World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseGeorg Karl Friedrich Wilhelm von Küchler was born into an aristocratic Prussian family in 1881. He joined the Germany Army in 1900, serving with 25th Field Artillery Regiment. Between 1910 and 1913, he studied at the Prussian Military Academy. Upon graduation, he was attached to the general staff. During WW1, he commanded artillery units on the Western Front, seeing action at Somme and Verdun in France. In 1916, he became a staff officer of 206th Infantry Division. After WW1, he joined a Freikorps paramilitary organization and saw action against Soviet forces in Poland. Upon his return to Germany, he joined the military of the Weimar Republic. In 1937, he became the commanding officer of the 1st Military District. In Mar 1939, he commanded troops in the occupation of Memel, annexed from Lithuania. In Sep 1939, he led German 3rd Army in the capture of Danzig. Although he was initially uncomfortable with the atrocities committed by SS units behind his front lines, his loyalty to Adolf Hitler compelled him to personally issue orders to stop his subordinates from criticizing against the Nazi racial policies. In 1940, he commanded 18th Army in the invasion of France and the Low Countries, where his troops captured Rotterdam and the Hague, occupied Antwerp, and reached as far west as Pas de Calais. For his leadership in the westward campaign, he was promoted to the rank of colonel general. He continued to command German 18th Army in the invasion of the Soviet Union, capturing Ostrov, Pskov, Narva, and Kingisepp, moving toward Leningrad. In Jan 1942, he was made the commanding officer of Army Group North. In Jun 1942, Hitler promoted Küchler to the rank of Field Marshal. Through late 1943, he would continue to put pressure on Leningrad, but he would ultimately fail to take the city. In Jan 1944, the Soviets broke the seige and turned the table, putting pressure on his lines; when he requested permission to fall back to the Luga River, he was forced into retirement. He was approached by Carl Goerdeler to join the conspiracy to overthrow Hitler, but Küchler, despite gradually losing faith in Hitler, refused. At the end of the war, he was arrested and found guilty of atrocities committed against captured Soviet partisan fighters. He served only 8 of his 20-year prison sentence due to advanced age, and passed away 12 years later in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in southern Germany.

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