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Biography Günther Blumentritt
From German Wikipedia:
Before World War II
Blumentritt started at the 3. Thuringian Infantry Regiment Nr. 71 as an ensign on May 29th 1911. From January 5th 1912
until September 28th of the same year he went to the Danzig War Academy. He was promoted on November 19th 1912 to a
lieutenant.After advancing to first lieutenant (March 22nd 1918) and being conferred the command of his first regiment on
February 20th 1919 he was appointed operations command officer on April 1st 1926 in the staff of the 6th Division. On
September 1st 1933 followed the promotion to major and on October 1st 1938 to colonel.
Wolrd War II
Blumentritt was transferred on Spetember 2nd 1939 to the general staff of the Army Group South under Field Marshal Gerd
von Rundstedt with whom he also participated at the Polish campaign 1939. In this position started a long and intimate
relationship between Blumentritt and von Rundstedt. He developed together with Erich von Manstein an opertaions plan for
the German invasion of Poland that was call the "White Case". On October 23rd 1939 he was assigned Operations Army Officer
of the Army Group South and transferred three days later to the Army Group A. He was assigned General Staff Chief of the
4th Army on October 25th 1940 and General Staff Chief of the Army Group D on 24th September 1942. From April 1945 he was
Chief Commander of the Army Group Blumentritt.
Blumentritt was heavily wounded in a train accident on January 3rd 1943 and brought into a hospital in Hannover. The General
of Infantry (April 1st 1944) became commander of the Army Corps "Blumentritt" on November 23rd 1944 in the Army Group von
Manteuffel on the west front and commander of the Army Group Blumentritt also on the west front on April 10th 1945.
Blumentritt participated at a complott of the German army that attempted the assassination of Hilter. After the failed
attempt on July 20th 1944 many officers were imprisoned. Blumentritt was taken from his position. However Hitler
thought him unguilty and positioned him again as commander of the XII SS-Corps.
After the war
Blumentritt's imprisonment by the British took place on June 1st 1945 in Schleswig-Holstein. He was held as a prisoner
of war by the British from June 1st 1945 to December 1st of the same year and by the Americans from November 6th 1947 to
January 1st 1948.
Günther Blumentritt died on October 12th 1967 in Munich.
Condecorations
• Iron Cross
• Second Class (September 29th 1914)
• First Class (March 18th 1916)
• Wounded's Condecoration in Black (Wolrd War I)
• German Cross in Gold (January 26th 1942)
• Medal for the Winter Campaign in Russia 1941/1942 (August th 1942)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (September 13th 1944)
• Oak Leaf to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Februar 18th 1945)
Books
• Von Rundstedt: The Soldier and the Man, 1952
• Deutsches Soldatentum im europäischen Rahmen (German Soldiership in a European Context), 1952
• Strategie und Taktik : ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Wehrwesens vom Altertum bis zur Gegenwart
(Strategy and Tactics: A Contribution to the History of Defense from Antiquity until Present), 1960
• Schlacht um Moskau. Erinnerungen über die Heeresgruppe Mitte (Battle of Moscow. Remembrances of the
Army Group Middle). (In: Seymour Freiden - William Richardson (eds): The Fatal Decisions. New York, 1958.)
Literature
• Dermot Bradley, Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: Die Generale des Heeres, 1912 - 1945 Band 2 (v. Blanckensee - v. Czettritz und Neuhauß), Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1939
• Charles Messenger: The Last Prussian: A Biography of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, 1875 - 1953, Brassey's, London 1991
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