Born in Breslau in 1884, Wietersheim attended a () and began his military career in 1902. From 1903 until the end of World War I, Wietersheim continued to serve in the army and was awarded the
Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd Class. After the war, Wietersheim had two simultaneous General Staff assignments as a captain in the staff of the 3rd Division, and also the general staff of the XXV Reserve Corps. He was promoted to major and was made an , or department manager, at the Reich Defense Ministry (), the governmental organ that determined the overarching policy of the Reichswehr in relation to the
Weimar Republic. During the early 1930s, Wietersheim served as the
Chief of Staff of the 3rd Division and continued his work with the Defense Ministry. He was promoted to () in November 1932 and to () in July 1934. When the Defense Ministry was reorganized as the War Ministry () under
Adolf Hitler, chancellor of Germany and dictator since 1933, in 1935 to match Hitler's simultaneous dissolution of the Reichswehr and creation of the greatly expanded, war-oriented
Wehrmacht, Wietersheim was made the I (O. Qu. I) of the General Staff. This position, "immediately subordinated to the Chief of the General Staff," entailed the control of several departments of General Staff, "carrying command of the operations, transport and supply sections." As the General Staff was put on a war footing, this high-level logistics command was a "key position," and Wietersheim, "a brilliant Generalmajor", held this role from March 1935 until later-Field Marshal
Erich von Manstein, at that time junior to Wietersheim, took over for him in October 1936. During this time, Wietersheim had been promoted to
Generalleutnant, and, after handing over his post as O. Qu. I to Manstein, he took over command of the
29th Infantry Division on 1 October 1936his first real position outside the internal command structure of the General Staff. On 1 February 1938, Wietersheim was promoted to General der Infanterie, and was given command of
XIV Motorised Corps, later renamed to XIV Panzer Corps, on 1 April 1938, upon the formation of this unit. On 10 August 1938, Wietersheim had been called to the
Berghof, Hitler's Bavarian retreat, along with a group of other high-ranking Wehrmacht chiefs of staff in order that Hitler could attempt to persuade them that invading Czechoslovakia was a good plan of action. Most of the generals were not convinced by Hitler's arguments, but Generals
Jodl and
Manstein later commented that Wietersheim, who was the highest-ranking officer in attendance (and the Chief of Staff of General
Wilhelm Adam's Second Army Group, which was in charge of any potential Western Front), was the only one present to argue with Hitler directly about the faults in his plan, namely that an invasion of Czechoslovakia would leave the
West Wall along the German-French border weak and in risk of being overrun within a few weeks should a French force decide to attack. Jodl reported in his diary that Hitler "became furious" and yelled at Wietersheim: "I say to you Herr General...[the West Wall] will be held not only for three weeks but for three years!" ==World War II==