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| In previous chapters we examined the relations of Hitler with 16 of his main Generals. We continue in this page our little trip in the military with four different high ranking officers : Kluge, Manteuffel Reichenau and Rundstedt. |
| Field Marshal Gunther von Kluge 1882-1944 The hero of the French campaign |
Gunther von Kluge was born in 1882 in an aristocratic family at Poznan in Posen, the
Prussian part of Germany transferred to Poland by the infamous Treaty of Versailles (1919). He
began his army career in the Lower Saxony Field Regiment of Artillery. He attended the military
academy and from 1910 to 1918 was on the General Staff, reaching the rank of Captain on the
Western front. He was incorporated in the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic and reached the
grade of Colonel in 1930, Major General in 1933 and Lieutenant General in 1934.
Prussian part of Germany transferred to Poland by the infamous Treaty of Versailles (1919). He
began his army career in the Lower Saxony Field Regiment of Artillery. He attended the military
academy and from 1910 to 1918 was on the General Staff, reaching the rank of Captain on the
Western front. He was incorporated in the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic and reached the
grade of Colonel in 1930, Major General in 1933 and Lieutenant General in 1934.
In 1936 he was promoted by Hitler Commander of the 6th Army Group (Hanover) -the future 4th Army of
WW2- and in 1938 he was ordered by Hitler to smash Czechoslovakia -if necessary- in the near future.
Kluge disliked Hitler and his crude methods while the existence of concentration camps was anathema
to him. In the summer of 1938, he was a member of the plot led by Gördeler and von Weizsacker
against Hitler that came to nothing because the British turned down the overtures of the German
conspirators and because, in the meanwhile, this idiot of Chamberlain had convinced the French to
abandon the Sudetenland to Hitler's appetites.
After that, his attitude to the Nazis was ambivalent. In September 1939, his 4th Army invaded Poland but
he was appalled at the brutality of the SS to the Polish Jews and Polish civilians. The campaign was a
great military success thanks to his imagination and his art to utilize simultaneously airfare, mechanized
divisions and infantry. The campaign marked the beginning of Hitler's admiration for Kluge.
WW2- and in 1938 he was ordered by Hitler to smash Czechoslovakia -if necessary- in the near future.
Kluge disliked Hitler and his crude methods while the existence of concentration camps was anathema
to him. In the summer of 1938, he was a member of the plot led by Gördeler and von Weizsacker
against Hitler that came to nothing because the British turned down the overtures of the German
conspirators and because, in the meanwhile, this idiot of Chamberlain had convinced the French to
abandon the Sudetenland to Hitler's appetites.
After that, his attitude to the Nazis was ambivalent. In September 1939, his 4th Army invaded Poland but
he was appalled at the brutality of the SS to the Polish Jews and Polish civilians. The campaign was a
great military success thanks to his imagination and his art to utilize simultaneously airfare, mechanized
divisions and infantry. The campaign marked the beginning of Hitler's admiration for Kluge.
| Staging an invasion : breaking Polish border checkpoint in September 1939 |
Kluge was appalled at the decision to invade France as he feared the numerical inferiority of the
German armies : but he eventually yielded in and in May 1940 his 4th Army attacked the French
through the Ardennes. He reached the Meuse river on the 17th of May after beating the weak French
General Corap and his ill-trained troops, possibly the worst of all the French armies. The same day,
his panzers Commander Erwin Rommel set his headquarters in Avesnes after having taken 10,000
POWs and 100 tanks. On 20 May, Rommel reached the suburbs of Arras (North of France) where the
BEF and the French planned to corner the Germans. But Rommel escaped too fast for the maneuver
to succeed and the 24th of May reached Amiens and the sea at Abbeville. Then the French and the
British were cut off and German troops were only 10 miles from Dunkirk but Hitler always a bad
tactician gave the order to stop. The BEF and the French has a respite to evacuate 338,000 men from
the beaches of Dunkirk safely to England.
In early June, Kluge completed the eradication of enemy forces by driving a wedge between the 10th
and the 9th British corps and on the 7 June German panzers entered the city of Rouen. The 10 June
Rommel was near the Seine river and was ordered by Kluge to swing northwest to the sea. Dieppe
was reached. The famous 51st Highland Division surrendered on 13 June at St Valery en Caux. The
French government pleaded for an Armistice which was signed on the 22th of June with Germany
and on the 24th with Italy. Kluge and Rommel became instantly the great heroes of the French
campaign.
In 1941, at the start of Operation Barbarossa, Kluge, now Field Marshal, was still commander of the
4th Army. He wanted to push on to Moscow before the winter with his mechanized units but a
massive Russian counter attack in front of Moscow pushed back the tired Germans. In December, his
troops were at a standstill immobilized by cold temperatures and lack of supplies and he was
eventually allowed by the Führer a partial retreat. He regained the initiative in May 1942 but the
partisans war that swept Russia forced his troops into brutal methods which depressed him. His
faith in Hitler had begun to falter after the declaration of war against America in December 1941.
In Jul;y 1942 he was promoted to Command of Army Group Center in place of Bock who was ill. In
this Army, there was a lot of officers totally disgusted with the way the war was going and the brutality
of the German soldiers and SS. He got involved in several plans to kill Hitler, notably one led by
Baron Henning von Tresckow in March 1943, but every time he relented at the last minute. In October
43, his car overturned near Smolensk and he was out for many months until June 1944.
German armies : but he eventually yielded in and in May 1940 his 4th Army attacked the French
through the Ardennes. He reached the Meuse river on the 17th of May after beating the weak French
General Corap and his ill-trained troops, possibly the worst of all the French armies. The same day,
his panzers Commander Erwin Rommel set his headquarters in Avesnes after having taken 10,000
POWs and 100 tanks. On 20 May, Rommel reached the suburbs of Arras (North of France) where the
BEF and the French planned to corner the Germans. But Rommel escaped too fast for the maneuver
to succeed and the 24th of May reached Amiens and the sea at Abbeville. Then the French and the
British were cut off and German troops were only 10 miles from Dunkirk but Hitler always a bad
tactician gave the order to stop. The BEF and the French has a respite to evacuate 338,000 men from
the beaches of Dunkirk safely to England.
In early June, Kluge completed the eradication of enemy forces by driving a wedge between the 10th
and the 9th British corps and on the 7 June German panzers entered the city of Rouen. The 10 June
Rommel was near the Seine river and was ordered by Kluge to swing northwest to the sea. Dieppe
was reached. The famous 51st Highland Division surrendered on 13 June at St Valery en Caux. The
French government pleaded for an Armistice which was signed on the 22th of June with Germany
and on the 24th with Italy. Kluge and Rommel became instantly the great heroes of the French
campaign.
In 1941, at the start of Operation Barbarossa, Kluge, now Field Marshal, was still commander of the
4th Army. He wanted to push on to Moscow before the winter with his mechanized units but a
massive Russian counter attack in front of Moscow pushed back the tired Germans. In December, his
troops were at a standstill immobilized by cold temperatures and lack of supplies and he was
eventually allowed by the Führer a partial retreat. He regained the initiative in May 1942 but the
partisans war that swept Russia forced his troops into brutal methods which depressed him. His
faith in Hitler had begun to falter after the declaration of war against America in December 1941.
In Jul;y 1942 he was promoted to Command of Army Group Center in place of Bock who was ill. In
this Army, there was a lot of officers totally disgusted with the way the war was going and the brutality
of the German soldiers and SS. He got involved in several plans to kill Hitler, notably one led by
Baron Henning von Tresckow in March 1943, but every time he relented at the last minute. In October
43, his car overturned near Smolensk and he was out for many months until June 1944.
| Ill-equipped and poorly commanded "fat and flabby" French soldiers on the march to defeat |
| Erwin Rommel -here studying a map- became an instant hero in Germany after his successful 1940 campaign in France |
Summoned by Hitler to Berchtesgaden, he was promoted to Commander in Chief to the West in place of
von Rundstedt who had expressed doubts on the chances of success of the German counter-attack in
Normandy : "make peace, you fools," would have said an angry von Rundstedt to Hitler asking what to do
next. Hitler explained to Kluge he had no longer confidence in Rommel who was too "sel-willed" and did
not carry out his orders. He added that the V1s would spread havoc on to England and that most secret
weapons would soon tilt the war in favor of Germany. Kluge, now far away from the spirit of resistance
instilled in him by von Tresckow, swallowed all Hitler's sweet talk and illusions and persuaded himself
that Hitler was right and Rommel or von rundstedt pessimistic and biaised. He went back to the Normandy
front to quarrel with Rommel trying to persuade him that the front could not possibly be held any longer.
But when he accepted to make a tour of the front with Rommel, he was appalled and convinced himself that
Rommel's analysis was correct. Then once more he reluctantly agreed to get into a conspiracy against
Hitler that culminated on the 20th of July 1944 with a failed attack at Hitler's headquarters in East Prussia.
In the meanwhile Rommel who was involved in the plot was severy wounded by a British air raid and
the conspirators lost a powerful ally and a man who could influence Kluge. When the news that Hitler was
alive reached Paris, General Stülpnagel, member of the plot, begged Kluge to surrender the Western front
and to continue the uprising from France. But Kluge's nerves failed him and he turned his back on the
conspirators.
The rest of the Normandy campaing was atrocious to Kluge. Later in August he was sacked by Hitler and
replaced by the fanatical Hitlerite Field Marshal Model. He asked Hitler to stop the war but it was a bit too
late. He committed suicide with cyanide on the 19 August 1944, aged 61.
von Rundstedt who had expressed doubts on the chances of success of the German counter-attack in
Normandy : "make peace, you fools," would have said an angry von Rundstedt to Hitler asking what to do
next. Hitler explained to Kluge he had no longer confidence in Rommel who was too "sel-willed" and did
not carry out his orders. He added that the V1s would spread havoc on to England and that most secret
weapons would soon tilt the war in favor of Germany. Kluge, now far away from the spirit of resistance
instilled in him by von Tresckow, swallowed all Hitler's sweet talk and illusions and persuaded himself
that Hitler was right and Rommel or von rundstedt pessimistic and biaised. He went back to the Normandy
front to quarrel with Rommel trying to persuade him that the front could not possibly be held any longer.
But when he accepted to make a tour of the front with Rommel, he was appalled and convinced himself that
Rommel's analysis was correct. Then once more he reluctantly agreed to get into a conspiracy against
Hitler that culminated on the 20th of July 1944 with a failed attack at Hitler's headquarters in East Prussia.
In the meanwhile Rommel who was involved in the plot was severy wounded by a British air raid and
the conspirators lost a powerful ally and a man who could influence Kluge. When the news that Hitler was
alive reached Paris, General Stülpnagel, member of the plot, begged Kluge to surrender the Western front
and to continue the uprising from France. But Kluge's nerves failed him and he turned his back on the
conspirators.
The rest of the Normandy campaing was atrocious to Kluge. Later in August he was sacked by Hitler and
replaced by the fanatical Hitlerite Field Marshal Model. He asked Hitler to stop the war but it was a bit too
late. He committed suicide with cyanide on the 19 August 1944, aged 61.
| A well camouflaged German sniper in France 1944, he has a face veil under his hood. |
Hasso von Manteuffel was born in 1897
in Postdam in a family which provided soldiers to
Germany since ever and a long list of Generals.
Their aristocratic origin dated back to the XIIIth
century. A Manteuffel was ADC to two differents
Kaisers, Frederich Wilhelm IV and Wilhelm I. In
1911 the small Manteuffen (4' 8" high) entered the
Cadet Academy in Berlin but he was too young to
serve in 1914. He passed his Abitur in 1916 and
joined the 3rd Brandenburg Hussar Regiment
von Ziethen where he was promoted to Second
Lieutenant. He was despatched in France with
the 6th Prussian Infantry division in charge of
reconnaissance patrol tasks, notably during the
Verdun offensive.
In October he was wounded during the battle of
the Somme and discharged himself from
hospital. He was detained as a punishment for
three days. In 1919, he entered the Frei Korps
who were fighting the Red insurrection in
Germany and afterwards joined the nascent
Reichswehr. He progressed along in the
hierarchy to become a General after considerable
studies of the new mechanized units possibilities
: in 1930 he became Chief of the technical
squadron of his regiment, in 1932 he was
appointed squadron leader in the 17th Horse
Regiment at Bamberg and on 1 February 1933
saluted the new Swastika while riding one of his
horses in the city of Bamberg. He then believed
that "life in Germany would improve' with the Nazis
and that "if Von Hindenburg, protector of
national stability, accepted Hitler, then the
soldiers of the Reichswehr could accept him
too." An idea that has been implanted into the
Army by Colonel General von Seeckt, Commander
in Chief of the Army from 1919 to 1926.
.
in Postdam in a family which provided soldiers to
Germany since ever and a long list of Generals.
Their aristocratic origin dated back to the XIIIth
century. A Manteuffel was ADC to two differents
Kaisers, Frederich Wilhelm IV and Wilhelm I. In
1911 the small Manteuffen (4' 8" high) entered the
Cadet Academy in Berlin but he was too young to
serve in 1914. He passed his Abitur in 1916 and
joined the 3rd Brandenburg Hussar Regiment
von Ziethen where he was promoted to Second
Lieutenant. He was despatched in France with
the 6th Prussian Infantry division in charge of
reconnaissance patrol tasks, notably during the
Verdun offensive.
In October he was wounded during the battle of
the Somme and discharged himself from
hospital. He was detained as a punishment for
three days. In 1919, he entered the Frei Korps
who were fighting the Red insurrection in
Germany and afterwards joined the nascent
Reichswehr. He progressed along in the
hierarchy to become a General after considerable
studies of the new mechanized units possibilities
: in 1930 he became Chief of the technical
squadron of his regiment, in 1932 he was
appointed squadron leader in the 17th Horse
Regiment at Bamberg and on 1 February 1933
saluted the new Swastika while riding one of his
horses in the city of Bamberg. He then believed
that "life in Germany would improve' with the Nazis
and that "if Von Hindenburg, protector of
national stability, accepted Hitler, then the
soldiers of the Reichswehr could accept him
too." An idea that has been implanted into the
Army by Colonel General von Seeckt, Commander
in Chief of the Army from 1919 to 1926.
.
In October 1934, he accepted to be transferred
to a real panzer division as squadron leader in
the 2nd Motor Cycle Rifle Battalion where he
met Colonel Guderian and served initially as
Staff Major and then as chief teacher of the
Panzer training school near Berlin. At the end
of February 1937, he joined the Inspectorat of
Panzer Troops and it became his
responsability to deal with the motorization of
four infantry divisions.
At the end of offensive against France,
Manteuffel was assigned as commander of the
2nd Battalion 7th Rifle Regiment of the 7th
Panzer division under Major-General Rommel,
the famous "Ghost division". At the beginning
of Barbarossa, the 7th began to roll and
Manteuffel's battalion was always in the front
line. In early Octobre 1941, commanding the
6th Rifle Regiment, he get close to the
Dniepr river and was preparing for the
onslaught on Moscow. But the advance was
stopped by Hitler.
When it resumed in November, it was too late :
rain has started and the tanks were caught in
morasses of mud. But still Moscow was laying
within a hand's grasp and Manteuffel asked
reinforcements for the final onslaught. There
were none available and the little Colonel had
to withdraw from his bridgehead. He was
awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
After the Allies's landing in North Africa,
Manteuffel created the Manteuffel Division and
managed some successful actions until the
little Colonel collapsed on the battlefield on 30
April 1943. After a long recovery, he was
transferred to the Führer's reserve but did not
stay long as in June he required from Hitler to
be given command of the full 7th Panzer
Division and went back to the Eastern Front.
to a real panzer division as squadron leader in
the 2nd Motor Cycle Rifle Battalion where he
met Colonel Guderian and served initially as
Staff Major and then as chief teacher of the
Panzer training school near Berlin. At the end
of February 1937, he joined the Inspectorat of
Panzer Troops and it became his
responsability to deal with the motorization of
four infantry divisions.
At the end of offensive against France,
Manteuffel was assigned as commander of the
2nd Battalion 7th Rifle Regiment of the 7th
Panzer division under Major-General Rommel,
the famous "Ghost division". At the beginning
of Barbarossa, the 7th began to roll and
Manteuffel's battalion was always in the front
line. In early Octobre 1941, commanding the
6th Rifle Regiment, he get close to the
Dniepr river and was preparing for the
onslaught on Moscow. But the advance was
stopped by Hitler.
When it resumed in November, it was too late :
rain has started and the tanks were caught in
morasses of mud. But still Moscow was laying
within a hand's grasp and Manteuffel asked
reinforcements for the final onslaught. There
were none available and the little Colonel had
to withdraw from his bridgehead. He was
awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
After the Allies's landing in North Africa,
Manteuffel created the Manteuffel Division and
managed some successful actions until the
little Colonel collapsed on the battlefield on 30
April 1943. After a long recovery, he was
transferred to the Führer's reserve but did not
stay long as in June he required from Hitler to
be given command of the full 7th Panzer
Division and went back to the Eastern Front.
| Hasso von Manteuffel General of Panzer Troops 1897-1978 |
However three days after taking command of his dear division, the little man now General
was hit by a schrapnel and received 17 splinters in his back : he returned to his post in a
plaster. In November, he received the Oakleaf for the Knight's Cross and in December
Hitler told him to take over the command of the GrossDeutschland Panzer-Grenadier
division. In February 1944, Manteuffel took his new division into its first major attack but the
Russians beat him at Blagodatnoye. In March, the GrossDeutschalnd was encircled : he
managed to escape and even launched very successful counter-attacks which brought him the
Sword to the Knight's Cross. In May 1944, he stopped a Soviet avalanche of troops to a halt
at Ploesti, near the oil fields of Romania.
The GrossDeutschland was then transferred to East Prussia in prevision of a major Russian
attack on German soil. It carried an attack against the Red Army on the basis of an Hitler order
that was more and less made up by General Keitel from a simple remark by Hitler. The attack
failed. In September, Manteuffel received command of the 5th Panzer Army and promoted to
General of the Panzer Troops. He conducted an attack against General Patton's 3rd US Army
which was advancing towards Metz (France) : Manteuffel managed to stem the Patton's onslaught. In November, he learnt that
Hitler had decided to launch a major counter offensive in the Ardennes with the aim to recapture the port of Antwerp and cut the
Allied armies in two. MAnteuffel disagreed with the Hitler's plan and rather accepted a plan submitted by Model that aimed at
pinching off the Allied salient round Aachen. Hitler vehemently rejected this small plan and maintained his plan was the right one in
spite of objections even from General "Sepp" Dietrich.
The Battle of the Ardennes, alias Operation Herbsnebel or Battle of the Bulge, began on 16 December 1944. As soon as the
morrow, it was obvious that the goal to reach Antwerp could not be achieved and on the 21 December the fuel supplies ran out. The
Germans started a retreat and on 3 JAnuray 1945 the battle came to a close. The responsibility of this failure has been largely
brought on Sepp Dietrich's 6th Division who did not respect the global lines of the plan and did not support in time the 5th Panzer
Division and stayed more or less still behind it waiting for Hitler's orders. When they finally came, it was too late. Field Marshal von
Rundstedt will say about this error:"It unbalanced the entire offensive and jeopardized a potential victory."
On 10 Januray the 6th Panzer Army was sent to Hungary. But the tying-up of those powerful
divisions in the Ardennes proved to be a good thing for the Soviets who started their great winter
offensive on 12 January 1945. In February, Manteuffel was awarded the Diamond's to the Knight
Cross of the Iron Class with Oakleaves and Swords. In March he took over command of the 3rd
Panzer Army on the Eastern front where he bravely held position until 26 April 1945. By 3 May 1945,
he reached the line of the British occupation zone, so managing to lead his army into British
captivity.
Hasso von Manteuffel was the embodiment of the German gentleman, a leader excellin in every
respect and he combined superb military skills with a pronounced sense of the essential. He was
loved by his men and became a model to all soldiers of the GrossDeutschland division.
After the war, Manteuffel was held in an Allied POW camp until September 1947. After his release von Manteuffel
entered politics and was a representative of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) in the German Bundestag from 1953 to
1957. He was also a guest in the United States, visiting the Pentagon and on invitation by President Eisenhower, the White House.
In 1968 he lectured at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and also worked as a technical adviser on war films. He
died in Diessen in 1978, aged 81. A great German soldier.
was hit by a schrapnel and received 17 splinters in his back : he returned to his post in a
plaster. In November, he received the Oakleaf for the Knight's Cross and in December
Hitler told him to take over the command of the GrossDeutschland Panzer-Grenadier
division. In February 1944, Manteuffel took his new division into its first major attack but the
Russians beat him at Blagodatnoye. In March, the GrossDeutschalnd was encircled : he
managed to escape and even launched very successful counter-attacks which brought him the
Sword to the Knight's Cross. In May 1944, he stopped a Soviet avalanche of troops to a halt
at Ploesti, near the oil fields of Romania.
The GrossDeutschland was then transferred to East Prussia in prevision of a major Russian
attack on German soil. It carried an attack against the Red Army on the basis of an Hitler order
that was more and less made up by General Keitel from a simple remark by Hitler. The attack
failed. In September, Manteuffel received command of the 5th Panzer Army and promoted to
General of the Panzer Troops. He conducted an attack against General Patton's 3rd US Army
which was advancing towards Metz (France) : Manteuffel managed to stem the Patton's onslaught. In November, he learnt that
Hitler had decided to launch a major counter offensive in the Ardennes with the aim to recapture the port of Antwerp and cut the
Allied armies in two. MAnteuffel disagreed with the Hitler's plan and rather accepted a plan submitted by Model that aimed at
pinching off the Allied salient round Aachen. Hitler vehemently rejected this small plan and maintained his plan was the right one in
spite of objections even from General "Sepp" Dietrich.
The Battle of the Ardennes, alias Operation Herbsnebel or Battle of the Bulge, began on 16 December 1944. As soon as the
morrow, it was obvious that the goal to reach Antwerp could not be achieved and on the 21 December the fuel supplies ran out. The
Germans started a retreat and on 3 JAnuray 1945 the battle came to a close. The responsibility of this failure has been largely
brought on Sepp Dietrich's 6th Division who did not respect the global lines of the plan and did not support in time the 5th Panzer
Division and stayed more or less still behind it waiting for Hitler's orders. When they finally came, it was too late. Field Marshal von
Rundstedt will say about this error:"It unbalanced the entire offensive and jeopardized a potential victory."
On 10 Januray the 6th Panzer Army was sent to Hungary. But the tying-up of those powerful
divisions in the Ardennes proved to be a good thing for the Soviets who started their great winter
offensive on 12 January 1945. In February, Manteuffel was awarded the Diamond's to the Knight
Cross of the Iron Class with Oakleaves and Swords. In March he took over command of the 3rd
Panzer Army on the Eastern front where he bravely held position until 26 April 1945. By 3 May 1945,
he reached the line of the British occupation zone, so managing to lead his army into British
captivity.
Hasso von Manteuffel was the embodiment of the German gentleman, a leader excellin in every
respect and he combined superb military skills with a pronounced sense of the essential. He was
loved by his men and became a model to all soldiers of the GrossDeutschland division.
After the war, Manteuffel was held in an Allied POW camp until September 1947. After his release von Manteuffel
entered politics and was a representative of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) in the German Bundestag from 1953 to
1957. He was also a guest in the United States, visiting the Pentagon and on invitation by President Eisenhower, the White House.
In 1968 he lectured at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and also worked as a technical adviser on war films. He
died in Diessen in 1978, aged 81. A great German soldier.
Walter von Reichenau was born in 1884 in Karlsruhe, son of a General, in a
family ennobled by the Dukes of Nassau who were deposed by Bismarck in 1866.
They were thus not of a very old nobility and had no estate or Prussian aristocratic
tradition. In 1903, Walther joined the 1st Guards Artillery Regiment as a cadet officer
and in 1904 became Second Lieutenant. In 1908 he made an extensive trip to
Argentina and in 1913 to the USA. He spoke excellent English and was quite a
different product than the rest of his comrades : he was not militarist in his soul but
proud to be an officer and a soldier. He played good tennis and did not snub soccer.
He was charming but generally considered as an outsider notably because of his
passion for sports and his involvement in the Olympics games.
At the outbreak of WW1, he was seconded to the War Academy and went to the front as
regimental adjutant with the 1st Guards Reserve Field Artillery Regiment. Eventually
he served on all fronts, East and West. After the war, he joined the frontier defence in
Upper Silesia and married Countess Alexandrine von Malzten from the Silesian high
nobility. Reichenau was a "ladies men" and very much appreciated by women.
In 1920, as a Colonel he joined Blomberg at the 1st division in East Prussia. His life
took a huge turn in 1932 when he deputied Blomberg at the head of Wehrkreis I (a
German military district) of the Reichswehr. His wife went one evening to listen to one
of Hitler's electoral speech in Könisberg and said to him she was "very impressed" by
the little nazi corporal. Later in the same week, he personally met and had a private
conversation with Hitler and he formed the opinion that Hitler was the man.
When Hitler after his accession to power proposed Reichenau to take over the post of
Chief of the Army High Command, Marshal Hindenburg opposed it on the grounds he
was too young and fickle. Reichenau stayed at the Wehrkreis I but he is said to have
been favorable to the elimination of the SA who were becoming a menace for the
Reichswehr, even if he did not take any part in the Night of the Long Knives. The SA
leader, Ernst Röhm, was given a seat on the National Defence Council and began to
demand more say over military matters. In October 1933, Röhm sent a letter to
Reichenau that said: "I regard the Reichswehr now only as a training school for the
German people. The conduct of war, and therefore of mobilization as well, in the
future is the task of the SA." It was a terrible threat to the status not only of the
German officers but to the role of the Reichswehr in general.
family ennobled by the Dukes of Nassau who were deposed by Bismarck in 1866.
They were thus not of a very old nobility and had no estate or Prussian aristocratic
tradition. In 1903, Walther joined the 1st Guards Artillery Regiment as a cadet officer
and in 1904 became Second Lieutenant. In 1908 he made an extensive trip to
Argentina and in 1913 to the USA. He spoke excellent English and was quite a
different product than the rest of his comrades : he was not militarist in his soul but
proud to be an officer and a soldier. He played good tennis and did not snub soccer.
He was charming but generally considered as an outsider notably because of his
passion for sports and his involvement in the Olympics games.
At the outbreak of WW1, he was seconded to the War Academy and went to the front as
regimental adjutant with the 1st Guards Reserve Field Artillery Regiment. Eventually
he served on all fronts, East and West. After the war, he joined the frontier defence in
Upper Silesia and married Countess Alexandrine von Malzten from the Silesian high
nobility. Reichenau was a "ladies men" and very much appreciated by women.
In 1920, as a Colonel he joined Blomberg at the 1st division in East Prussia. His life
took a huge turn in 1932 when he deputied Blomberg at the head of Wehrkreis I (a
German military district) of the Reichswehr. His wife went one evening to listen to one
of Hitler's electoral speech in Könisberg and said to him she was "very impressed" by
the little nazi corporal. Later in the same week, he personally met and had a private
conversation with Hitler and he formed the opinion that Hitler was the man.
When Hitler after his accession to power proposed Reichenau to take over the post of
Chief of the Army High Command, Marshal Hindenburg opposed it on the grounds he
was too young and fickle. Reichenau stayed at the Wehrkreis I but he is said to have
been favorable to the elimination of the SA who were becoming a menace for the
Reichswehr, even if he did not take any part in the Night of the Long Knives. The SA
leader, Ernst Röhm, was given a seat on the National Defence Council and began to
demand more say over military matters. In October 1933, Röhm sent a letter to
Reichenau that said: "I regard the Reichswehr now only as a training school for the
German people. The conduct of war, and therefore of mobilization as well, in the
future is the task of the SA." It was a terrible threat to the status not only of the
German officers but to the role of the Reichswehr in general.
| Field Marshal Walther von Reichenau 1884-1942 |
About the elimination of the SA leaders, Reichenau thought that it was a good decision insofar as the
SA "was no longer a military but a political body." As for the murder of von Schleicher, he said that
Schleicher had given the impression that "he was really not longer a soldier", so echoing the general
feeling within the Army. However the Night left him with a distinct aversion for Himmler and Heydrich
and in the future avoided any contact with them and systematically refused to have any SS member
attached to his army during the campaign of France.
In 1935 he became General commanding the new 7th Army Corps in Munich and in 1938 C-in-C of
Army group 4 in Leipzig. He was involved in the preparation of the Olympics of 1936 but did not
participate because the same year he was sent to China to advise Chiang Kai-shek in his defense
of the country against the Japanese attacks. However in 1938 he became the German member of
the Olympic Committee.
During the Polish campaign in 1939, he received command of the 10th Army and was subordinated
to General von Rundstedt. His army succeeded a remarkable thrust across the Vistula river towards
Warsaw, swimming himself across the river, an act of bravura as remarkable as unnecessary which
caused a first slight fainting attack. He was revolted by the massacre of the Polish Jews by some SS
units of the Army and wrote to Hitler about it. Himmler convinced the Führer that the entire SS should
be placed under his direct jurisdiction and Hitler agreed. The Generals lost this war which tend to
prove that Hitler was perfectly aware of the slaughter of the Jews in the East.
| Reichenau profoundly disliked Himmler and his SS men and always refused to have anything to do with this clique |
In early 1940, he was dispatched to the Western front and
was opposed to any onslaught against France, Belgium and
England and even predicted to Hitler that Germany would lose
a second world war as she did lose the first one if the Führer
decided to attack France and England. Unlike Hitler who had
never left Germany before May 1940 -to briefly visit Paris in
three hours only- he had sufficent international contacts and
knowledge to ponder the consequences of an all-out war in
Europe.
was opposed to any onslaught against France, Belgium and
England and even predicted to Hitler that Germany would lose
a second world war as she did lose the first one if the Führer
decided to attack France and England. Unlike Hitler who had
never left Germany before May 1940 -to briefly visit Paris in
three hours only- he had sufficent international contacts and
knowledge to ponder the consequences of an all-out war in
Europe.
Reichenau tried several times to quietly discuss the
issue with Hitler but in the end realized that Hitler
was an obsessed man and that a reasonable
discussion with him was impossible. To his
stupefaction, the German army won a swift victory
over France and he was promoted Field Marshal
and received an endowment. However in 1941 he
reaffirmed his skepticism over the invasion of
Russia but even before the onslaught on Russia he
suffered a heart attack. Nevertheless he participated
in the planning of the invasion but once more he
suffered from a phlebitis and thrombosis in Spring
1941. He insisted on going to combat after the
beginning of the war against Russia and again he
witnessed the exactions of Himmler' SS units in the
extermination of the Russian Jews and the
Commissars. When he protested to the SS unit's
commander, he was coldly told he was "an
aristocratic reactionary." However in October 1941,
he issued an order in which he noted that "the main
objective of this campaign against the
Jewish-Bolshevik element is to totally destroy the
potential for power and to extirpate Asiatic
influence on European cultural life." He went on to
explain that the soldiers must fully understand the
need for severe but just atonement of the Jewish
subhumans."
In September, his 6th Army took Kiev, then the
Donetz industrial area and the Caucasian oilfields.
In December, he became Commander of the Army
Group south in place of von Rundstedt. He then
realized that the Russian campaign was not going to
be a continuous pushover and called Hitler to tell
him he had unilaterally decided to retreat Army
Group to the Mius river, the first significant German
withdrawal of the war.. Hitler was taken aback but
said nothing.
issue with Hitler but in the end realized that Hitler
was an obsessed man and that a reasonable
discussion with him was impossible. To his
stupefaction, the German army won a swift victory
over France and he was promoted Field Marshal
and received an endowment. However in 1941 he
reaffirmed his skepticism over the invasion of
Russia but even before the onslaught on Russia he
suffered a heart attack. Nevertheless he participated
in the planning of the invasion but once more he
suffered from a phlebitis and thrombosis in Spring
1941. He insisted on going to combat after the
beginning of the war against Russia and again he
witnessed the exactions of Himmler' SS units in the
extermination of the Russian Jews and the
Commissars. When he protested to the SS unit's
commander, he was coldly told he was "an
aristocratic reactionary." However in October 1941,
he issued an order in which he noted that "the main
objective of this campaign against the
Jewish-Bolshevik element is to totally destroy the
potential for power and to extirpate Asiatic
influence on European cultural life." He went on to
explain that the soldiers must fully understand the
need for severe but just atonement of the Jewish
subhumans."
In September, his 6th Army took Kiev, then the
Donetz industrial area and the Caucasian oilfields.
In December, he became Commander of the Army
Group south in place of von Rundstedt. He then
realized that the Russian campaign was not going to
be a continuous pushover and called Hitler to tell
him he had unilaterally decided to retreat Army
Group to the Mius river, the first significant German
withdrawal of the war.. Hitler was taken aback but
said nothing.
| At 04:45 on 22 June 1941, three million German soldiers, to be joined by their Italian, Romanian and other allies over the next weeks, burst over the borders and stormed into the Soviet Union. For a month the three-pronged offensive was completely unstoppable as the Panzer forces encircled hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops in huge pockets that were then reduced by slower-moving infantry divisions while the panzers charged on, following the Blitzkrieg doctrine. As part of this lightning campaign the German airforce began immediate attacks on soviet airfields destroying most of the initially antiquated and inept Soviet Airforce before it left the ground. |
| When Brauchitsh resigned because of a heart attack in December 1941, Hitler refused that Reichenau took over the job. In January 1942, while at the headquarters of the Army Group South, Reichenau suddenly felt unwell. He went outside on the balcony, leaned against the wall and only said :"Damn it, damn it" before falling on the ground, victim of a haemorrhage, just like his fatther. Transported by air to an hospital in Leipzig, he died during the flight of a hear attack. He was 58 year old. Hitler ordered a State funeral of which he evidently absented himself. |
| May 1945, the Reichstag in flames lays in ruins as a last witness to Hitler's madness and lack of humanity |
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt was born in 1875 at Aschersleben (Harz) in a old noble
Prussian family and received a typical Prussian education although he learnt English and French in a
tender age from nurses. He particularly loved adventure and detective stories, notably Karl Mays' (the
German Jack London) whom Hitler too loved when he was a kid and read even during WW2. He
went to the Gross Lichterfeld Cadet School and took active military service in 1892. In 1893 he
became a lieutenant in the 83rd Royal Prussian Infantry Regiment and after ten years' service he
qualified for the War Academy examination in Berlin. The same year he married the very influent
Louise von Götz, daughter of a retired major. The War Academy with its three years course was the
most prestigious and hard-to-enter academy in imperial Germany : only one eight of the applicants
to it was admitted and 80% of those admitted failed the course which means that out of 10
applicants, only 1 graduated from the Academy.
the happy ones who passed the hurdles went on probation in the Great General Staff for 18 months
before to be entitled to wear the prestigious silver collar tabs and carmine trouser stripes. Rundstedt
completed his probation in 1909 and went into the General Staff which was considered as the
corporate brain of the Army.
At the beginning of WW1 he was operations officer in the 22nd Reserve Infantry division and took part
in the Battle of the Marne river, came close to Paris but was posted in Belgium when the troops dug
into trenches. In 1915 as a major he was sent to the Eastern front as divisional chief of Staff. In 1916
he was assigned to the military government in Poland and in the summer was transferred to
Hungary to be a corps Chief of Staff in the Army Group Grand Duke Karl to restore the efficiency of the
Austro-Hungarian command which he did with success under the command of legendary General
Hans von Seeckt.
| Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt 1875-1953 |
In 1932, aged 56, he was promoted to General of Infantry in command of the 1st Army
group and in 1933 administered in person to the divisions of his Army Group the oath of
total allegiance to Hitler : the rest of the Army did te same in response to the favour done
to it by Hitler when he ordered the murder of SA leaders who were threatening the
traditional role of the army in the country. He even appeared as a guest of Honour during
the NSDAP Rally in Nuremberg in September 1934 from which Leni Riefenstahl made
her first spectacular propaganda- documentaries whom she claimed was only pieces of
art. Art and loyalty played a big role in the complicity of the elites to the rise of the IIIrd
Reich. It is called blind ambition.
Anyway in the following years the Reichswehr and the Nazis got along very well until the
Sudetenland crisis when some Generals mulled over a coup against Hitler : Rundstedt
let it know that he would have none of it as it would be "bare-faced treachery." He retired
after the invasion of Sudetenland but in Apris 1939 was called out of retirement to
command the Working Stall Rundstedt to prepare the Fall Weiss operation, i.e. the
invasion and destruction of Poland. In this onslaught that began on 1 September 1939
(see map), he commanded the 8th, 10th and 14the Armies. On 30 September he
received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and stayed in Poland as Governor for three
weeks.
group and in 1933 administered in person to the divisions of his Army Group the oath of
total allegiance to Hitler : the rest of the Army did te same in response to the favour done
to it by Hitler when he ordered the murder of SA leaders who were threatening the
traditional role of the army in the country. He even appeared as a guest of Honour during
the NSDAP Rally in Nuremberg in September 1934 from which Leni Riefenstahl made
her first spectacular propaganda- documentaries whom she claimed was only pieces of
art. Art and loyalty played a big role in the complicity of the elites to the rise of the IIIrd
Reich. It is called blind ambition.
Anyway in the following years the Reichswehr and the Nazis got along very well until the
Sudetenland crisis when some Generals mulled over a coup against Hitler : Rundstedt
let it know that he would have none of it as it would be "bare-faced treachery." He retired
after the invasion of Sudetenland but in Apris 1939 was called out of retirement to
command the Working Stall Rundstedt to prepare the Fall Weiss operation, i.e. the
invasion and destruction of Poland. In this onslaught that began on 1 September 1939
(see map), he commanded the 8th, 10th and 14the Armies. On 30 September he
received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and stayed in Poland as Governor for three
weeks.
| The oath of allegiance : the main error of the Wehrmacht who was then tighten to Hitler for the best or the worst. Most Germans did not realize that they were committing their total loyalty to the Chief of a gang of murderers and psychopaths led by Himmler, Heydrich, Göring and Goebbells. |
When the offensive against France began on 10 May 1940 (see map), Rundstedt was
Chief-of-Staff, Commander in Chief Army Group A, which pushed the Brits and the French
towards Dunkirk. On the 17th June 1904, Marshal Petain pleaded for an Armistice through the
Spaniards and on 19 July Hitler gave his victory speech to the Reichstag in presence of all
Generals as "guests of honour". Rundstedt received then a promotion to Field-Marshal along
with Brauchitsch, Bock, Leeb, Keitel and Reichenau.
After the campaign of France, Rundstedt worked on the Sealion operation, i.e. the invasion of
England which planned that Army Group A would establish a beach-head southeast of
London. IT was cancelled on 12 October 1940 and on 26 October Rundstedt was made
Commander-in-Chief West and took command of all Army field formations in France,
Belgium and Holland. In January 1941, he was told by Brauchitsch he woudl be Army Group
commander for Operation Barbarossa (invasion of Russia) along with Leeb and Bock. In April
he established his headquarters in Breslau and was told by Hitler that this invasion would be
conducted without any regard for the Geneva Conventions. Later Rundstedt signed the
infamous "Commissar Orders" which instructed the Army to deny Soviet political commissars
the status of POWs and subjected Soviet civilians to execution without trial for acts against
German soldiers. It was the denial of all form of civilized warfare and the trampling of the spirit
of Geneva conventions.
Chief-of-Staff, Commander in Chief Army Group A, which pushed the Brits and the French
towards Dunkirk. On the 17th June 1904, Marshal Petain pleaded for an Armistice through the
Spaniards and on 19 July Hitler gave his victory speech to the Reichstag in presence of all
Generals as "guests of honour". Rundstedt received then a promotion to Field-Marshal along
with Brauchitsch, Bock, Leeb, Keitel and Reichenau.
After the campaign of France, Rundstedt worked on the Sealion operation, i.e. the invasion of
England which planned that Army Group A would establish a beach-head southeast of
London. IT was cancelled on 12 October 1940 and on 26 October Rundstedt was made
Commander-in-Chief West and took command of all Army field formations in France,
Belgium and Holland. In January 1941, he was told by Brauchitsch he woudl be Army Group
commander for Operation Barbarossa (invasion of Russia) along with Leeb and Bock. In April
he established his headquarters in Breslau and was told by Hitler that this invasion would be
conducted without any regard for the Geneva Conventions. Later Rundstedt signed the
infamous "Commissar Orders" which instructed the Army to deny Soviet political commissars
the status of POWs and subjected Soviet civilians to execution without trial for acts against
German soldiers. It was the denial of all form of civilized warfare and the trampling of the spirit
of Geneva conventions.
| The sight which French people wished they had never seen : German troops down the Champs Elysees only 22 years after the Armistice of 1918. |
The attack order was signed on 21 June 1941 planning the invasion for 0310 the next morning. Quite rapidly Hitler and Rundstedt
disagreed about the importance of reaching Moscow first rather than the Ukraine which was considered by der Führer as the vital
source of energy, food and materials for Russia. In September, Rundstedt's Army Group South took 650,000 prisoners but a SS
detachment of it killed 34,000 Jewish civilians at Babi Yar Ravine. In november however the elite Pretorian guard of Hitler, the SS
Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler of Sepp Dietrich which was part of the Army Group south was forced to retreat from Rostov, the first
humiliating retreat of the German Armies since 1939. Rundstedt began to disagree with Hitler's stubbornness to hold the front
line in Russia and even qualified it as "madness" but never dared to tell it upfront to the Führer.
The same month he suffered a mild heart attack. In December, Hitler ordered him to turn over command of his Army to
Reichenau but it was not yet the end of him. In January 1942 he had to make the funeral speech at Reichenau's state funeral in
place of Hitler who did not attend and in March Hitler asked him to replace Witzleben as C-in-C West. So after the Allies' landing
in North Africa Rundstedt had the mission to occupy the whole of Vichy France (operatin Anton). He then had the delicate
mission to bluff Marshal Petain into a reinforced collaboration spirit with the Nazis without giving anything serious in exchange.
He did that very well. As of late 1943 he was in charge of pushing back an expected Allied invasion on the beaches of France at
the same time as Marshal Rommel and the two men disagreed. Rundstedt advocated a central reserve of panzer divisions that
could be dispatched according to needs on specific theaters and Rommel wanted the panzers like the rest of the Armies to stick
closer to the waterfront to better respond to the obvious air superiority of the Anglo-Americans. Hitler preferred Rommel's strategy
although he never overtly denied the validity of Rundstedt's. But the result of it was that Rundstedt was little by little depriced of any
sort of direct responsibility in the West and as he eventually said himself :"my sole prerogative is to change the guard at my
gate." But none of them, Hitler, Rommel and Rundstedt had anticipated that the bulk of the invasion would be on the beaches of
Normandy and not on the Pas-de-Calais's. It was a regrettable error. When on 27 June 1944 the US 1st Army took Cherbourg,
Germany had lost the war. Three days later when asked by Hitler's entourage what should be done, Rundstedt replied :"Make
peace, you fools!", although some people consider this quip as apocryphal.
Nethertheless he received on July 1944 the Oak Leaf Cluster on his Knight's Cross and a letter
from Hitler telling him he would be replaced by von Kluge. After the abortive July 1944 attempt to
assassinate the Führer, Rundstedt lost his mind. He was appointed to preside a Court of Honour
whose purpose was to expel from the Armies the officers implicated in the attempt. The Court
had to pronounce its verdict on the basis of evidence provided by the Gestapo. The Court found 55
officers guilty of implication among them Marshal Witzleben, 11 Generals and 17 General Staff
Officers. Rundstedt had turned himself into a vulgar snitch.
Lather Hitler asked him to take full responsibility of the Western front and Rundstedt, not anymore
a Prussian "grand Seigneur" replied:" Mein Führer, whater your order, I shall do to my last
breath." In December 1944, the Ardennes offensive became the Rundstedt offensive even if
most of it was masterminded by Erwin Rommel and Sepp Dietrich, such was great Rundstedt's
prestige in the mind of the troops and the Allies. The real defender of the Rhineland was actually
Model. In March 1945, Hitler decided that Rundstedt had not been up to the job of defending the
West front and summoned him to Berchtesgaden and awarded him the Swords to his Knight's
Cross and appointed Kesselring C-in-C in the West.
On 1 May 1945 he was made POW by the USA Army and after proving through some
diminishment of his professional and military stature that he had not been at the center of
German war planning he was ommitted from the list of major war criminals who were going to be
judged at Nuremberg by the International Military Tribunal.
After his release in May 1949, he stayed in Celle in the British zone where he died in February
1953 and was buried by a clergyman who talked of the "simple demeanour and noble character"
of the "last great Prussian." It could have been true if Rundstedt had lived up to his reputation and
had not endorsed tacitly most of the Hitler's crimes.
Duty and service to the nation was for him a convenient mean to escape moral responsibililty.
Generals have a tendency to justify their worst actions with pompous words.
from Hitler telling him he would be replaced by von Kluge. After the abortive July 1944 attempt to
assassinate the Führer, Rundstedt lost his mind. He was appointed to preside a Court of Honour
whose purpose was to expel from the Armies the officers implicated in the attempt. The Court
had to pronounce its verdict on the basis of evidence provided by the Gestapo. The Court found 55
officers guilty of implication among them Marshal Witzleben, 11 Generals and 17 General Staff
Officers. Rundstedt had turned himself into a vulgar snitch.
Lather Hitler asked him to take full responsibility of the Western front and Rundstedt, not anymore
a Prussian "grand Seigneur" replied:" Mein Führer, whater your order, I shall do to my last
breath." In December 1944, the Ardennes offensive became the Rundstedt offensive even if
most of it was masterminded by Erwin Rommel and Sepp Dietrich, such was great Rundstedt's
prestige in the mind of the troops and the Allies. The real defender of the Rhineland was actually
Model. In March 1945, Hitler decided that Rundstedt had not been up to the job of defending the
West front and summoned him to Berchtesgaden and awarded him the Swords to his Knight's
Cross and appointed Kesselring C-in-C in the West.
On 1 May 1945 he was made POW by the USA Army and after proving through some
diminishment of his professional and military stature that he had not been at the center of
German war planning he was ommitted from the list of major war criminals who were going to be
judged at Nuremberg by the International Military Tribunal.
After his release in May 1949, he stayed in Celle in the British zone where he died in February
1953 and was buried by a clergyman who talked of the "simple demeanour and noble character"
of the "last great Prussian." It could have been true if Rundstedt had lived up to his reputation and
had not endorsed tacitly most of the Hitler's crimes.
Duty and service to the nation was for him a convenient mean to escape moral responsibililty.
Generals have a tendency to justify their worst actions with pompous words.
| Roland Freisler, President of the Volksgerichtshof (people Court) was a rabid Nazi and under his chairmanship the number of death sentences rose sharply. Approximately 90% of all proceedings ended with sentences of death or life imprisonment, the sentences frequently having been determined before the trial. Between 1942 and 1945 more than 5000 death sentences were handed out by his Court. |
| Hitler and His Generals 5 |
| Hitler and His Generals 5 |
| Stalin vs. Hitler, WW2 was a personal affrontement between two tyrants |
| In the end, the war was lost in Russia but Hitler could not admit it : Stalin had won |
| Röhm was a constant menace for the role of the Reichswehr and his elimination was a source of satisfaction for Reichenau and his fellow officers |
| During the Polish campaign Reichenau swam himself across the Vistula river to better lead the thrust of his 6th Army towards Warsaw. He got a faint attack as a reaward of his stupid deed. |
| Late in 1917, Rundstedt was assigned as Chief of Staff 53rd Corps which marched to Petrograd (St Petersburg) to force Bolshevik acceptance of the German peace terms and after the happy conclusion of the war there he went back to the Western front in 1918 as Chief of Staff 15th Corps 1st Army which took part in the last offensive of July 1918 against the Allies. In 1919 he stayed in the nascent Reichswehr as Lieutenant Colonel appointed directly by von Seeckt. Over the next eight years he progressed to Colonel and commander officer, 18the Infrantry Regiment, Major-General and Chief of Staff Wehkreis II (regional military district), Leutenant-General and General commanding 2nd Cavalry Division. |
