Walter Model

Walter Model
Model c. 1940s
Birth name	Otto Moritz Walter Model
Born	(1891-01-24)24 January 1891 Genthin, Province of Saxony, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	21 April 1945(1945-04-21) (aged 54) near Duisburg, Nazi Germany
Buried	Hürtgenwald (reinterred)
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
Branch	Imperial German Army Reichswehr German Army
Years of service	1909–1945
Rank	Generalfeldmarschall
Commands held	3rd Panzer Division XLI Panzer Corps Ninth Army Army Group North Army Group North Ukraine Army Group Centre Army Group B OB West
Battles/wars	World War I Battle of Mons Battle of Arras Second Battle of Champagne Battle of Verdun German spring offensive Operation Michael Second Battle of the Marne Battle of the Lys and the Escaut World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Eastern Front Operation Barbarossa Battle of Smolensk Battle of Kiev Battle of Moscow Battles of Rzhev Operation "Seydlitz" Operation Mars Battle of Kursk Operation Kutuzov Operation Bagration Vilnius offensive Kaunas offensive Battle of Narva Battle of Radzymin Western Front Invasion of Normandy Battle of Falaise Operation Tractable Battle of Chambois Battle of Hill 262 Battle of St. Lambert-sur-Dive Operation Market Garden Battle of Eindhoven Battle of Son Battle of Veghel Battle of Grave Battle of Oosterbeek Battle of Nijmegen Battle of Nuenen Battle of Arnhem Nijmegen counteroffensive Battle of Aachen Battle of Hürtgen Forest Battle of Vossenack Battle of Kommerscheidt Battle of Scheldt Operation Pheasant Battle of Simonskall Operation Queen Battle of the Bulge Battle of St. Vith Operation Lumberjack Ruhr Pocket
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
Signature

Otto Moritz Walter Model (IPA: [ˈmoːdəl]; 24 January 1891 – 21 April 1945) was a German Generalfeldmarschall during World War II. Although he was a hard-driving, aggressive panzer commander early in the war, Model became best known as a practitioner of defensive warfare. His relative success as commander of the Ninth Army in the battles of 1941–1942 determined his future career path.

Model first came to Hitler's attention before World War II, but their relationship did not become especially close until 1942. His tenacious style of fighting and loyalty to the Nazi regime won him plaudits from Hitler, who considered him one of his best field commanders and repeatedly sent him to salvage apparently desperate situations on the Eastern Front as commander of Army Group North, Army Group North Ukraine and Army Group Centre.

In August 1944 Model was sent to the Western Front as commander of OB West and Army Group B. His relationship with Hitler broke down by the end of the war after the German defeat at the Battle of the Bulge. In the aftermath of the defeat of Army Group B and its encirclement in the Ruhr Pocket, Model took his own life on 21 April 1945.