Family Wenninger was the son of Bavarian colonel Franz Xaver Wenninger and his wife Mathilde, née Forster. Wenninger married Kornelie Prins on July 11, 1889, in
Landshut. She was the daughter of Ary Prins, the vice-president of the Council for the Dutch East Indies. The marriage resulted in a daughter and two sons. Both sons pursued military careers like their father. Their younger son was killed in action in 1917 while serving as a pilot on the
Western Front. Their elder son, Ralph, initially served in the
Imperial German Navy as a submarine commander and eventually achieved the rank of
Luftwaffe general in
World War II. Like his father, Ralph was awarded the
Pour le Mérite during the First World War. Outside of princely families, they are the only father and son to have both received Prussia's highest award for valor.
Military career After graduating from a humanistic
Gymnasium on 28 September 1880, he enlisted in the
2nd Bavarian Heavy Cavalry Regiment as part of the
Bavarian Army in Landshut. He was then made an ensign on March 29, 1881, and promoted to second lieutenant on November 23, 1882. From October 1, 1888, to September 30, 1891, Wenninger studied at the
War Academy, which qualified him for the higher adjutantage and, secondarily, for the general staff. He led the unit in the
First Battle of Ypres and the subsequent trench warfare in
Flanders. In March 1915, Wenninger took over command of the
3rd Royal Bavarian Division in Artois. In September and October, the division was able to prevent multiple breakthrough attempts during the battles taking place near
La Bassée and
Arras. During the
Battle of the Somme, the division defended the Martinpuich section of the
Foureaux Forest. In April 1917, the division was on the Arras front south of the Scarpe. During the
Battle of Arras, Wenninger succeeded in repelling three attacks by the British and stabilized his front sector. For this achievement,
King Ludwig III rewarded Wenninger with the Knight's Cross of the
Military Order of Max Joseph on April 23, 1917. Shortly thereafter,
Wilhelm II awarded him the
Pour le Mérite on May 1, 1917. On June 5, 1917, he was appointed commander of the
XVIII Reserve Corps, which at the time was in front of
Verdun. The corps was transferred to the
Romanian Front in July and took part in the German summer offensive in August and September. During the breakthrough battles of Putna and Susita, his troops succeeded in capturing Muncelul. Wenninger was killed in the
Battle of Mărășești on September 8, 1917. ==References==