On this day, in a major
shake-up of the military high command, Adolf Hitler assumes the
position of commander in chief of the German army.
The German offensive against
Moscow was proving to be a disaster. A perimeter had been established by the
Soviets 200 miles from the city—and the Germans couldn't break through. The
harsh winter weather—with temperatures often dropping to 31 degrees below zero—had
virtually frozen German tanks in their tracks. Soviet General Georgi Zhukov had
unleashed a ferocious counteroffensive of infantry, tanks, and planes that had
forced the flailing Germans into retreat. In short, the Germans were being
beaten for the first time in the war, and the toll to their collective psyche
was great. "The myth of the invincibility of the German army was
broken," German General Franz Halder would write later.
But Hitler refused to accept
this notion. He began removing officers from their command.
General Fedor von
Bock, who had been suffering severe stomach pains and who on December 1 had
complained to Halder that he was no longer able to "operate" with his
debilitated troops, was replaced by General Hans von Kluge, whose own 4th Army
had been pushed into permanent retreat from Moscow. General Karl von Runstedt
was relieved of the southern armies because he had retreated from Rostov.
Hitler clearly did not believe in giving back captured territory, so in the
biggest shake-up of all, he declared himself commander in chief of the army. He
would train it "in a National Socialist way"—that is, by personal
fiat. He would compose the strategies and the officers would dance to his tune.
Taken from: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hitler-takes-command-of-the-german-army [19.12.2014]
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