Siegfried Westphal

Siegfried Carl Theodor Westphal (18 March 1902 – 2 July 1982) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II.

Siegfried Westphal
Westphal (background) in a propaganda photo with Erwin Rommel in North Africa in 1941
Born	18 March 1902 Leipzig, German Empire
Died	2 July 1982(1982-07-02) (aged 80) Celle, West Germany
Allegiance	Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
Branch	German Army
Years of service	1918–1945
Rank	General der Kavallerie
Battles / wars	World War I World War II Battle of France North African Campaign Italian Campaign
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Upon the outbreak of the war, Westphal, then a major, served as the operations officer 58th Infantry Division.^[1]

In 1941, he was promoted to Oberstleutnant and attached to the staff of Erwin Rommel in June of that year.^[1] He served as operations officer under Rommel and chief of staff under Kesselring and Rundstedt. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.

Westphal surrendered to the American troops in May 1945 and acted as a witness at the Nuremberg Trials. He was released in 1947. He wrote a book titled The German Army in the West, which was published in 1952. He appears in a number of interview segments of The World at War.

Awards and decorations

• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 November 1942 as Oberst i.G. and Chef des Generalstabes of Deutsch-Italienische Panzerarmee ^[2]