Walter Warlimont

Walter Warlimont
Walter Warlimont in 1939.
Born	3 October 1894 Osnabrück, Hanover, Prussia, Germany
Died	9 October 1976 (aged 82) Kreuth, Bavaria, Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1914–1945
Rank	General der Artillerie
Unit	Deputy Chief of the Operations Staff (WFS)
Battles/wars	World War I World War II

Walter Warlimont (3 October 1894 – 9 October 1976) was a German officer known for his role as a deputy chief in the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), Germany's Supreme Armed Forces Command during World War II.

Warlimont was born in Osnabrück, Germany. In June 1914, just before the start of World War I, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 10th Prussian Foot Artillery Regiment based in Alsace. During the war, he served as an artillery officer and battery commander in France and later in Italy. In late 1918, he served in General Ludwig Maercker's Freikorps Jäger rifle corps.

In the inter-war years, Warlimont served in various military roles. In 1922, he served in the 6th Artillery Regiment and in 1927, as a captain, he was the second adjutant to General Werner von Blomberg, chief of the Truppenamt, the covert German General Staff. In May 1929, Warlimont was attached to the U.S. Army for a year to study American industrial mobilization theory during wartime. This led to his service between 1930 and 1933 as a major on the staff of the Industrial Mobilization Section of the German Defence Ministry. He became the Section's chief in 1935.

Between August and November 1936, following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Warlimont served as the Reich War Minister (OKH General Staff)'s Wehrmacht Plenipotentiary Delegate to the government of Spanish General Francisco Franco in Spain. Reich War Minister Werner von Blomberg directed Warlimont to coordinate German aid in support of Franco's battle against the Spanish government forces.