Friedrich Foertsch

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Friedrich Foertsch
Deutsch-Krone
Died14 December 1976(1976-12-14) (aged 76)
Goslar, Lower Saxony, West Germany
Allegiance German Empire
 Weimar Republic
 Nazi Germany
 West Germany
Service/branchWehrmacht
Bundeswehr
Years of service1918–45
1956–63
RankGeneralleutnant
General
Unit18th Army
Battles/warsWorld War I
World War II
Awards
RelationsHermann Foertsch (brother)

Friedrich Albert Foertsch (19 May 1900 – 14 December 1976) was a German general serving during World War II and from 1961 to 1963 the second Inspector General of the Bundeswehr.

Foertsch was born in 1900 and joined the military service in the Prussian Army in 1918. Serving in the infantry in the final battles of World War I, Foertsch earned the Iron Cross second class before the end of hostilities. He joined the Freikorps after the war, and later was accepted into the Reichswehr in 1920.

During World War II, he held several senior staff positions, including chief of the general staff of the 18th Army. Foertsch was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 September 1944 for his leadership in the defensive battles at the Leningrad Front. He was taken prisoner of war in the Courland Pocket by the Soviet Army.

At a postwar trial, he was sentenced to 25 years of hard labor. He was released in 1955 and joined the newly formed Bundeswehr of the West Germany. He again served in many senior positions, including an assignment to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) of NATO in Paris. In 1961 he was appointed Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, a position he held until his retirement in 1963. Friedrich Foertsch died on 14 December 1976 in Goslar.

Biography

Friedrich Foertsch born 19 May 1900 in

Schelde at the Wotan- und Hermann positions northeast of Lille and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class.[2][3]

With his brother, Foertsch joined the

Kriegsakademie (war academy) in the fall of 1932 he was promoted to Hauptmann on 1 April 1934.[2][3]

The

Generalstab (General Staff) of the III. Armeekorps (3rd Army Corps) on 10 November 1938, a position he held at the outbreak of World War II. In the fall of 1939 he became the first officer of the general staff (Ia) of the 60. Infanterie-Division (60th infantry division) and participated in the Battle of France.[2][3]

After the invasion of France he was relieved of his position and was transferred to the chief of staff of the Heeresrüstung and Ersatzheer (Army Equipment and

Generalstab and at the same time appointed first officer of the general staff of the 18th Army. Foertsch earned the German Cross in Gold on 10 May 1943 for his support in the heavy fighting in the northern sector of the eastern front. He was appointed chief of the general staff of the 18th Army on 1 December 1943 and promoted to Generalmajor on 1 June 1944. Three months later he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was appointed chief of the general staff of the Heeresgruppe Kurland at the end of January 1945. His promotion to Generalleutnant
followed on 1 March 1945.

After the

Pavlovsk and Pushkin.[2][3]

Franz Josef Strauß, Hans Speidel
and Friedrich Foertsch

Friedrich Foertsch was released from captivity on 9 October 1955.

Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr
on 1 April 1961. Under his command the compulsory military service in the Bundeswehr was extended from 12 to 18 months.

He was also in command during the political

Franz Josef Strauß. Der Spiegel, a widely read German periodical, had published the article "Bedingt abwehrbereit" ("Conditionally prepared for defense") about a NATO maneuver called Fallex 62, Fall Exercise 1962, in which the NATO forces were to demonstrate their preparedness to resist possible attack by the Soviet Union and/or other Eastern Bloc forces. The maneuvers themselves had demonstrated the Bundeswehr's incapacity to repel attack, and the article exposed the sorry state of Bundeswehr preparedness.[4]

He retired as a

four-star general on 31 December 1963. After his retirement he and his wife, together with their four children, lived in Goslar. Friedrich Foertsch died there on 14 December 1976.[2][3]

Awards

References

Citations

  1. ^ "Biography @ Ostdeutsche Biographie". Archived from the original on 25 July 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e Biography @ Bundesministerium der Verteidigung
  3. ^ a b c d e Lexikon der Wehrmacht
  4. ^ Der Spiegel: Bedingt abwehrbereit Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, 10. Oktober 1962, S. 32ff.
  5. ^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 117.
  6. ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 313.

Bibliography

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
Chief of Staff of the Federal Armed Forces

1 April 1961 – 31 December 1963 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander of 2nd Panzergrenadier Division (Bundeswehr)
1957–1958 		Succeeded by

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