filled a variety of staff po-
sitions throughout World
War I. Recklessly brave,
he distinguished himself
in savage fighting around
Verdun and twice re-
ceived the Iron Cross. He
emerged from the war as
a highly promising junior
officer, so Model became
one of only 4,000 officers
retained in the postwar
Reichswehr.
The newly established
Weimar Republic was im-
mediately beset by politi-
cal and economic instabil-
ity. These dislocations,
exacerbated by a deep-
seated sense of betrayal,
led many former military
personnel to associate
with various antidemocra-
tic right-wing movements.
The best known of these
was Adolf Hitler’s Na-
tionalist Socialist Workers Party, or Nazis. Like
many veterans, Model joined the party with
much enthusiasm, although there is little proof
he supported the more extreme elements of
party ideology. But with Hitler in power after
1933, Model’s good standing with the Nazis en-
sured his rapid rise through the ranks. In 1935,
he rose to command the General Staff’s Tech-
nical Department, where he pushed for greater
emphasis on armored vehicles and mechaniza-
tion. Model’s strong Nazi ties and common
background made him the antithesis of aristo-
cratic senior officers, but Hitler remained fa-
vorably impressed by his youth and blunt talk.
In time, he became one of very few leaders that
could criticize the Führer’s military directives
without fear of reproach. His manifold tal-
ents—and Nazi credentials—held him in good
stead when he advanced to major general of a
motorized corps in 1938.
World War II commenced with the German
invasion of Poland in September 1939, and
Model led his command
with distinction. The fol-
lowing April, he was pro-
moted to lieutenant gen-
eral and head of the
crack Third Panzer Divi-
sion during operations
against Holland and
France. Model drove his
men—and himself—re-
lentlessly, acquiring the
reputation of an aggres-
sive, hard-hitting leader.
In June 1941, during the
initial phases of Hitler’s
attack on Russia, Model’s
dynamic leadership on
the battlefield was imme-
diately apparent and
spectacularly successful.
His tanks were rapidly
closing in on Moscow by
December 1941 when a
surprise Soviet offensive
forced the Germans to
withdraw 100 miles.
Model was then transferred to the Ninth Army
and became trapped at Vyasma, where he or-
ganized a last-ditch defense and beat off sev-
eral Soviet attacks. He then flew back to
Berlin to confer with Hitler, demanding that a
panzer corps be committed to the relief of his
men. A stormy session ensued with the
Führer, who wanted his tanks to attack else-
where, but support was finally secured. Model
then energetically directed operations that
saved the Ninth Army from annihilation. He
had also earned Hitler’s respect and was pro-
moted to full general.
Model defended the Vyasma Salient for a
full year, punishing all Soviet attempts to re-
take it. However, he severely condemned
Field Marshal Friedrich von Paulus for sur-
rendering the Sixth Army at Stalingrad, de-
claring that “a marshal must never surrender.”
This sentiment would come back to haunt
him. In the spring of 1943 he was dispatched
south to the Kursk region, where German andMODEL, WALTER
Walter Model
Collection Viollet