Walther Wever (general)
| Walther Wever | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
11 November 1887 Wilhelmsort, Bromberg district |
| Died | 3 June 1936 (aged 48) Dresden-Klotzsche |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
|
| Service/branch |
 Luftwaffe
|
| Rank | Generalleutnant |
| Commands held | Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Relations | Walther Wever (son) |
Walther Wever (11 November 1887 – 3 June 1936) was a pre-World War II Luftwaffe Commander. He was an early proponent of the theory of strategic bombing as a means to wage war, opposing the theories of Giulio Douhet. He died in an air crash in 1936, and German efforts to build a strategic bomber force died with him.
Walther Wever was born on 11 November 1887 in Wilhelmsort in the county of Bromberg (now in north-central Poland). He was the son of Arnold Wever, the one-time director of a Berlin bank and the grandson of the Prussian Prosecutor-General Dr. Carl George Wever. After his final secondary examinations, he settled in Schweidnitz where he trained as an officer.
Wever saw action in World War I and served as a staff officer for the OHL (Oberste Heeresleitung, Army High Command).
Wever became the Commander of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium on 1 September 1933. On 1 March 1935, he became Chief of Staff of the Luftwaffe shortly after its creation on 26 February 1935, a post he held until his death. Wever was a supporter of the Strategic bomber and recognised its importance as early as 1934. He supported the aviation companies such as Junkers and Dornier, in their respective projects to produce the Ju 89 and Dornier Do 19 competitors for the Ural Bomber production contract competition. Wever outlined five key points to air strategy:
1. To destroy the enemy air force by bombing its bases and aircraft factories, and defeating enemy air forces attacking German targets.
2. To prevent the movement of large enemy ground forces to the decisive areas by destroying railways and roads, particularly bridges and tunnels, which are indispensable for the movement and supply of forces
3.To support the operations of the army formations, independent of railways, i.e, armored forces and motorised forces, by impeding the enemy advance and participating directly in ground operations.
4. To support naval operations by attacking naval bases, protecting Germany's naval bases and participating directly in naval battles
5. To paralyze the enemy armed forces by stopping production in the armaments factories.
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