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Fedor von Bock
Moritz Albrecht Franz Friedrich Fedor von Bock (3 December 1880 – 4 May 1945) was a German Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) who served in the German Army during the Second World War. Bock served as the commander of Army Group North during the Invasion of Poland in 1939, of Army Group B during the Invasion of France in 1940, of Army Group Center during Operation Barbarossa in 1941, and of Army Group South on the Eastern Front in 1942.
Bock was a staff officer of the Imperial German Army during World War I and rose through the ranks of the post-war Reichswehr during the Weimar Republic. Bock was given his first command post in 1935, playing a key role in the Anschluss, the annexation of the Sudetenland, the invasion of Poland, and the invasion of France for which he was promoted to Generalfeldmarschall. Bock was successful during Operation Barbarossa and commanded Operation Typhoon, the German attempt to capture Moscow during the autumn and winter of 1941, which was slowed by the rasputitsa and stiff Soviet resistance around Mozhaisk.
Bock was a monarchist neutral to the Nazi regime and not heavily involved in politics, but he did not sympathize with plots to overthrow Hitler. Bock was outspoken in his disagreement with Hitler and the Army High Command's strategy on the Eastern Front, a privilege extended to him only because he had been successful in battle. Bock was relieved of his command by Hitler after the failure of Operation Typhoon and the German retreat from the Red Army in July 1942, forcing him into retirement for the rest of the war. Bock was killed by a strafing Royal New Zealand Air Force plane on 4 May 1945 while travelling by car towards Hamburg.
Fedor von Bock was born on 3 December 1880 in Cüstrin, Province of Brandenburg (now Kostrzyn, Poland), into an old Prussian military family. His father, Moritz Albert Karl von Bock, had commanded a division of the Prussian Army in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 and was ennobled by Kaiser Wilhelm I for his achievements during the conflict. His mother, Olga Helene Franziska von Falkenhayn, was the sister of Erich von Falkenhayn, the Chief of the German General Staff during the First World War, and had relatives within the Russian aristocracy.
At the age of eight, Bock went to study at a military academy in Berlin, receiving an education that emphasized Prussian militarism. He quickly became adept in academic subjects such as modern languages, mathematics, and history. He spoke fluent French, and some English and Russian. At an early age, and largely due to his father, Bock developed an unquestioning loyalty to the German state and dedication to the military profession. While not a brilliant theoretician, Bock was a highly motivated officer. As one of the highest-ranking officers in the Reichswehr, he often addressed graduating cadets at his alma mater, which closed in 1920. His theme was always that the greatest glory that could come to a German soldier was to die for the Fatherland. He quickly earned the nickname "Holy Fire of Küstrin". In 1905, Bock married Mally von Reichenbach (1887–1910), a young Prussian noblewoman. They had a daughter. In 1908, Bock entered the Prussian Staff College in Berlin, and after a year's study he joined the ranks of the General Staff. He soon joined the Army League (Deutscher Wehrverein) and came to know Walther von Brauchitsch, Franz Halder, and Gerd von Rundstedt.
By the time World War I began in 1914, Bock had reached the rank of Hauptmann and a staff officer of the Guards Corps, which was deployed to the Western Front. In May 1915, he was transferred to the 11th Army on the Eastern Front and participated in the Gorlice–Tarnów offensive. The following year he joined the General Staff of the 200th Infantry Division, taking part in the mountain warfare in the Carpathians and in the defense of the Brusilov Offensive. In April 1917, he was transferred to the General Staff of the German Crown Prince's Army Group on the Western Front. On 1 April 1918, he was decorated with Pour le Mérite for his work on the General Staff during the Spring Offensive. He had previously received both classes of the Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords.
Bock stayed on as an officer of the Reichswehr after the war and rose through the ranks. In the early 1920s, General Hans von Seeckt, chief of the Army Command, named Bock head of a group tasked with building up what came to be known as the Black Reichswehr. It consisted of "labour battalions" (Arbeitskommandos), purportedly made up of civilian volunteers attached to Reichswehr units, but its members wore Reichswehr uniforms and received their training and orders from it. Its actual purpose was to provide a way for the Reichswehr to circumvent the restriction in the Treaty of Versailles which limited Germany's army to 100,000 men. Bock chose Major Bruno Ernst Buchrucker to build up the force. The Black Reichswehr under Buchrucker became infamous for the Feme murders to punish "traitors" who, for example, revealed the locations of weapons' stockpiles or names of members. During the trials of some of those charged with the murders, prosecutors alleged that the killings were ordered by the officers from Bock's group. The journalist Carl von Ossietzky wrote: "... [the accused] did nothing but carry out the orders given him, and that certainly Colonel von Bock, and probably ... General Seeckt, should be sitting in the dock beside him." Several times Bock denied in court that the Reichswehr ministry had had any knowledge the "Black Reichswehr" or the murders they had committed.
On 27 September 1923, Buchrucker ordered 4,500 men of the Black Reichswehr to assemble outside of Berlin as the first preparatory step toward a coup d'état. Bock, who was Buchrucker's contact with the Reichswehr, was enraged, and in a stormy meeting berated Buchrucker for mobilizing without orders. Bock stated that the Reichswehr wanted no part in Buchrucker's coup and, despite his orders to demobilize at once, Buchrucker went ahead with the Küstrin Putsch on 1 October 1923, which ended in total failure. Following the coup attempt, Seeckt disbanded the Black Reichswehr.
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Fedor von Bock
Moritz Albrecht Franz Friedrich Fedor von Bock (3 December 1880 – 4 May 1945) was a German Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) who served in the German Army during the Second World War. Bock served as the commander of Army Group North during the Invasion of Poland in 1939, of Army Group B during the Invasion of France in 1940, of Army Group Center during Operation Barbarossa in 1941, and of Army Group South on the Eastern Front in 1942.
Bock was a staff officer of the Imperial German Army during World War I and rose through the ranks of the post-war Reichswehr during the Weimar Republic. Bock was given his first command post in 1935, playing a key role in the Anschluss, the annexation of the Sudetenland, the invasion of Poland, and the invasion of France for which he was promoted to Generalfeldmarschall. Bock was successful during Operation Barbarossa and commanded Operation Typhoon, the German attempt to capture Moscow during the autumn and winter of 1941, which was slowed by the rasputitsa and stiff Soviet resistance around Mozhaisk.
Bock was a monarchist neutral to the Nazi regime and not heavily involved in politics, but he did not sympathize with plots to overthrow Hitler. Bock was outspoken in his disagreement with Hitler and the Army High Command's strategy on the Eastern Front, a privilege extended to him only because he had been successful in battle. Bock was relieved of his command by Hitler after the failure of Operation Typhoon and the German retreat from the Red Army in July 1942, forcing him into retirement for the rest of the war. Bock was killed by a strafing Royal New Zealand Air Force plane on 4 May 1945 while travelling by car towards Hamburg.
Fedor von Bock was born on 3 December 1880 in Cüstrin, Province of Brandenburg (now Kostrzyn, Poland), into an old Prussian military family. His father, Moritz Albert Karl von Bock, had commanded a division of the Prussian Army in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 and was ennobled by Kaiser Wilhelm I for his achievements during the conflict. His mother, Olga Helene Franziska von Falkenhayn, was the sister of Erich von Falkenhayn, the Chief of the German General Staff during the First World War, and had relatives within the Russian aristocracy.
At the age of eight, Bock went to study at a military academy in Berlin, receiving an education that emphasized Prussian militarism. He quickly became adept in academic subjects such as modern languages, mathematics, and history. He spoke fluent French, and some English and Russian. At an early age, and largely due to his father, Bock developed an unquestioning loyalty to the German state and dedication to the military profession. While not a brilliant theoretician, Bock was a highly motivated officer. As one of the highest-ranking officers in the Reichswehr, he often addressed graduating cadets at his alma mater, which closed in 1920. His theme was always that the greatest glory that could come to a German soldier was to die for the Fatherland. He quickly earned the nickname "Holy Fire of Küstrin". In 1905, Bock married Mally von Reichenbach (1887–1910), a young Prussian noblewoman. They had a daughter. In 1908, Bock entered the Prussian Staff College in Berlin, and after a year's study he joined the ranks of the General Staff. He soon joined the Army League (Deutscher Wehrverein) and came to know Walther von Brauchitsch, Franz Halder, and Gerd von Rundstedt.
By the time World War I began in 1914, Bock had reached the rank of Hauptmann and a staff officer of the Guards Corps, which was deployed to the Western Front. In May 1915, he was transferred to the 11th Army on the Eastern Front and participated in the Gorlice–Tarnów offensive. The following year he joined the General Staff of the 200th Infantry Division, taking part in the mountain warfare in the Carpathians and in the defense of the Brusilov Offensive. In April 1917, he was transferred to the General Staff of the German Crown Prince's Army Group on the Western Front. On 1 April 1918, he was decorated with Pour le Mérite for his work on the General Staff during the Spring Offensive. He had previously received both classes of the Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords.
Bock stayed on as an officer of the Reichswehr after the war and rose through the ranks. In the early 1920s, General Hans von Seeckt, chief of the Army Command, named Bock head of a group tasked with building up what came to be known as the Black Reichswehr. It consisted of "labour battalions" (Arbeitskommandos), purportedly made up of civilian volunteers attached to Reichswehr units, but its members wore Reichswehr uniforms and received their training and orders from it. Its actual purpose was to provide a way for the Reichswehr to circumvent the restriction in the Treaty of Versailles which limited Germany's army to 100,000 men. Bock chose Major Bruno Ernst Buchrucker to build up the force. The Black Reichswehr under Buchrucker became infamous for the Feme murders to punish "traitors" who, for example, revealed the locations of weapons' stockpiles or names of members. During the trials of some of those charged with the murders, prosecutors alleged that the killings were ordered by the officers from Bock's group. The journalist Carl von Ossietzky wrote: "... [the accused] did nothing but carry out the orders given him, and that certainly Colonel von Bock, and probably ... General Seeckt, should be sitting in the dock beside him." Several times Bock denied in court that the Reichswehr ministry had had any knowledge the "Black Reichswehr" or the murders they had committed.
On 27 September 1923, Buchrucker ordered 4,500 men of the Black Reichswehr to assemble outside of Berlin as the first preparatory step toward a coup d'état. Bock, who was Buchrucker's contact with the Reichswehr, was enraged, and in a stormy meeting berated Buchrucker for mobilizing without orders. Bock stated that the Reichswehr wanted no part in Buchrucker's coup and, despite his orders to demobilize at once, Buchrucker went ahead with the Küstrin Putsch on 1 October 1923, which ended in total failure. Following the coup attempt, Seeckt disbanded the Black Reichswehr.