Fedor von Bock Military person
Fedor von Bock (3 December 1880 – 4 May 1945) was a German Field Marshal who served in the German army during the Second World War. As a leader who lectured his soldiers about the honor of dying for the German Fatherland, he was nicknamed "Der Sterber" (literally, "The Dying One"). Bock served as the commander of Army Group North during the Invasion of Poland in 1939, commander of Army Group B during the Invasion of France in 1940, and later as the commander of Army Group Center during the attack on the Soviet Union in 1941; his final command was that of Army Group South in 1942. Bock is best known for commanding Operation Typhoon, the ultimately failed attempt to capture Moscow during the winter of 1941. The Wehrmacht offensive was slowed by stiff Soviet resistance around Mozhaisk, and also by the Rasputitsa, the season of rain and mud in Russia. Once the full fury of the Russian winter struck, which was the coldest in over 50 years, the German armies quickly became unable to conduct further combat operations, with more casualties occurring due to the cold weather than from battle. The Soviet counteroffensive soon drove the German army into retreat, and Bock — who recommended an earlier withdrawal — was subsequently relieved of command by Adolf Hitler. A lifelong officer in the German military, Bock was considered to be a very "by the book" general. He also had a reputation for being a fiery lecturer, earning him the nickname "Holy Fire of Küstrin". Bock was not considered to be a brilliant theoretician, but possessed a strong sense of determination, feeling that the greatest glory that could come to a German soldier was to die on the battlefield for the Fatherland. A monarchist, Bock personally despised Nazism, and was not heavily involved in politics. However, he also did not sympathize with plots to overthrow Adolf Hitler, and never filed official protests over the treatment of civilians by the Schutzstaffel (SS). Bock was also uncommonly outspoken, a privilege Hitler extended to him only because he had been successful in battle. Bock — along with his wife and only daughter — were killed by a strafing British fighter-bomber on 4 May 1945 as they traveled by car toward Hamburg.
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Military person
| allegiance | (to 1918) (to 1933) |
|---|---|
| award | |
| military operations | |
| military command | Army Group B 1940 Army Group Center 1941 Army Group North 1939 Army Group South 1942 |
| service start | 1898 |
| service end | 1945 |