Ernst Bernhard Wilhelm Busch(6 July 1885 – 17 July 1945) was a GermanGeneralfeldmarschall(field marshal) duringWorld War IIwho commanded the16th Army(as aGeneraloberst) andArmy Group Centre.
Ernst Busch | |
|---|---|
 Busch asGeneraloberst | |
| Birth name | Ernst Bernhard Wilhelm Busch |
| Born | 6 July 1885 Essen,Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia,German Empire |
| Died | 17 July 1945(aged 60) Camp Aldershot, United Kingdom |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  German Empire(to 1918) Weimar Republic(to 1933) Nazi Germany |
| Branch |  German Army |
| Years of service | 1904–45 |
| Rank | Generalfeldmarschall |
| Commands | VIII Army Corps 16th Army Army Group Centre |
| Battles / wars | World War I |
| Awards | Pour le Mérite Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
| Signature |  |
DuringWorld War I,Busch served as an infantry officer and was retained in the postwar army of theWeimar Republic.He steadily rose in seniority and by 1936 was a general and commander of the23rd Infantry Division.During theinvasion of Poland,he commandedVIII Army Corps.In 1940, he was appointed commander of the 16th Army; he led it during the 1940Battle of FranceandOperation Barbarossa,the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union.
By October 1943, Busch was the commander of Army Group Centre but he was dismissed in June 1944 after the collapse of his command during the Red Army'sOperation Bagration.He was later the commander ofArmy Group Northwestin the final months of the war and died as a prisoner of war in England.
Early life and World War I
editBusch was born on 6 July 1885 atEssenin theRuhrdistrict of Germany. In 1904, having graduated from the Gross Lichterfelde Cadet Academy, he joined theImperial Armyas aFahnenjunker(officer cadet). He was initially posted to the Westphalian 13th Infantry Regiment but was later assigned to the 57th Infantry Regiment, in which he was commissioned aLeutnant(second lieutenant). In 1913, he was promoted toOberleutnant(first lieutenant) and received further training at the War Academy.[1]
DuringWorld War I,Busch served mostly on theWestern Front,initially as a company commander.[1]Within months of the beginning of the war, he had been awarded both the first and second classes of theIron Cross.[2]In 1915, he was promoted toHauptmann(captain) and then appointed a battalion commander in the 56th Infantry Regiment. He fought in several battles across the Artois, Flanders, and Champagne sectors of the front.[1]He was awarded theKnight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swordsin 1917 and the following year received thePour le Mérite.[2]
Interwar period
editAfter the war, Busch was retained in the postwarReichsheer.He mostly served in a series of staff positions for the next several years, including a period as Inspector of Transport Troops and as a battalion commander in the 9th Infantry Regiment. An ardent supporter ofAdolf Hitler,he received a series of rapid promotions from 1933. He soon held the rank ofOberst(colonel) and was commander of 9th Infantry Regiment, which was based atPotsdam,and in 1935 was promoted toGeneralmajor[Note 1]and given command of the23rd Infantry Division.[Note 2]During thetensions of 1938between Hitler and the two senior officers in theWehrmacht,Generalfeldmarschall[Note 3]Werner von Blomberg andGeneraloberst[Note 4]Werner von Fritsch,Busch sided with Hitler. At this stage of his career, Busch was aGeneral der Infanterie(General of Infantry)[Note 5]and was commander ofWehrkreisVIII.[5]
World War II
editInvasion of Poland and France
editOn the outbreak ofWorld War IIin September 1939, Busch was commander of theVIII Army Corpswhich participated in theinvasion of Polandas part of the14th Army.It captured the city ofKraków,reached theVistulaRiver and advanced as far asLviv.[5]During the campaign in Poland, he was twice awarded theClasp to the Iron Cross.[2]
The following year Busch led the16th Army,which consisted of 13 infantry divisions, during theBattle of Franceand covered the left flank ofGeneral der PanzertruppeHeinz Guderian'sXIXPanzerCorps.[5]During the later stages of the fighting in France, he was awarded theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross[6]and this was followed by a promotion toGeneraloberston 19 July 1940.[7]Once the campaign in France was completed, Busch's 16th Army remained in the country until early 1941, when it was transferred to Poland.[7]
Invasion of the Soviet Union
editWhenOperation Barbarossa,the invasion of the Soviet Union, commenced in late June 1941, the 16th Army controlled seven infantry divisions. Assigned toArmy Group North,and operating on its southern flank during the advance into the Baltic States and Russia, it capturedStaraya Russain August. By December, the 16th Army had been considerably expanded, and Busch now had nine infantry divisions along with two motorised divisions, with one more in reserve, under his command. When the Red Army began its winter offensive in January 1942, several parts of his army became encircled and Staraya Russa was nearly lost. Busch had to resort to his reserve to ensure his forces could hold onto the city.[7]The commander of Army Group North,GeneraloberstGeorg von Küchler,became dissatisfied with Busch's performance and wanted to relieve him of command. Permission to do so was denied. The Red Army offensive shifted focus towardsArmy Group Centrewhich relieved the pressure on the 16th Army. Busch was able to relieve his encircled troops although it took several months and required his army to be reinforced.[8]
For the remainder of 1942 and into 1943 the 16th Army's sector was relatively quiet, with the Red Army directing its offensive operations against the18th Army,which was besiegingLeningrad.[8]On 1 February 1943, Busch was promoted toGeneralfeldmarshallbut this owed more to Hitler's patronage than to his leadership of the 16th Army.[8]Six months later, he received theOak Leavesto the Knight's Cross he had been awarded during the campaign in France.[6]
On 28 October 1943,GeneralfeldmarshallGunther von Kluge,the commander of Army Group Centre, was injured in a vehicle accident and Busch was named as his replacement.[8]Army Group Centre controlled 76 divisions across four field armies. Fifty-four of these divisions were infantry, which included six from Hungary, and there were also five Panzer divisions. However, few divisions were at full strength and over the coming months Busch amalgamated several of them. Others were low quality, particularly the Hungarian divisions and also the eight Luftwaffe Field Divisions that were also part of two of his armies. By June 1944, his command numbered 38 infantry divisions.[9]
Busch had to contend with several attacks when the Red Army commenced its winter operations in late 1943. He showed little independence in exercising his command and often deferred to Hitler's orders without protest. When fighting aroundVitebskthreatened to cut off one of the divisions ofGeneraloberstGeorg-Hans Reinhardt's3rd Panzer Army,he had to seek Hitler's permission to allow it to withdraw. Hitler declined and the division was only saved when Reinhardt, on his own initiative, ordered it to retreat.[9]In May 1944, Busch also conceded to Hitler's instructions to transfer hisLVI Panzer Corpsto Army Group North Ukraine despite this leaving his own command with minimal tanks.[10]
An increased build-up of Soviet forces opposite Army Group Centre was largely ignored by Busch. Despite some of his subordinates' efforts to reduce their frontage, he refused to let them do so and blindly reiterated Hitler's orders that there be no retreat.[10]In particular, the towns of Vitebsk,Orsha,Mogilev,andBobruiskwere to be held in force. Busch had attempted to query this with Hitler but was rebuffed and ridiculed. This only strengthened Busch's resolve to follow Hitler's directives without question.[11]By mid-June, the 700,000 troops of Army Group Centre were outnumbered by 2,500,000 Soviet soldiers.[10]When the Soviet summer offensive of 1944,Operation Bagration,began on 22 June, Army Group Centre's 34 divisions were overwhelmed by nearly 120 Red Army divisions. His army commanders immediately sought permission to withdraw to theDnieper Riverbut this was denied by Busch, who insisted their positions be held. Within two days, most of his divisions were effectively destroyed.[12]Having overseen the loss of 250,000-300,000 men (25 full divisions), the biggest defeat for Germany on the Eastern Front, Busch was relieved of his command by Hitler on 28 June. He was replaced by Field MarshalWalter Modelwho managed to stop the advance of the Red Army, but not until it reached the Vistula. In the meantime, Busch became depressed after his sacking which effectively came about because of his adherence to Hitler's orders.[13]
Army Group Northwest
editHaving gradually returned to favour with Hitler, Busch was recalled to duty on 20 March 1945 when he became head ofArmy Group Northwest.Tasked with defending the portion of German coastline along the North Sea, he had few resources and lacked the respect of many men under his command. Busch surrendered to Field MarshalBernard Montgomeryon 4 May 1945. He died in a prisoner of war camp inAldershot,England, on 17 July 1945, and was initially buried atAldershot Military Cemetery[14]before his remains were later re-interred atCannock Chase German Military Cemetery.[15]
References
editNotes
- ^In the Wehrmacht, the rank ofGeneralmajorwas equivalent to abrigadier generalin the United States Army.[3]
- ^By this time, theReichsheerhad become theHeer(Army) branch of theWehrmacht(Defence Force).[4]
- ^At the time, the highest rank in German armed forces
- ^Equivalent to ageneralin the United States Army.[3]
- ^Equivalent to alieutenant generalin the United States Army.[3]
Citations
- ^abcMitcham 1988,p. 269.
- ^abcThomas & Wegmann 1993,p. 327.
- ^abcMitcham 1988,p. 363.
- ^Mitcham 1988,p. 31.
- ^abcMitcham 1988,p. 270.
- ^abScherzer 2007,p. 255.
- ^abcMitcham 1988,p. 271.
- ^abcdMitcham 1988,p. 272.
- ^abMitcham 1988,p. 273.
- ^abcMitcham 1988,p. 275.
- ^Mitcham 1988,p. 276.
- ^Mitcham 1988,pp. 276–278.
- ^Mitcham 1988,p. 280.
- ^Mitcham 1988,p. 281.
- ^"Busch, Ernst Bernhard Wilhelm".Commonwealth War Graves Commission.Retrieved4 June2017.
Bibliography
- Mitcham, Samuel W. Jr.(1988).Hitler's Field Marshals and Their Battles.London, United Kingdom: Guild Publishing.OCLC220632577.
- Scherzer, Veit (2007).Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives[The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag.ISBN978-3-938845-17-2.
- Thomas, Franz; Wegmann, Günter (1993).Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil III: Infanterie Band 3: Br–Bu[The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Part III: Infantry Volume 3: Br–Bu] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag.ISBN978-3-7648-1734-3.
