Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma

Wilhelm Josef Ritter von Thoma (11 September 1891 – 30 April 1948) was a German officer who served in World War I, in the Spanish Civil War, and as a general in World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Thoma is known for his indiscretion while a POW in the British captivity, whereas he unwittingly revealed the details of the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2 weapons program. He was subject to surveillance by the British intelligence and, while speaking to another German officer, was recorded discussing rockets that were being tested at Kummersdorf West, which he observed while on a visit that also included Generalfeldmarschall Walther von Brauchitsch, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army. British reconnaissance flights over Peenemünde Army Research Center in May and June 1943 brought back unmistakable images of rockets at the facility; the subsequent bombing of the site severely disrupted the program.

Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma was born in Dachau in 1891. Thoma took part in World War I on the Russian front and the Serbian front. He was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order, the highest military decoration for bravery in the Bavarian Army and was awarded the noble title of Ritter. He remained in the army following the war.

During the Spanish Civil War, he served in Spain commanding the ground element of the Condor Legion, following Nazi Germany's intervention on the side of the Nationalists led by Francisco Franco. During the 1941 Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, Thoma lead the 17th Panzer Division, and then the 20th Panzer Division, which took part in the Battle of Moscow. In December 1941, Thoma received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. In September 1942 Thoma was transferred to serve with the Afrika Korps in North Africa, where he took part in the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942.

On 4 November 1942, Thoma was captured by the British forces, and for the remainder of the war he was a prisoner in several senior officer prisoner-of-war camps in Great Britain, including Trent Park, Wilton Park, Grizedale Hall and Island Farm. Thoma was subject to surveillance by the Secret Intelligence Service and while speaking to another POW, General Ludwig Crüwell, he was recorded discussing rockets that were being tested at Kummersdorf West, which he observed while on a visit that also included Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and other technical program details.

Following his indiscretion, further British reconnaissance flights over Peenemünde in May and June 1943 brought back unmistakable images of rockets at the facility which was developing guided missiles and long-range ballistic missiles better known as the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2. When reconnaissance and intelligence information regarding the V-2 became convincing, Churchill's War Cabinet directed the first planned raid (the Operation Hydra), the attack of Peenemünde in August 1943, as part of Operation Crossbow, the Anglo-American campaign against the German long-range weapons programme.

In late 1945, Waffen-SS commander Kurt Meyer, captured in Belgium in September 1944 while commanding the 12th SS-Panzer Division "Hitler Jugend", arrived at Trent Park and noted that Thoma, the German camp leader, was "...highly thought of by the English. Relations between him and the guards is excellent." Churchill's high regard for Thoma is evident from his many later quotations of Thoma's opinions on strategic matters, especially in his book about the war. After Montgomery invited Thoma to dine with him in his private trailer, Churchill remarked: "I sympathize with General von Thoma: Defeated, in captivity and... (long pause for dramatic effect) dinner with Montgomery."

Thoma died of a heart attack in 1948 in his hometown of Dachau.

"I am actually ashamed to be an officer"—regarding his witnessing of German atrocities in Russia.

"The Italians are good workers, but they are not fighters. They don't like noise."— on the value of Italian troops in North Africa.

• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 31 December 1941 as Generalmajor and commander of the 20th Panzer Division