Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma Wilhelm Josef Ritter von Thoma ( 11 September 1891 – 30 April 1948 ) was a German officer who served in the First World War , in the Spanish Civil War , and as a General der Panzertruppe in the Second World War . He was also a recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . Early life . Von Thoma was born in Dachau in 1891 . From 1903 he attended the humanist Ludwigs - Gymnasium ( secondary school ) in Munich and attained his certificate of graduation in 1912 . He began his military career when he joined the Royal Bavarian Army on 23 September 1912 , as a " Fahnenjunker " ( cadet ) with the Bavarian 3 . Infanterie - Regiment ( 3rd Infantry Regiment ) " Prinz Karl von Bayern . " He attended the War School in Munich from 1 October 1913 to 1 August 1914 . First World War . At the outbreak of the First World War on 2 August 1914 , Thoma took to the field with the Bavarian 3rd Infantry Regiment . On 25 September 1914 he was 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 28 September he was ordered to command his regiment ' s 11th Company . On 2 October he was wounded again , when he was hit by shrapnel in the right elbow . On 24 January 1915 he was made regimental adjutant of the Bavarian 3rd Infantry Regiment , which was transferred east to the Russian front , being based initially in Galicia , Austria - Hungary . Here Thoma participated in many actions , including the taking of Brest Litovsk . In October 1915 , he was sent to the Serbian front to assist Austro - Hungarian forces in their offensive against Serbia . On 12 October 1915 , Thoma was wounded by a gunshot to the chest and spent five days in hospital . In early 1916 , now a Lieutenant , Thoma was sent back to France and fought from 28 February to 17 May in the Battle of Verdun — often described as one of the most brutal battles of modern times . In June , Thoma was sent east again , to fight in the German conquest of Romania . On 4 June 1916 , the Russians unleashed the Brusilov Offensive against the Austro - Hungarian and German forces on the Eastern Front . It was during this offensive , leading a rearguard action on 5 July 1916 , that 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 . The appointment was announced on 11 November 1916 . Returning to the Western Front , Thoma was withdrawn for a time from front - line service to undertake various training courses in preparation for the great German offensive in the west of spring 1918 . From 4 to 8 April 1917 , he was attached to a training course with Field Airship Detachment 14 , Colmar . From 4 to 9 February 1918 , he was attached to the 62nd Course at the Army Gas School in Berlin , and from 23 to 27 March 1918 , he attended the 6th Leader Course in Wörth . Returning to the front on 25 April 1918 , Thoma was wounded by a grenade fragment in the right wrist during the Battle of Kemmel , Belgium . On 2 May 1918 he was appointed leader of the 3rd Machine Gun Company of the Bavarian 3rd Infantry Regiment , and on 14 May was put in command of his regiment ' s I Battalion . After the failure of the fifth and last of the German Ludendorff Offensives in 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 18 July . On this date , Thoma was captured by American troops , probably Major General Charles P . Summerall ' s U . S . 1st Infantry Division , while leading the first Battalion in a bitter defence of his division ' s right flank . Thoma remained in French and American captivity until 27 October 1919 . Weimar Republic . After the war , Thoma remained in the German Army . From 28 October 1919 to 9 February 1920 , he was placed on leave following his release from captivity . On 10 February 1920 he was transferred to Reichswehr - Schützen ( Rifle ) Regiment 42 of Reichswehr Brigade 21 commanded by Oberst Franz Ritter von Epp . From 11 February to 1 April 1920 he acted as leader of the Recruiting Post Office of Reichswehr - Brigade 21 ( listed as Brigade " Epp " in Thoma ' s service record ) . From 17 to 25 May 1920 he was deputy battalion adjutant , and from 29 May to 10 June he was deputy captain on the staff of Regiment 42 . On 1 January 1921 he was transferred to Infantry Regiment 19 upon the formation of the new " Übergangsheer " ( Transitional Army ) set up under the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles . On 15 May 1921 , Thoma was put in command of the 6th Company of Infantry Regiment 19 . On 1 July 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 Munich on 8 to 23 November 1923 . On 27 November 1923 , he was appointed a company officer in the 2nd Company of the 7th ( Bavarian ) Motorized Battalion . Over the following ten years , he participated in many training courses on mechanized warfare , prefiguring his later role as a tank commander . In 1924 he attended a course for the leading and use of armoured motor vehicle platoons and was made leader of a motorcycle platoon to the exercises of Reiter ( Mounted ) - Regiment 18 at Grafenwöhr . On 1 April 1925 he was named commander of the 2nd Company of the 7th ( Bavarian ) Motorized Battalion and in October 1929 he was transferred to Group Command 2 and attached 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 1 February 1931 he was transferred to the 7th ( Bavarian ) Motorized Battalion and attached to the staff of the 7th Infantry Division as staff officer for motor transport . Later he was moved again to the 7th ( Bavarian ) Medical Battalion and attached to the staff of the 7th Division as staff officer for motor transport . From 6 to 31 October 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 chassis at Daimler - Benz in Berlin . Panzer Commander . After the Nazi Party gained power in 1933 , the German government greatly expanded and heavily invested in the military , and armour was given particular emphasis during this period of re - armament . With his extensive experience in mechanised military formations , Thoma was a logical choice to head one of the world ' s first completely mechanised units . On 1 August 1934 , he was transferred to the Motorized Demonstration Command Ohrdruf . This unit was formed in 1934 at Ohrdruf , the Kraftfahr - Lehrkommando ( Motorized Demonstration Group ) and was Germany ' s first dedicated tank unit and — in Thoma ' s own words , 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 Panzer I light tank armed with two machine guns . A second Motorized Demonstration Group was later established at Zossen . These two groups provided the nucleus from which several panzer regiments were born . Thoma ' s promotion within the new armoured formations was rapid . On 15 October 1935 , he was appointed commander of the II Battalion , Panzer Regiment 4 , 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 . From 9 to 14 December 1935 , Thoma took the Army and Luftwaffe Signals Course at the Halle / Salle Signals School — presumably to learn how to coordinate the movements of air and armoured units . Spanish Civil War . The Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936 with an uprising by rightist generals against the leftist Popular Front government . Hitler intervened on the side of the Nationalists led by Francisco Franco and used the war as an opportunity to test his new air and armoured units in action . From 23 September 1936 to 8 June 1939 , Thoma was sent by the Army High Command 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 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 Panzer I light tanks ( panzer units were codenamed Group " Drohne " [ drones ] ) . After completing their training , the Spanish troops took custody of the tanks , at which time a new shipment of Panzer Is 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 . 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 Spanish Civil War ended , on 8 June 1939 , Thoma was assigned to Berlin as a staff officer . From 1 August to 18 September 1939 , he was transferred to the staff of Panzer Regiment 3 of the 2nd Panzer Division and was then assigned the leadership of the regiment . Second World War . Poland . The Second World War began with the invasion of Poland in September 1939 . The 2nd Panzer Division commanded by Generalleutnant Rudolf Veiel took part in the invasion 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 to 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 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 . Thoma received the 1939 Bars to both of his First World War Iron Cross es for his performance during the campaign . From 19 September 1939 to 5 March 1940 , he acted as commander of Panzer Regiment 3 in the 2nd Panzer Division in the rank of Colonel ( " Oberst " ) . On 17 July 1941 he was assigned the leadership of the 17th Panzer Division on the Eastern Front in the rank of " Generalmajor " ( Brigadier ) . Operation Barbarossa . Commanded by Generalmajor and Doctor of Engineering Karl Ritter von Weber ( acting commander in place of Generalleutnant Hans - Jürgen von Arnim who had been wounded on 26 June 1941 , near Stolpce ) , the 17th Panzer Division was engaged in the invasion of the Soviet Union as a component of Army Group Centre . On 17 July 1941 Thoma assumed temporary command of the division after Generalmajor 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 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 . " Thoma led the division until 15 September , when Generalleutnant Hans - Jürgen von Arnim , since recovered from his wounds , resumed command . On 15 September 1941 Thoma was made Army High Command Leader Reserve , his duties being determined by the Commander of Wehrkreis ( Military District ) III , Berlin . On 14 October 1941 he was made Commander of the 20th Panzer Division on the Eastern Front . Succeeding Generalmajor Horst Stumpff as divisional commander , Thoma led his new command on the drive on Moscow that began on 15 November 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 pincers around the Russian capital . However , the increasing cold , fierce local counterattacks , and lack of reserves slowed the advance . On 6 December , the Russians launched the first of a series of major counter offensives that forced the Germans back from Moscow . By the end of the month , Thoma had 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 15 January 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 Königsberg Line . After continuing to serve on the Moscow front , Thoma relinquished command of the 20th Panzer Division to " Generalmajor " Walther Düvert . North Africa . Having been promoted to " Generalleutnant " in August 1942 , on 1 September Thoma was transferred to North Africa and given leadership of the German Afrika Korps for the duration of the absence of the commanding general , " General der Panzertruppe " Walther Nehring . In the early morning hours of 31 August 1942 , Nehring had been wounded when a British aircraft bombed his command vehicle during the Battle of Alam el 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 Afrika Korps . Although formally appointed to command on 1 September 1942 , various sources indicate that Thoma did not actually arrive in North Africa to assume command until 17 September . On 23 October 1942 , the decisive Battle of El Alamein commenced when Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery ' s British Eighth Army began its offensive against the German - Italian Panzer Army in Egypt . 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 from Germany where he had been on sick leave . Rommel arrived on 25 October and resumed command of Panzer Army Afrika . Thoma was promoted to " General der Panzertruppe " ( full General ) on 1 November . In the face of rapidly mounting losses and dangerous penetrations into his lines , Rommel prepared to withdraw his army to Libya . However , Hitler intervened and , on 3 November , 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 , 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 4 November 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 the 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 own death in battle , while other staff officers quietly speculated that he had gone to the front deliberately to 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 . " Thoma was then taken to the Pyramids of Giza by his captors , when he expressed regret that he would leave Egypt without seeing them . Captivity . For the remainder of the Second World War , Thoma was a prisoner of war in British captivity . Over the next several years , 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 ) . Thoma was subject to surveillance by the Secret Intelligence Service and while speaking to another general officer , he was recorded discussing rockets that were being tested at Kummersdorf West while in the company of Generalfeldmarschall Walther von Brauchitsch , the Commander - in - Chief of the Army , and other technical program details . Following his indiscretion , further British reconnaissance flights over Peenemünde in May and June 1943 brought back unmistakable images of rockets at the facility which was the developing guided missiles and long - range ballistic missiles better known as the V - 1 flying bomb and the V - 2 . 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 that Thoma , the German camp leader , was " . . . highly thought of by the English . Relations between him and the guards is excellent . " Churchill ' s high regard for Thoma is evident from his many later quotations of Thoma ' s opinions on strategic matters , especially in his book about the war . After Montgomery invited Thoma to dine with him in his private trailer , Churchill remarked : " I sympathize with General von Thoma : Defeated , in captivity and . . . ( long pause for dramatic effect ) dinner with Montgomery . " In 1945 , 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 : Only a few months after his repatriation , Thoma died of a heart attack in 1948 in . Quotes . " I am actually ashamed to be an officer " — regarding his witnessing of German atrocities in Russia . " The Italians are good workers , but they are not fighters . They don ' t like noise . " — on the value of Italian troops in North Africa .