German General Fedor von Bock was a distinguished old-style Prussian officer who commanded the German Anschluss in 1938. In 1939 he commanded Army Group North during the Polish Campaign and, in 1940, Army Group B during the Blitzkrieg that speedily overran the Low Countries and defeated France. Later, von Bock was twice relieved of commands in Russia: first in 1941 following a failed offensive against Moscow, and subsequently in 1942 after disagreements with Hitler over operational decisions. Having survived both those campaigns and Hitler's displeasure, he was killed in an Allied air raid 4 May, 1945.
