Walther von Lüttwitz

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Walther von Lüttwitz
February 2, 1859 - September 20, 1942
Walther von Lüttwitz
Place of birth	Bodland
Place of death	Wrocław
Allegiance	Germany
Battles/wars	Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch

Walther von Lüttwitz (February 2, 1859 - September 20, 1942) was a German general, who became known for his involvement in the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch.

During World War I, von Lüttwitz held several high military ranks. After the armistice and the German Revolution in 1918, the Rat der Volksbeauftragten, the provisional German government, appointed him commander-in-chief of the Reichswehr, the German military, in Berlin and the vicinity. In this function, he directed the suppression of the Spartakus Uprising by the Freikorps in January of 1919.

Like many members of the Reichswehr, von Lüttwitz was an outspoken opponent of the Treaty of Versailles. He especially disliked the postulation for a reduction of the army to 100,000 men, for a disbandment of the Freikorps, and the extradition of about 900 members of the Reichswehr, whom the Allies accused of war crimes. He planned to defy these stipulations of the treaty. After defense minister Gustav Noske deposed him from several posts, von Lüttwitz decided to act. In the night between March 12 and 13, the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt, which had been under his command and was also supposed to be disbanded, towards the administration neighborhood of Berlin. The coup only lasted a few days, however, because of lacking support by the old elite and the population. Von Lüttwitz, who acted as defense minister of the coup government, fled on March 17. He then spent some time in Hungary; he returned after an amnesty to Germany in 1925. He died in 1942.