Oskar Walther Gerhard Julius Freiherr[a] von Watter (2 September 1861 – 23 August 1939) was a German Generalleutnant who came from an old Pomeranian noble family.
World War I
In April 1913, von Watter took over the command of the 10th Brigade of Field Artillery, which he kept until 3 March 1915. With that force, General von Watter took part in the early fighting of World War I in France. Subsequently, he took over the 54th Infantry Division, which he commanded until 5 March 1918. The division was initially also deployed in France, but it was later sent to fight on the eastern front by the River Narew, and from September 1915, he was again at the western front. On 23 December 1917, he was awarded the Pour le Mérite for military bravery.[1] Until 11 November 1918, he was commander of the XXVI Reserve Corps. On 3 November 1918, a few days before the end of the war, he was awarded the oak leaves of the "Pour le Mérite" (signifying a second award).[2]
Post-war
In March 1920, von Watter was in command of military district VII stationed at Münster during lead-up to the Ruhr uprising, an attempt by far left workers to set up a soviet-style council republic in Germany. After the government in Berlin had negotiated the Bielefeld Agreement to end the uprising, von Watter, without consulting Berlin, added conditions that could not be met. The workers responded with a general strike, and on 2 April, the government ordered units of the Reichswehr and Freikorps under the command of von Watter into the Ruhr area. There were mass arrests and shootings, including of wounded fighters. Fifty had been executed and an additional 205 condemned by drumhead courts before the government in Berlin forbade them on 3 April. Von Watter defended himself from other charges that his men had engaged in unlawful behaviour by citing a letter from the Ministry of the Reichswehr that stated, "You are given complete freedom to do what the situation demands". The uprising left over 1,000 workers and 600 Reichswehr and Freikorps soldiers dead.[3][4]
On his initiative, to the south of Horst Castle, in Essen in 1934 a monument was erected in memory of the Freikorps soldiers who died in 1920 during the suppression of the Ruhr uprising.
^Regarding personal names: Freiherr is a former title (translated as 'Baron'). In Germany since 1919, it forms part of family names. The feminine forms are Freifrau and Freiin.
^Graf, Alexander (2 April 2020). "Die gerufenen Geister bekämpfen sich" [The Conjured Spirits Fight Each Other]. Junge Freiheit (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2024.
