Overshadowed by figures such as Rommel and von Manstein, Hermann Balck was nevertheless regarded by both comrades and opponents as one of Germany's finest battlefield commanders of the Second World War. A veteran of the First World War, he served as a junior officer on the Western, Eastern, Italian and Balkan fronts, suffering seven wounds in action. In 1940 he directed the successful crossing of the River Meuse, helping secure a decisive breakthrough.
Balck embodied the fast-moving, aggressive command philosophy of Auftragstaktik, regularly visiting frontline headquarters to brief officers in person despite the danger. He declined two invitations to join the General Staff, preferring active combat commands. Balck also played a major role in the development of Germany's Panzer arm. In 1942, commanding an understrength division against overwhelming odds, he virtually destroyed the Soviet 5th Tank Army.
For his achievements he received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, an honour awarded to only 27 men.
After briefly commanding the Grossdeutschland Panzergrenadier Division, he argued that Hitler's organisation of the Waffen-SS was fundamentally flawed. Historian Philip Kay-Bujak contends that, had Hitler accepted Balck's criticisms and promoted him to Field Marshal, he might have altered the course of the war on the Eastern Front. Balck also came close to defeating the Americans at Salerno in 1943. As commander of Army Group G in 1944, he faced General Patton but failed to stop the Allied advance through Alsace. Dismissed and later reinstated by Hitler, he continued fighting until surrendering to US forces on 8 May 1945 to avoid Soviet captivity.
After the war, convicted of a war crime, Balck lived quietly and initially declined American interview requests. By the 1980s he had reversed that decision, advising NATO on fighting a conventional war against Russia, with many of his tactical concepts still studied today.
About the author
After graduating in European History from The University of East Anglia, Philip Kay-Bujak spent ten years in the Royal Anglian Regiment as a TA officer and twenty-three years teaching history and classics in the independent sector. He was a Housemaster at Langley School, Norfolk and Headmaster of Stover School in Devon. An Associate of The Royal Historical Society, he is now retired and is a full-time writer. His previous works include Undefeated (2008), The Bravest Man in The British Army (2018), The Life of Cicero (2023) and Gallia Narbonensis, which details the Roman invasion and occupation of what is now southern France. He lives in East Sussex.
