Walther von Brauchitsch Heinrich Alfred Hermann Walther von Brauchitsch ( 4 October 1881 – 18 October 1948 ) was a German field marshal and the " Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres " ( Commander - in - Chief of the Army ) in the early years of World War II . Early years . Brauchitsch was born in Berlin as the fifth son of a cavalry general . He attended the Französisches Gymnasium Berlin . Brauchitsch was commissioned in the Prussian Guard in 1900 . By World War I , he was appointed to the General Staff . In 1910 , he married Elizabeth von Karstedt , a wealthy heiress to in Pomerania . Wehrmacht . In 1933 , Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power and began to expand the military . Brauchitsch was named Chief of the East Prussia n Military District . His specialty was artillery . In 1937 , he became commander of the Fourth Army Group . Brauchitsch disliked or opposed much of the Nazi system , but also welcomed the Nazi policy of rearmament and was dazzled by Hitler ' s personality . He became largely reliant on Hitler as political patron and even for financial help . In February 1938 , in the middle of the Munich Crisis , Brauchitsch left his wife Elizabeth after 28 years . He wanted to marry Charlotte Rueffer ( later married Schmidt ) , the daughter of a Silesian judge , and ardent admirer of the Nazis ( Ulrich von Hassell — later part of the conspiracy against Hitler — described her as " a 200 percent rabid Nazi " ) . Hitler set aside his usual anti - divorce sentiments and encouraged Brauchitsch to divorce and remarry . Hitler even lent him 80 , 000 " Reichsmarks " , which he needed since the family wealth was all his wife ' s . In the same month , Brauchitsch was appointed " Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres " ( Commander of the " Heer " ) as a replacement for General Werner von Fritsch , who had been dismissed on false charges of homosexuality , due to a name mistake . The true homosexual officer had the name " Werner von Fritz " Brauchitsch resented the growing power of the SS , believing that they were attempting to replace the " Wehrmacht " as the official German armed forces . He had disagreements with Erich Koch , the " Gauleiter " of East Prussia , and Adolf Hitler had to resolve the dispute between the two . Like General Ludwig Beck , Brauchitsch opposed Hitler ' s annexation of Austria ( the " Anschluss " ) and Czechoslovakia ( see " Fall Grün " ) , although he did not resist Hitler ' s plans for war . He took no action when Beck asked him to persuade the whole General Staff to resign if Hitler proceeded in his invasion of Czechoslovakia . In September 1938 , a group of officers began plotting against Hitler and repeatedly tried to persuade Brauchitsch — as Commander of the " Heer " — to lead the anticipated coup , but the only assurance he gave them was : " I myself won ' t do anything , but I won ' t stop anyone else from acting . " After the collapse of the 1938 coup attempt , Brauchitsch ignored all further appeals from Beck and the other plotters to use the army to overthrow Hitler before Germany was plunged into world war . World War II . In early November 1939 , Brauchitsch and Franz Halder started to consider overthrowing Hitler . Brauchitsch and Halder had decided to overthrow Hitler after the latter had fixed " X - day " for the invasion of France for November 12 , 1939 ; an invasion that both officers believed to be doomed to fail . On 5 November 1939 , the Army General Staff prepared a memorandum purporting to recommend against launching an attack on the Western powers that autumn . Brauchitsch reluctantly agreed to read the document to Hitler . In the meeting with Hitler on November 5 , Brauchitsch had attempted to talk Hitler into putting off " X - day " by saying that morale in the German Army was worse than what it was in 1918 , a statement that enraged Hitler who harshly berated Brauchitsch for incompetence . The document ' s specific recommendations did not convey the dissent in the ranks of the General Staff , who were uneasy at having their planning and conduct of the Polish Campaign interfered with down to a regimental level . More generally , the unease at the army ' s position as the chief martial arbiter in the German State having been encroached upon since Hitler ' s ascendance to power was prevalent in the closing days of the 1930s . It was left to Brauchitsch to voice these doubts , which he did , stating that the " OKH would be grateful for an understanding that it , and it alone , would be solely responsible for the conduct of any future campaign . " The suggestion was received in " an icy silence " , whereupon on an impulse Brauchitsch went on to complain that " the aggressive spirit of the German infantry was sadly below the standard of the First World War . . . [ there had been ] certain symptoms of insubordination similar to those of 1917 – 18 " . Hitler responded by flying into a tremendous rage , accusing both the General Staff and Brauchitsch personally of disloyalty , cowardice , sabotage and defeatism . The Chief of the Army General Staff — Franz Halder , who was the main propagator of the memorandum ' s preparation — wrote that the scene was " most ugly and disagreeable " . He returned to the Headquarters at Zossen where " he arrived in such poor shape that at first he could only give a somewhat incoherent account of the proceedings . " After that meeting , both Halder and Brauchitsch told Carl Friedrich Goerdeler that overthrowing Hitler was simply something that they could not do , and he should find other officers if he that was what he really wanted to . Hitler then called a meeting of the General Staff to declare that he would smash the West within a year . He also vowed to " destroy the spirit of Zossen " — a threat that panicked Halder to such an extent that he forced the conspirators to abort their second planned coup attempt . Equally important , on November 7 , 1939 following heavy snowstorms , Hitler put off " X - Day " until further notice , which removed the reason that had most motivated Brauchitsch and Halder to consider overthrowing Hitler . Brauchitsch was promoted to " Generalfeldmarschall " in 1940 and was key in Hitler ' s " " blitzkrieg " " war against the West , making modifications to the original plan to overrun France . After France was conquered , Operation Sea Lion — the invasion of Britain — was planned . Had it succeeded , Hitler intended to place Brauchitsch in charge of the new conquest . However , the " Luftwaffe " could not gain the requisite air superiority , and the plan was abandoned . Brauchitsch agreed with harsh measures against the Polish population claiming they were inevitable for securing the German " Lebensraum " and ordered to his army and commanders that criticism of Nazism racist policy should cease as Nazi policy was needed for " forthcoming battle of destiny of the German people " . When Germany turned east and invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 , the Army ' s failure to take Moscow earned Hitler ' s enmity . Things went further downhill for Brauchitsch as he endured a serious heart attack , and Hitler relieved him on 10 December . He was transferred to the Officers Reserve ( Führerreserve ) where he remained without assignment until the end of the war . Brauchitsch spent the last three war years in the Tři Trubky hunting lodge in the Brdy mountains southwest of Prague . One of the few public comments he made after his retirement was a statement condemning the attempt on Hitler ' s life . Death . After the war , Brauchitsch was arrested and charged with war crime s , but died in Hamburg in 1948 before he could be prosecuted . Brauchitsch was the uncle of Manfred von Brauchitsch , a 1930s Mercedes - Benz " Silver Arrow " Grand Prix driver , and Hans Bernd and Werner von Haeften , both members of the German resistance against Hitler . Brauchitsch was a strong admirer of " Feldmarschall " Helmuth von Moltke and used to linger in his former office that was made into a museum at a later date . References .