Blumentritt, General Gunther

1892–1967

   Blumentritt was a staff officer who served under Field Marshals von KLUGE and von RUNDSTEDT. In Poland in 1939 and in France in 1940 he was Chief of Planning of Operations in Rundstedt’s Army Group. In 1941 he was made Chief of Staff to Kluge’s Fourth Army but was then transferred back to Rundstedt’s staff in France. He did most of Rundstedt’s planning, especially the plans to deal with an Allied invasion, and was convinced that the Allies would not land in Normandy. After D-Day Kluge replaced von Rundstedt, but Kluge was involved in anti-HITLER conspiracies and after the July Plot came under suspicion. Kluge committed suicide and although Blumentritt remained above suspicion he was replaced in September 1944. He commanded the Fifteenth Army at the Battle of the Bulge and was able to comment on Allied strategy. He felt the broad front strategy was ill-conceived and that a concentrated push in northern Germany would have won the war earlier.