Georg Bruchmüller

Georg Bruchmüller
Georg Bruchmüller, the father of the fire roller (Feuerwalze), i.e. the massive use of artillery forces ("creeping barrage"), is still considered a model of modern artillery warfare today.
Birth name	Georg Heinrich Bruchmüller
Nickname	Durchbruchmüller (German: "Breakthrough Müller")
Birth date	11 December 1863(1863-12-11)
Place of birth	Berlin, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation
Death date	26 January 1948 (aged 84)
Place of death	Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Allied-occupied Germany
Allegiance	Kingdom of Prussia German Empire
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army
Years of service	1885–1919
Rank	Colonel Major General (Tannenberg general)
Battles/wars	World War I Battle of Jugla, Battle of Riga Battle of Cambrai Battle of St. Quentin Battle of Lys Third Battle of Aisne, Chemin des Dames Offensive Hundred Days Offensive, 2nd Battle of Noyon Champagne-Marne
Awards	Pour le Mérite with Oak Leaves

Georg Heinrich Bruchmüller (11 December 1863 – 26 January 1948), was a German officer of the Prussian Army and the Imperial German Army, finally colonel, army artillery commander and knight of the order "Pour le Mérite" with Oak Leaves in WWI. On 27 August 1939, Tannenbergtag, he received the Charakter (brevet) as honorary Major General of the Wehrmacht. Erich Ludendorff cited him as an example of "the decisive influence of personality on the course of events in war". British military historian B. H. Liddell Hart said that Bruchmüller was "the greatest artillery expert of the war."

Life

Tactics I

Tactics II

Georg was born in 1863 as the son of merchant Carl Gustav Bruchmüller (1825–1898) and his wife Marie Luise Auguste, née Hartmann (1839–1880). After his Abitur, he began studies of physics at Berlin University.

Military career (chronology)

• 7 August 1883 Three-year volunteer (Dreijährig-Freiwilliger) with the Fußartillerie-Regiment „von Linger“ (Ostpreußisches) Nr. 1 in Königsberg
  • Fußartillerie (foot artillery) was the branch of the German army armed with heavier guns, howitzers and mortars, designed principally for siege warfare, which now was assuming a role in field operations. The Feldartillerie (field artillery) carries the lighter cannons to guarantee speed in the field, whereas the foot artillery takes care of the larger (heavier) calibers.
• September 1883 Transferred to the Rheinisches Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 8 in Metz, Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen
  • commissioned 1885 in the 4th Company
  • 1886 Commanded for two years to the Vereinigte Artillerie- und Ingenieurschule United Artillery and Engineering School in Charlottenburg near Berlin
  • as of Rank List (Rangliste) 1891 in the 6th Company
  • as of Rank List (Rangliste) 1893 in the 7th Company
• 1 October 1893 Commanded as company officer and military instructor to the Oberfeuerwerker-Schule (Higher Feuerwerker School) in Berlin (1. Fußartillerie-Inspektion)
• 18 August 1896 Commander of the 4th Company/Fußartillerie-Regiment „General-Feldzeugmeister“ (Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3 in Mainz
• As of Rank List (Rangliste) 1901 Commander of the 2nd Company/Teaching Battalion/Foot Artillery Shooting School (Fußartillerie-Schießschule) in Jüterbog
• 16 March 1905 to 15 February 1907 Commander of the 2nd Company/Hohenzollernsches Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 13 in Ulm
• 16 February 1907 Commander of the 2nd Company/Oberfeuerwerkerschule in Berlin
• 20 April 1909 Chief artillery officer (Artillerieoffizier vom Platz), Upper Rhine fortifications, Kommandantur Freiburg in Baden
• 14 September 1909 or 19 February 1910 Commander of the 2nd Battalion/Fußartillerie-Regiment „von Hindersin“ (1. Pommersches) Nr. 2 in Danzig-Neufahrwasser
  • at the same time delegated with the business of the Artillerieoffizier vom Platz in Borkum
• 1 October 1912 Instructor at the Foot Artillery Shooting School (Fußartillerie-Schießschule) in Jüterbog
• 30 September/1 October 1913 Due to health problems (diabetes), he was medically discharged and placed at disposal of the Landwehr (z. D.; de facto retired) as a lieutenant colonel, but with major's pay.

WWI

• 1 August 1914 Staff officer of the foot artillery, Fortress Kulm
• 8 August 1914 Commander of the Garde-Landwehr-Fußartillerie-Bataillon
• 22 October 1914 Artillery Staff Officer of the Korps Zastrow
• 16 November 1914 Artillery Commander of the 86th Infantry Division at the Western Front
  • 1915 to 1917 also commander of the Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 86
• 1 July 1917 Appointed Artillery Commander No. 86 (Artillerie-Kommandeur Nr. 86), Eastern Front; subordinated to the 8th Army under Oskar von Hutier
  • Breakthrough on the Sereth on Tarnopol, violent transition across the Daugava to the breakthrough on Riga and the capture of a large bridgehead with a breakthrough across the Daugava on Jakobstadt.
• 1918 Return to the Western Front, now artillery general (position, not rank) of the 18th Army, but with the official title "Artillery Commander at the disposal of the Supreme Army Command" (Artillerie-Kommandeur zur Verfügung der Obersten Heeresleitung (OHL))
  • Operation Michael, Operation Blücher
    • The German spring offensive, also known as Kaiserschlacht ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during the First World War, beginning on 21 March 1918. Following American entry into the war in April 1917, the Germans decided that their only remaining chance of victory was to defeat the Allies before the United States could ship soldiers across the Atlantic and fully deploy its resources. The German Army had gained a temporary advantage in numbers as nearly 50 divisions had been freed by the Russian defeat and withdrawal from the war with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The first segment of the offensive started with a barrage of 6,600 guns and 3,500 mortars using the newly perfected "Breakthrough Müller" tactics.
      • The rapid German reclamation of much of the BEF successes at Cambrai was attributed to the application of fast moving troops (Hutier tactics) by-passing all significant strong pockets of enemy and supported by aircraft information and flexible artillery bombardment.
• 18 January 1919 Retired
  • Bruchmüller was not eligible for the post-war Reichswehr, because the Versailles Treaty prohibited heavy artillery

Bruchmüller's tactics

Bruchmüller quickly recognized the ineffectiveness of prolonged artillery bombardment when preparing for offensives. The procedure at the time called for bombardment lasting several days or weeks, the so-called barrage, to destroy the defenders. The practical consequences of this procedure were the enormous consumption of ammunition, the exorbitant wear and tear on ordnance, the transformation of the attack area into an impassable lunar landscape that people and animals could only overcome with great difficulty, and, last but not least, the tactically important loss of the element of surprise. In his considerations, Bruchmüller assumed that the actual task of artillery fire was to hold down the enemy until the infantry had conquered their positions. This could be achieved with the highest possible rate of fire, at which a maximum of explosives can be fired precisely and concentratedly at the (dug-in) enemy and his artillery positions in a short time. In order to increase effectiveness, he divided the artillery according to caliber sizes and range into long-range artillery, infantry combat artillery and heaviest flat fire to combat the enemy artillery and reserves, heavy flat fire and light flat fire to shell the front lines. These species were meticulously incorporated into a precise schedule due to poor communications. The combination of all types of fire resulted in the so-called fire roller (Feuerwalze), in which the gun fire was concentrated on a section of terrain immediately ahead of the attacking infantry. According to a predetermined pattern, the artillery shelled a wide strip for a few minutes, then the shelling usually “jumped” about 100 meters in the direction of the enemy, while the infantry moved up – following as closely as possible – into the previously shelled section.

Bruchmüller first used this tactic in April 1916 at the Battle of Lake Naratsch, achieving great success. This procedure was expanded in September 1917 during the Battle of Riga. The rules of artillery combat, some of which are still valid today, were applied here for the first time. This primarily involved reconnaissance of the battlefield using aerial photography and transferring these results to maps in order to make the sighting of the guns unnecessary, as well as the establishment of a complex schedule for artillery deployment, consisting of fire effect, fire roller and colored shooting to suppress the enemy artillery, and the brevity of the fire. The resounding success, i.e. the Russian bridgehead in Riga was crushed within a few days and the city was liberated, proved him right. Little by little, this tactic began to be further expanded for use in large-scale attack projects. Bruchmüller combined his method with the tactics of the stormtroopers and introduced further innovations: These included the use of battlefield artillery. These were in particular the lighter mine throwers that could be transported by teams or special infantry escort guns (assault cannons) that could follow the infantry in battle in order to be able to combat pockets of resistance with direct fire. The tactical concept of the forward attacking stormtroopers was modified accordingly so that they did not have to conquer pockets of resistance, but instead had to bypass them and leave the fight to the following regular infantry units and could therefore concentrate fully on the breakthrough. He was called the “Breakthrough Müller” because of his literally resounding successes. In the last German offensives (see Battle of Karfreit 1917 and Spring Offensive 1918) his method was used extremely effectively and with complete success. What was new in both battles was the use of a double fire roller: The first roller, which fired volatile irritants (chemical warfare agent Blue Cross) and deadly pulmonary irritants (chemical warfare agent Green Cross) at the enemy artillery positions in the so-called Bunt firing to break the mask, had a ratio of 30% high-explosive grenades to 70% gas grenades. The second roller consisted only of high-explosive grenades.

The German infiltration tactics of 1918 can be summarized under four headings: innovative artillery preparation; the combined arms assault or storm battalion; rejection of the linear advance in favor of bypassing enemy centers of resistance; and attacks to disorganize the enemy rear area. The key was artillery. Col. Georg Bruchmüller, an obscure officer retired for nervous problems in 1913 but recalled to duty for the war, developed German artillery techniques to a fine art by the time of the Spring Offensives of 1918.

The essence of the Bruchmüller artillery preparation was a carefully orchestrated, short but intense bombardment designed to isolate, demoralize, and disorganize enemy defenders. Georg Bruchmüller avoided area targets, concentrating on such key points as artillery observation posts, command posts, radio and telephone centers, rearward troop concentrations, bridges, and major approach routes. He carefully pinpointed all these targets on aerial photographs. The result was to knock out enemy communications and isolate forward units.

The effect was increased by surprise. At the start of the German offensive on 21 March 1918, Bruchmüller began his bombardment with ten minutes of gas shells to force the British to mask, followed by four hours and 25 minutes of mixed gas and high explosives. The preparatory fires shifted back and forth, so that the British did not know when the artillery was actually lifting for the infantry advance. Meanwhile, automatic rifle teams moved as close as possible to the British positions during the bombardment. When the Germans did advance, they moved behind a rolling barrage, further enhanced by intense fog. The combination of surprise, brevity, intensity, and carefully selected targets was unique.

Promotions

Storm on Riga

• 16.1.1884 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
• 13.3.1884 Portepée-Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 14.2.1885 Sekondeleutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
  • another source states Patent from 18 March 1886
• 14.9.1893 Premierleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 18.8.1896 Hauptmann (Captain) without Patent
  • later received Patent from 18 March 1899
• 18.10.1908 Major
• 30.9./1.10.1913 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)
  • possibly Charakter als (honorary rank), receiving full rank on 22 March 1916
• 18.4.1918 Oberst (Colonel)
  • another source states 18.8.1918
• 27.8.1939 Generalmajor (Major General)

Awards, decorations and honours

Awards and decorations

• Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille)
• Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class (PRAO4/PrA4) on 15 September 1904
• Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz; DA/PDK) on 16 January 1909
• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 14 December 1914
  • 1st Class on 22 December 1914
• Saxon Albrechts-Orden, Officer's Cross with Swords (SA3⚔) in 1915
• Austrian Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with War Decoration (ÖM3K) on 23 July 1916
• Pour le Mérite with Oak Leaves
  • Pour le Mérite on 1 May 1917
  • Oak Leaves on 26 March 1918
• Austrian Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd Class with War Decoration (ÖEK3K) on 15 May 1917
• Military Merit Order (Bavaria), 3rd Class with Swords (BMV3⚔) on 6 December 1917
• Bremen Hanseatic Cross (Bremisches Hanseatenkreuz; BH) on 1 February 1918
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords

Honours

• Deines-Bruchmüller-Kaserne in Lahnstein (Rhineland)
  • The barracks was named in honour of the artillery generals Gustav Adolf von Deines and Georg Bruchmüller from 1938–1945 (Wehrmacht) and 1956–2022 (Bundeswehr)
    • On 13 November 1938, the barracks for the Artillerie-Regiment 70 were handed over to the Wehrmacht after 14 months of construction. It consisted of 46 buildings, 2 parade grounds and a riding arena. On 27 March 1945, US invasion forces occupied the barracks. After repair work, the first 400 soldiers (artillerymen and tank destroyers) of the newly founded Bundeswehr occupied the double barracks in August 1956, which was given back its original name.
• Honorary citizen of Niederlahnstein in 1939

Writings (excerpt)

• Die deutsche Artillerie in den Durchbruchschlachten des Weltkrieges, Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1921
  • several additional editions, starting with 1922 (significantly expanded); also translations in English, French, Russian and others
• Die Artillerie beim Angriff im Stellungskrieg, Verlag „Offene Worte“, Berlin-Charlottenburg, 1926
• Sippen meiner Ahnen und ihre engere Heimat. Die Geschichte eines deutschen Handwerker- und Bauerngeschlechts, Berlin 1937 / Magdeburg 1938

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External links

• Georg Bruchmüller, (1863–1948), weaponsandwarfare.com (Archive)