Walter Warlimont - Interbellum

Interbellum

Between the World Wars, Warlimont served in various military roles. In 1922, he served in the 6th Artillery Regiment and in 1926, as a captain, he was the second assistant to the Army's General Chief of Staff. In May 1929, Warlimont was attached to the U.S. Army for a year to study American industrial mobilization theory during wartime. This led to his service between 1930 and 1933 as a major on the staff of the Industrial Mobilization Section of the German Defense Ministry. He became the Section's chief in 1935.

Between August and November 1936, following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Warlimont – now promoted to Lieutenant Colonel – served as the Reich War Minister (OKH General Staff)'s Wehrmacht Plenipotentiary Delegate to the government of Spanish General Francisco Franco in Spain. Reich War Minister Werner von Blomberg directed Warlimont to coordinate German aid in support of Franco's battle against the Spanish government forces. Before flying to Spain to meet with Franco, Warlimont met various Italian intelligence officials to discuss the Spanish Civil War.

Lieutenant-Colonel Warlimont became known as an up-and-coming staff officer when, in 1937, he wrote the Warlimont Memorandum calling for the reorganization of the German armed forces under one staff unit and one supreme commander. The plan was to limit the power of the high officer caste in favor of the German Führer: Adolf Hitler. On the basis of this memorandum, Hitler developed the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (High command of the armed forces), with Hitler as supreme commander. Warlimont was rewarded in 1939 with a post as deputy to General Alfred Jodl.

In 1937, he served as commander of the 2nd Battalion, 34th Artillery Regiment, in Trier. In 1938 he was promoted to colonel and became commander of the 26th Artillery Regiment.