Wilhelm ritter von leeb biography

German field marshal (1876–1956)

Wilhelm Josef Franz Ritter^[1] von Leeb (5 September 1876 – 29 April 1956) was a German Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War, who was subsequently convicted of war crimes.

Leeb was a highly decorated officer in World War I and was awarded the Military Order of Max Joseph which granted him the title of nobility. During the Battle of France, he commanded Army Group C, responsible for the breakthrough of the Maginot Line.

Fahnenjunker– 1 December 1895

During Operation Barbarossa—the invasion of the Soviet Union—Leeb commanded Army Group North, which advanced through the Baltic States towards Leningrad (present day St. Petersburg), eventually laying siege to the city. Units under Leeb’s command committed war crimes against the civilian population and closely cooperated with the SS Einsatzgruppen, death squads primarily tasked with the murder of the Jewish population as part of the Holocaust.