Guderian
In the face of the Soviet counter-offensive, Guderian was not allowed to pull his forces back but instead was ordered to "stand fast", keeping them all in their current positions. He disputed that order, going personally to Adolf Hitler's headquarters, but it was not changed. After returning to his command, Guderian carried out a series of withdrawals anyway, directly disobeying his orders. A heated series of disputes with Field Marshal Günther von Kluge, the commander of Army Group Centre, then followed. Guderian was relieved of command on 26 December 1941 he was relieved, along with forty other generals. He was transferred to the reserve pool. Guderian held hard feelings on the matter against Kluge, who he felt had failed to support him.
| Günther von Kluge | |
|---|---|
Günther von Kluge as Field Marshal
| |
| Nickname(s) | Der kluge Hans |
| Born | 30 October 1882 Posen, Province of Posen, Prussia, German Empire |
| Died | 19 August 1944 (aged 61) Metz, Nazi Germany |
| Allegiance |  German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany |
| Service/ | Prussian Army Reichsheer Army (Wehrmacht) |
| Years of service | 1901–44 |
| Rank | Generalfeldmarschall |
| Commands held | 4th Army Army Group Centre |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords |
| Relations | Wolfgang von Kluge (brother) |
![Kluge file photo [2644]](https://ww2db.com/images/person_kluge1.jpg)
A leading figure of the German military resistance, Henning von Tresckow, served as his Chief of Staff of Army Group Centre. Kluge may have been aware of the military resistance. He knew about Tresckow’s plan to shoot Hitler during a visit to Army Group Centre, having been informed by his former subordinate, Georg von Boeselager, who was now serving under Tresckow. At the last moment, Kluge aborted Tresckow's plan.[according to whom?] Boeselager later speculated that because Heinrich Himmler had decided not to accompany Hitler, Kluge feared that without eliminating Himmler too, it could lead to a civil war between the SS and the Wehrmacht.[6]
When Stauffenberg attempted to assassinate Hitler on 20 July, Kluge was Oberbefehlshaber West ("Supreme Field Commander West") with his headquarters in La Roche-Guyon. The commander of the occupation troops of France, General Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel, and his colleague Colonel Cäsar von Hofacker – a cousin of Stauffenberg – came to visit Kluge. Stülpnagel had just ordered the arrest of the SS units in Paris. Kluge had already learned that Hitler had survived the assassination attempt and refused to provide any support. "Ja – wenn das Schwein tot wäre!" ("Yes – if the pig were dead!)" he said.[7] On 17 August he was replaced by Walter Model and recalled to Berlin for a meeting with Hitler after the coup failed; thinking that Hitler would punish him as a conspirator, he committed suicide by taking cyanide near Metz two days later on 19 August. He left Hitler a letter in which he advised him to make peace, and to show "the greatness that will be needed to put an end to a hopeless struggle." Hitler reportedly handed the letter to Alfred Jodl and commented that "There are strong reasons to suspect that had not Kluge committed suicide he would have been arrested anyway."[8] SS officer Jürgen Stroop boasted of his involvement in investigating Kluge for involvement in the plot. He claimed to have offered the field marshal the opportunity to commit suicide, but that Kluge refused. He then claimed to have personally shot him and that Himmler had ordered him to announce that Kluge had committed suicide
ünther Hans von Kluge was born in Poznan, Germany
His suicide note, addressed to Adolf Hitler:
ww2dbaseWhen you receive these lines I shall be no more. I cannot bear the reproach that I have sealed the fate of the West through faulty measures, and I have no means of defending myself. I draw a conclusion from that and am dispatching myself where already thousands of my comrades are. I have never feared death. Life has no more meaning for me, and I also figure on the list of war criminals who are to be delivered up.
ww2dbaseOur applications were not dictated by pessimism but by sober knowledge of the facts. I do not know if Field-Marshal Model, who has been proved in every sphere, will still master the situation. From my heart I hope so. Should it not be so, however, and your cherished new weapons not succeed, then, my Fuhrer, make up your mind to end the war. The German people have borne such untold suffering that it is time to put an end to this frightfulness. There must be ways to attain this end, and above all to prevent the Reich from falling under the Bolshevist heel.
19 Aug 1944 Field Marshal Günther von Kluge committed suicide by taking cyanide near Metz, France after being relieved of his command and recalled to Berlin, Germany.
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