 | Franz Halder: Encyclopedia II - Franz Halder - Pre-World War II Service
Franz Halder - Pre-World War II Service
Between 1919 and 1920 Halder served with the Reichswehr War Ministry Training Branch. Between 1921 and 1923 he was a Tactics Instructor with the Wehrkreis VII in Munich.
In March 1924 he was promoted to Major and by 1926 he served as the Director of Operations (Oberquartiermeister of Operations: O.Qu.I.) on the General Staff of the Wehrkreis VII in Munich. In February 1929 he was promoted to Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel), and from October 1929 through late 1931 he served on the Training staff in the Reichswehr Ministry.
After being promoted to Oberst (Colonel) in December 1931, he served as the Chief of Staff, Wehrkreis Kdo VI, in Münster (Westphalia) through early 1934. During the 1930s the German military staff thought that Poland might attack the detached German province of East Prussia to regain this former Polish territory. As such, they reviewed plans as to how to defend East Prussia.
After being promoted to Generalmajor (Major-General) in October 1934, Halder served as the Commander of the 7th Infantry Division in Munich.
Recognized as a fine staff officer and planner, in August 1936 he was promoted to Generalleutnant (Lieutenant-General). He then became the director of the Manoeuvres Staff. Shortly thereafter, he became director of the Training Branch (Oberquartiermeister of Training, O.Qu.II), on the General Staff of the Army, in Berlin between October 1937 and February 1938. During this period he directed important training maneuvers, the largest held since the reintroduction of conscription in 1935.
On February 1, 1938 he was promoted to General der Artillerie. Around this date Gen. Wilhelm Keitel was attempting to reorganize the entire upper leadership of the German Army. Gen. Keitel had asked Halder to become Chief of the General Staff (Oberquartiermeister of operations, training & supply; O.Qu.I ) and report to Gen. Walther von Reichenau. However, Halder declined as he felt he could not work with Reichenau very well, due to a personality dispute. As Keitel recognized Halder’s superior military planning skills, Keitel met with Hitler and enticed him to appoint Gen. Walther von Brauchitsch as commander-in-chief of the German Army. Halder then accepted becoming Chief of the General Staff of the Army (Oberkommando des Heeres) on September 1, 1938, and succeeded Gen. Ludwig Beck.
A week later, Halder presented plans to Hitler on how to invade Czechoslovakia with a pincer movement by Gen. Gerd von Rundstedt and Gen. Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb. Instead, Hitler directed that Reichenau should make the main thrust into Prague. Neither plan was necessary once British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain brokered the "Munich Agreement", by surrendering the Czech region of Sudetenland to Germany. Just before Chamberlain capitulated to Hitler, Halder -- in an attempt to avoid war -- discussed with several other generals the idea of removing Hitler from power. However, on September 29 Chamberlain gave in to Hitler’s demands, and Halder’s plot to remove Hitler died as peace had been preserved. Two days later, on October 1, German troops entered and reclaimed the Sudetenland.
Other related archives1884, 1884 births, 1902, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1911, 1914, 1915, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1929, 1930s, 1931, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1949, 1950s, 1972, 1972 deaths, 1976, 1991, 1997, Adolf Hitler, April 2, April 24, Ardennes Forrest, Army General Staff, Artillery, Austrian, Balkans, Bavarian, Berlin, British Prime Minister, Czechoslovakia, Dachau, East Prussia, Eastern front, Erich von Manstein, February 1, Flossenbürg, France, General, Generalleutnant, Generalmajor, Generaloberst, Gerd von Rundstedt, German, German Army, German generals, Gestapo, Hauptmann, Hugh Trevor-Roper, January 31, Jews, John F. Kennedy, July 19, July 20, June 29, June 30, Lieutenant, Low Countries, Ludwig Beck, Major, May 4, Munich Agreement, München, Münster, Neville Chamberlain, Oberstleutnant, October 1, Poland, Prague, Regiment, Reichswehr, Reinhard Heydrich, Russia, SS, September 1, September 10, September 24, September 29, Sudetenland, TIME, Tyrol, U.S., Walther von Brauchitsch, Walther von Reichenau, Wehrkreis, Westphalia, Wilhelm Keitel, Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, World War I, World War II, Würzburg, attack against Leningrad, attempted to assassinate Hitler, concentration camps, conscription, killings of Jews, prisoner-of-war
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Pre-World War II Service", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
