Henning von Thadden

Von Thadden was wounded in World War I, but remained in the army after the war serving in various regiments. In 1930, he was posted to the staff of the 4th Division and in 1934 he served in the staff of Military District VIII in Wrocław.

During the invasion of Poland, von Thadden was staff officer of the XVII Army Corps in 1939 and later joined the Battle of France in 1940 in this same capacity. As Chief of Staff of the XVII Army Corps, he participated in the Soviet campaign in 1941. He was Chief of Staff of the 7th Army from March 1943 to July 1943.

From 10 July 1944 to 31 December 1944, von Thadden was Chief of Staff of Defence District Command I in Königsberg. In his capacity as the commander of the Königsberg defence district, he was at Adolf Hitler's headquarters on 20 July 1944, when the assassination attempt on Hitler took place. Shortly before, he had had a conversation with Stauffenberg and Chief of Staff Walther Buhle.^[1][2]

On 27 February 1945, Henning von Thadden took over command of the 1st Infantry Division from Generalleutnant Hans Schittnig. He was severely wounded in April 1945 near Primorsk (German: Fischhausen) in East Prussia.^[3] When Thadden had been brought to Sassnitz, his family last learned of his fate in late April 1945. After having been transferred to Denmark, von Thadden died in the field hospital of Vordingborg on 18 May 1945.^[3][4] He was interred at the military cemetery of Kastrup on Zealand island.

During his education at the Dresden Infantry School from 1930 to 1933, von Thadden married the 18-year-old orphan Marie-Luise Neutze in 1931. The couple had two sons and a daughter.^[5]