (noncombat) World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Other work	Arms Manufacturing

Walther Wenck (German: [ˈvaltɐ ˈvɛŋk]) (18 September 1900 – 1 May 1982) was a German officer and industrialist. He was the youngest General of the branch^[1] (General der Truppengattung) in the German Army and a staff officer during World War II. At the end of the war, he commanded the German Twelfth Army that took part in the Battle of Berlin.^[2] Wenck left the military after surrendering to the Allies. He was asked to become Inspector General of the Bundeswehr as West Germany was re-arming in 1957, but declined to take the post when conditions he set were not met, such as the Inspector General being the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, not just an administrative leader.

Historians consider Wenck a capable commander and a brilliant improviser, although incapable of the impossible task he was given of saving Berlin in 1945.^[3][4][5]