Günther Blumentritt (General)

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Signature of Günther Blumentritt in 1941

Günther Alois Friedrich Blumentritt (born February 10, 1892 in Munich ; † October 12, 1967 there ) was a German officer , most recently a general of the infantry in World War II , and a military writer.

Life

family

He was the son of the Secret Supervision and Ministerial Councilor in Munich, Günther Blumentritt (1859-1941), and his wife Lina, née Rückart (born March 24, 1868 in Munich). On December 17, 1920 he married Mathilde Schollmeyer in Marburg .

Military career

Blumentritt joined the 3rd Thuringian Infantry Regiment No. 71 on September 20, 1911 as a flag junior . From January 5 to September 28, 1912 he attended the Danzig War School . On November 19, 1912 promoted to lieutenant , he was from December 4, 1914 as adjutant of the III. Battalion active. In 1918 he became a regimental adjutant and shortly before the end of the war he became an adjutant of the 205th Infantry Brigade. For his achievements during the First World War , Blumentritt was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross , the Cross of Honor of Schwarzburg III. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords on July 7, 1918 .

During the turmoil of the civil war in early 1919, Blumentritt was initially a company commander in the "Thuringia" Freikorps and was accepted into the Reichswehr as a first lieutenant . On April 1, 1926, promoted to captain to the Ia staff of the 6th Division , he was appointed company commander in the 19th (Bavarian) Infantry Regiment in 1930 . In the fall of 1933 he became a tactics teacher at the War Academy, where he was promoted to major . From October 1935 to October 1937, Blumentritt served as Ia in the General Staff of the VII Army Corps before returning to the 19 Infantry Regiment for a year as a lieutenant colonel and battalion commander. The last year before the outbreak of war he was chief of the 4th division in the Army General Staff .

Second World War

On September 2, 1939, Blumentritt was transferred as a colonel to the General Staff of Army Group South under Colonel General Gerd von Rundstedt , with whom he took part in the attack on Poland . In this position began a long and familiar relationship between Blumentritt and Rundstedt. Together with Erich von Manstein, he developed an operation plan for the German invasion of Poland, which was called the White case . On October 23, 1939, he was appointed operations officer in the General Staff of Army Group South, which was renamed Army Group A three days later . After the French campaign , he became Chief of Staff of the 4th Army on October 25, 1940 and on January 17, 1942 (with promotion to Major General) Oberquartiermeister I in the Army General Staff.

In September 1942 Blumentritt was again placed under the command of Rundstedt, who was now Commander in Chief West (also Commander in Chief of Army Group D ) in France . He received the important position as Rundstedt's chief of staff and was promoted to lieutenant general a little later . On January 3, 1943, he was seriously injured in a railway accident and was temporarily incapacitated. Promoted to General of the Infantry on April 1, 1944, Blumentritt also served Rundstedt's successors Günther von Kluge and Walter Model as Chief of Staff after the invasion of Normandy before he was transferred to the Führer Reserve in September .

In the fall of 1944, Blumentritt experienced a few short-term assignments to various army corps, mostly to represent absent generals. In January 1945 he was entrusted with the command of the 25th Army , in March with the command of the 1st Parachute Army . Finally, in April he was given command of some of the remaining units on the German North Sea coast, which had been combined to form the “Blumentritt” army group .

post war period

The British captured Blumentritt on June 1, 1945 in Schleswig-Holstein . He was from June 1 to December 1, 1945 in British and then until January 1, 1948 in American captivity . In the 1950s, Blumentritt published several books on military history .

Others

In the film The Longest Day 1962 Günther Blumentritt is of Curd Jürgens shown in the film A Bridge Too Far from Hans von Borsody and in the TV movie drum of 2012 by Oliver Nägele .

Awards and Promotions

Promotions
  • September 20, 1911 Fahnenjunker NCO
  • January 27, 1912 Ensign
  • November 19, 1912 Lieutenant ( appointment )
  • March 22, 1918 First Lieutenant
  • April 1, 1926 Captain
  • September 1, 1933 Major
  • April 1, 1936 Lieutenant Colonel
  • October 1, 1938 Colonel
  • January 16, 1942 Major General (appointment)
  • December 1, 1942 Lieutenant General
  • April 20, 1944 General of the Infantry with RDA from April 1, 1944

Works

  • Von Rundstedt: The Soldier and the Man. 1952.
  • German soldiers in a European context. 1952.
  • Strategy and tactics: a contribution to the history of the defense system from ancient times to the present. 1960.
  • Battle for Moscow . Memories about Army Group Center . (In: Seymour Freiden, William Richardson (eds): The Fatal Decisions. New York 1958.)

literature

  • Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: The Generals of the Army 1921–1945. The military careers of the generals, as well as the doctors, veterinarians, intendants, judges and ministerial officials with the rank of general. Volume 2: v. Blanckensee-v. Czettritz and Neuhauß. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1993. ISBN 3-7648-2424-7 . Pp. 37-39.
  • Charles Messenger: The Last Prussian: A Biography of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt. 1875-1953. Brassey's, London 1991.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: Die Generale des Heeres 1921-1945. Volume 2. Biblio Verlag. Osnabrück 1993. ISBN 3-7648-2424-7 . Pp. 37-39.
  2. ↑ Reichswehr Ministry (Ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres. ES Mittler & Sohn . Berlin 1924. p. 169.
personal data
SURNAME Blumentritt, Günther
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Blumentritt, Günther Alois Friedrich (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer, general of the infantry in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH February 10, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich
DATE OF DEATH October 12, 1967
Place of death Munich