caption serviceyears death_date death_place religion birth_place allegiance children imagesize name battles birth_date placeofburial rank spouse image article_title birth_name
'' generalfeldmarschall '' walther von brauchitsch 1900 -- 41 18 october 1948 hamburg , allied-occupied germany lutheran berlin , kingdom of prussia , german empire german to 1933 -rrb- nazi germany -lrb- to 1945 -rrb- empire -lrb- to 1918 -rrb- weimar republic -lrb- 3 330px walther von brauchitsch world war i world war ii 4 october 1881 salzgitter field marshal elizabeth von karstedt 1910 1938 divorced charlotte rueffer 1938 file : bundesarchiv bild 183-e00780 , walther von brauchitsch.jpg walther von brauchitsch
 heinrich alfred hermann walther von brauchitsch
walther von brauchitsch

heinrich alfred hermann walther von brauchitsch -lrb- 4 october 1881 -- 18 october 1948 -rrb- was a german field marshal and the commander-in-chief of the german army in the early years of world war ii .
born into an aristocratic military family , brauchitsch joined the 3rd guards grenadier regiment 1901 .
he served on the staff of several formations that fought over a dozen major battles of world war i , serving with the xvi corps , 34th infantry division and guards reserve corps as a staff officer before taking part in no fewer than twenty-eight notable clashes on the western front , including the battle of verdun , the battle of armentières , the battle at the aisne , and the battle of the lys .
for his service on the western front , he was awarded the iron cross and the house order of hohenzollern .
after hitler 's rise to power in 1933 , brauchitsch was put in charge of the east prussian military district , and became a popular officer because of his kindness to the civilian prussian population in times of local fires .
although he personally disliked nazism , he borrowed immense sums of money from hitler and eventually became dependent on his financial help .
during world war ii , brauchitsch primarily served as commander-in-chief of the german army between 1938 and 1941 .
he oversaw the german military campaigns in yugoslavia and greece , and played a key role in the battle of france .
for his part in this , brauchitsch became one of 12 generals promoted to field marshal .
he was dismissed as commander-in-chief of the army by hitler in 1941 following the failed moscow offensive .
he spent the rest of the war in enforced retirement , and never saw hitler again .
after world war ii , brauchitsch was arrested on charges of war crimes , but died of a heart attack in 1948 before he could be prosecuted .
brauchitsch married elizabeth von karstedt , an heiress from brandenburg , in 1910 .
they had three children .
they were divorced in 1938 .
he married charlotte rüffer , shortly after his divorce from karstedt .
