Günther von Kluge

Günther "Hans" von Kluge
30 October 1882(1882-10-30) – 19 August 1944 (aged 61)
GFMKluge.jpg
Generalfeldmarshall Günther von Kluge
Nickname der kluge Hans
Place of birth Posen, Province of Posen, German Empire
Place of death Metz, France
Allegiance Flag of German Empire German Empire (to 1918)
Flag of Germany Weimar Republic (to 1933)
Flag of Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
Years of service 1901 – 1944
Rank Field Marshal
Unit Wehrmacht 1930 - 1944
Reichswehr 1916 - 1930
Commands held German Fourth Army
Battles/wars World War I
Battle of Verdun
World War II
German invasion of Poland
Battle of France
Operation Barbarossa
Falaise Gap
Awards House Order of Hohenzollern
Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Günther “Hans” von Kluge (October 30, 1882 – August 19, 1944) was a German military leader. He was born in Posen into a Prussian military family. Von Kluge rose to the rank of field marshal in the Wehrmacht.

Contents

Early Career

During World War I he was a staff officer and in 1916 was at the Battle of Verdun. By 1936 he was a lieutenant-general and in 1937 took command of the Sixth Army Group

World War II

Invasion of Poland and France

As commander of the Sixth Army Group, which became the German Fourth Army, von Kluge led the Sixth into battle in Poland in 1939. Though he opposed the initial German plan to attack westwards into France, he led the Fourth Army in its attack through the Ardennes that culminated in the fall of France. Von Kluge was promoted to field marshal in July 1940.

Soviet Russia

In July 1941, von Kluge commanded the Fourth Army in Operation Barbarossa, where he developed a strained relationship with Heinz Guderian over tactical issues in the advance, accusing Guderian of frequent disobedience of von Kluge’s orders.

After Fedor von Bock was relieved of his command of Army Group Center in late 1941, von Kluge was promoted and led that army group until he was injured in October 1943. Von Kluge frequently rode in an airplane to inspect the divisions under his command and sometimes relieved his boredom during the flights by hunting foxes from the air[1]—a decidedly non-traditional method.

On October 27 1943, von Kluge was badly injured when his car overturned on the Minsk–Smolensk road. He was unable to return to duty until July 1944. After his recovery he became commander of the German forces in the West (Oberbefehlshaber West) as Gerd von Rundstedt’s replacement.

France and the Western Front

In June and July 1944, during the invasion of Normandy by Allied forces, Rommel commanded Army Group B under Field Marshal von Rundstedt. Rommel was charged with planning German counterattacks intended to drive the Allied forces back to the beaches. On July 2, von Kluge replaced von Rundstedt, because von Rundstedt was advocating negotiation with the Allies. Two weeks later, Rommel was wounded and von Kluge took over as commander of Army Group B as well.

He found that German forces moving towards Normandy were constantly beset by Allied fighter-bomber attacks. The climax came with U.S. tanks advancing towards Granchiel and Avranches. "The enemy air superiority is terrific and smothers almost every one of our movements," phoned Field Marshal von Kluge to General Warlimont, Hitler's personal representative in the West. "Every movement of the enemy is prepared and protected by its air force. Losses in men and equipment are extraordinary." Von Kluge himself was not immune to personal danger. USAAF Group Commander Col. Howard F. Nichols and a squadron of his 370th Fighter Group's P-38 Lightnings blasted von Kluge's headquarters; the Colonel skipped a bomb right through the front door.[2] The blast killed several men, though von Kluge was not present at the time.

In August, after the failed coup attempt by Stauffenberg, von Kluge was recalled to Berlin and replaced by Model.

Opposition to Hitler

The head of the German military resistance, Henning von Tresckow, served as his Chief of Staff of Army Group Center. Von Kluge was somewhat involved in the military resistance. He knew about Tresckow’s plan to shoot Hitler during a visit to Army Group Center, having been informed by his former subordinate, Georg von Boeselager, who was now serving under Tresckow. At the last moment, von Kluge aborted Tresckow's plan. Boeselager later speculated that because Himmler had decided not to accompany Hitler, von Kluge feared that without eliminating Himmler too, it could lead to a civil war between the SS and the Wehrmacht. [3]

When Stauffenberg attempted to assassinate Hitler as part of the July 20 plot, von Kluge was serving as Oberbefehlshaber West in his headquarters in La Roche-Guyon. The commander of the occupation troops of France, General Karl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel, and his colleague Oberst Cäsar von Hofacker — a cousin of Stauffenberg — came to visit von Kluge. Stülpnagel had just ordered the arrest of the SS units in Paris. Von Kluge had already learned that Hitler had survived the assassination attempt and refused to provide any support. "Ja — wenn das Schwein tot wäre!", "Well — If the pig were dead!", he said. [4] He was recalled to Berlin for a meeting with Hitler after Stauffenberg’s failed coup; thinking that Hitler would punish him as a conspirator, he committed suicide by taking cyanide near the First World War battlefield at Verdun. He left Hitler a letter in which he advised Hitler to make peace and “put an end to a hopeless struggle when necessary...” Hitler reportedly handed the letter to Alfred Jodl and commented that “There are strong reasons to suspect that had not von Kluge committed suicide he would have been arrested anyway.”[5]

von Kluge's marshal baton (Deutsches Panzermuseum Munster)

Günther von Kluge’s nickname among the troops and his fellow officers was der kluge Hans—“Clever Hans.” Hans was not part of his given name, but a nickname acquired early in his career in admiration of his cleverness (klug is German for clever) and is derived from a curious reference to a celebrated horse Clever Hans reputed to have been able to do arithmetic and remember calendar dates.

Awards

References

  1. ↑ The History of the German Resistance, 1939–1945, p. 276
  2. ↑ Achtung Jabos! The Story of the IX TAC,, Information and Education Division, Special and Informational Services, ETOUSA, Stars and Stripes Publications (1944)
  3. ↑ Die Wehrmacht: Eine Bilanz, p. 226.
  4. ↑ Die Wehrmacht: Eine Bilanz, p. 251.
  5. ↑ Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, pp. 1076–77
  • Berger, Florian, Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Selbstverlag Florian Berger, 2006. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
  • Hoffman, Peter, (tr. Richard Barry) The History of the German Resistance, 1939–1945, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1977. ISBN 0773515313
  • Shirer, William L. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990. ISBN 0671728687
  • Knopp, Guido Die Wehrmacht: Eine Bilanz, C. Bertelsmann Verlag, München, 2007. ISBN 978-3-570-00975-8
Military offices
Preceded by
none		 Commander of 4. Armee
1 December 1938 – 19 December 1941		 Succeeded by
General of Mountain Troops Ludwig Kübler
Preceded by
Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock		 Commander of Heeresgruppe Mitte
19 December 1941 – 12 October 1943		 Succeeded by
Generalfeldmarschall Ernst Busch
Preceded by
Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt		 Commander of Heeresgruppe D
2 July 1944 – 15 August 1944		 Succeeded by
Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt
Preceded by
Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt		 Oberbefehlshaber West
2 July 1944 – 16 August, 1944		 Succeeded by
Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model
Preceded by
Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel		 Commander of Heeresgruppe B
19 July 1944 – 17 August 1944		 Succeeded by
Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model