Walter Stettner Ritter von Grabenhofen

Walter Stettner Ritter von Grabenhofen
Walter Stettner Ritter von Grabenhofen
	Stettner in action in Montenegro
Born	19 March 1895; Munich
Died	18 October 1944 (aged 49); Belgrade
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army (Wehrmacht)
Rank	Generalleutnant
Unit	1st Mountain Division
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Caucasus; World War II in Yugoslavia; Belgrade Offensive;

Walter Stettner Ritter von Grabenhofen (18 March 1895 – 18 October 1944) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was killed in action on Mount Avala, near Belgrade in Serbia.

Biography

General von Stettner came from a well-respected family of soldiers. He fought in World War I.
He started World War II as commander of a Gebirgsjäger-Regiment and fought in Poland, Norway, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union, where his unit advanced into the Caucasus. On 17 December 1942, he replaced Hubert Lanz as commander of the 1st Mountain Division, when the Division was retreating to the Kuban Bridgehead. The bridgehead held out until September 1943, but the 1st Mountain Division was transferred before in April to Yugoslavia for anti-partisan operations.

Under Stettner's command, the 1st Mountain Division committed several war crimes in Yugoslavia and Greece, including the Massacres of Kommeno, Mousiotitsa, Lyngiades and the Massacre of the Acqui Division.

In October 1944, during the Soviet Belgrade Offensive, his unit was cut off and Stettner went missing in action, presumed killed on Mount Avala, near Belgrade.

He was described as a “small, meticulous man, who suffered a complex of inferiority and was driven by a tremendous sense of pride that led him to keep political opinions to himself. From his soldiers, he expected unwavering obedience to Hitler’s orders. He dismissed the role of the military chaplaincy in the 1st Mountain Division. In the guidelines released for Operation “Augustus”, Stettner required his soldiers to shoot on the spot any suspect who could potentially be connected to or suspected of partisan activities and to destroy all houses in their vicinity. This way of treating civilians in Epirus led to frequent frictions with his immediate superior, the devout Catholic General Hubert Lanz".[1]

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References

Vernichtungskrieg : Verbrechen der Wehrmacht 1941-1944. Heer, Hannes., Naumann, Klaus, 1949-. Hamburg: Hamburger Edition. 1995. ISBN 3-930908-04-2. OCLC 32652552.CS1 maint: others (link)

Sources

This is a translation of the article in the German Wikipedia, Walter Stettner Ritter von Grabenhofen.

Military offices
Preceded by Generalmajor Hubert Lanz	Commander of 1. Gebirgs Division 17 December 1942 – 18 October 1944	Succeeded by Generalmajor August Wittmann

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[1] Vernichtungskrieg : Verbrechen der Wehrmacht 1941-1944. Heer, Hannes., Naumann, Klaus, 1949-. Hamburg: Hamburger Edition. 1995. ISBN 3-930908-04-2. OCLC 32652552.CS1 maint: others (link)