Walther Reinhardt

Walther Gustav Reinhardt (24 March 1872, in Stuttgart – 8 August 1930, in Berlin) was a German officer who served as the last Prussian Minister of War and the first head of the army command (Chef der Heeresleitung) within the newly created Ministry of the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic. During the Kapp Putsch of 1920, Reinhardt remained loyal to the elected government and was one of the few senior officers of the Reichswehr willing to order troops to fire at the revolting units.

Reinhardt was born on 24 March 1872 in Stuttgart as the son of August von Reinhardt (1827-1907), a member of the Personenadel (lifelong, non-hereditary nobility) and officer of the Kingdom of Württemberg (Generalmajor and Commander of the 120th Infantry Regiment), and Emilie Reinhardt, née von Wiedenmann. His brother Ernst (1870-1939) also became an officer (Generalleutnant) and was the father of Hellmuth Reinhardt (1900–89, Generalmajor).

In 1900, Walther Reinhardt married Luise Fürbringer in Berlin. They had three daughters.

After his time as a Kadett (cadet), Reinhardt joined the grenadier regiment "Königin Olga" (1st Württembergisches) Nr. 119 in 1891 as a Fähnrich. Once he had finished training as a general staff officer, he was sent to the Großer Generalstab in 1901 and served there with some short interruptions until 1918.

During World War I, Reinhardt first served in 1914-16 at the staff of the XIII Army Corps (Western Front), then as Chief of Staff at 11th Army in Macedonia (1916/17) and 7th Army in France (1917/18). For his actions during the Spring Offensive and subsequent battles in the summer of 1918 he received the highest decorations for bravery of the Kingdom of Württemberg and the Kingdom of Prussia.

...
Wikipedia