Fedor von Bock | |
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.jpg) Bock as Generaloberst in 1939 | |
| Birth name | Moritz Albrecht Franz Friedrich Fedor von Bock |
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| Born | 3 December 1880 Cüstrin, German Empire |
| Died | 4 May 1945 (aged 64) Oldenburg in Holstein, Nazi Germany |
| Buried | Friedhof Lensahn |
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| Service | |
| Years of service | 1898 – 1942 |
| Rank |  Generalfeldmarschall |
| Commands | Reichswehr:
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| Battles / wars | See battles
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| Children | 1 |
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Moritz Albrecht Franz Friedrich Fedor von Bock (3 December 1880 – 4 May 1945) was a German Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) who served in the German Army during the Second World War. 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 commanded Operation Typhoon, the ultimately failed attempt to capture Moscow during the autumn and 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 Central Russia.[2] The Soviet counteroffensive soon drove the German army into retreat, and Bock was subsequently relieved of command by Adolf Hitler.
A monarchist, Bock was not heavily involved in politics, and he did not sympathize with plots to overthrow Adolf Hitler. Bock was also uncommonly outspoken, a privilege Hitler extended to him only because he had been successful in battle.[2]
Bock, his second wife, and his stepdaughter were killed by a strafing Royal New Zealand Air Force fighter-bomber on 4 May 1945 as they traveled by car towards Hamburg.
- ^ Turney 1971.
- ^ a b Battle of Russia, Battlefield: Battles that Won the Second World War—Series 2. Universal Pictures Video. 2 May 2005