Georg von Küchler Georg Karl Friedrich Wilhelm von Küchler ( 30 May 1881 – 25 May 1968 ) was a German Field Marshal during the Second World War . He was a recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves . After the end of World War II he was tried by a military court and on 27 October 1948 he was sentenced to twenty years ' imprisonment for his treatment of partisans in the Soviet Union , of which served only eight years before being released in 1953 due to illness and old age . Early life . Georg von Küchler was born in Philippsruhe Castle in Hanau , Hesse - Nassau , on 30 May 1881 . Little is known about Küchler ’ s early life and childhood . After attending cadet school , he entered the Imperial Army in 1900 and served in the 25th Field Artillery Regiment . After being promoted to First Lieutenant , he spent three years at the Prussian Military Academy ( from 1910 to 1913 ) , before joining the General Staff in Berlin . The First World War and interwar years . During the First World War he commanded an artillery battery on the Western Front and took part in the major offensives at the Somme and Verdun . In 1916 he became staff officer of the 206th Infantry Division . In 1919 Küchler joined the Freikorps and fought the Red Army in Poland . After returning to Germany he joined the staff of the Jüterbog Artillery School . Promoted to Colonel , Küchler became Deputy Commander of the 1st Infantry Division in East Prussia in 1932 . Küchler succeeded Walther von Brauchitsch as commander of Wehrkreis I in 1937 . The following year he supported Adolf Hitler in his removal of Werner von Blomberg and Werner von Fritsch from power . In March 1939 he cooperated with Heinrich Himmler in the successful occupation of the Lithuanian port of Memel . The Second World War : in Poland and on the Western Front . On the outbreak of the Second World War , Küchler was given command of the 3rd Army . During the invasion of Poland Küchler ’ s troops captured Danzig . Although a committed supporter of the Nazi Party , Küchler upset the Schutzstaffel ( SS ) by punishing soldiers who committed atrocities against civilians . In 1940 he became far more supportive of Nazi racial policy and ordered on 22 February stop to any criticism of " ethnic struggle being carried out in the General Government , for instance the of the Polish minorities , of the Jews and of the Church matters " . His order explained that the " Final ethnic solution " required unique and harsh measures . In the Western Offensive he fought under Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock and commanded the Eighteenth Army , which invaded the Netherlands . In the invasion of neutral Netherlands , he was able to defeat the Dutch army at Moerdijk , Rotterdam , and the Hague . Afterwards Küchler ’ s forces moved into Belgium and occupied Antwerp on 18 May 1940 . Then he moved into France , attempting to cut off the British Expeditionary Force ( BEF ) from the English Channel at Dunkirk , which ultimately ended in failure because of Hitler ' s decision to halt before reaching the channel . The 18th Army ended this phase of the war at Pas de Calais encircling Dunkirk . Küchler ’ s role in this campaign earned him the rank of colonel - general . After meeting Hitler in March 1941 to plan for Operation Barbarossa , Küchler told his divisional commanders on April 25 , 1941 : " We are separated from Russia , ideologically and racially , by a deep abyss . Russia is , if only by the mass of her territory , an Asian state . . . The " Führer " does not wish to palm off responsibility for Germany ' s existence on to a later generation ; he has decided to force the dispute with Russia before the year is out . If Germany wishes to live in peace for generations , safe from a threatening danger in the East , this cannot be a case of pushing Russia back a little - or even hundreds of kilometers - but the aim must be to annihilate European Russia , to dissolve the Russian state in Europe " Küchler went on to call Red Army commissars " criminals " who should all be shot . The Second World War : on the Eastern Front . During Barbarossa the 18th Army forced its way to Ostrov and Pskov after the Soviet troops of the Northwestern Front retreated towards Leningrad . On 10 July 1941 , both Ostrov and Pskov were captured and the 18th Army reached Narva and Kingisepp , from where advance toward Leningrad continued from the Luga River line . This had the effect of creating siege positions from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Ladoga , with the eventual aim of isolating Leningrad from all directions . The Finnish Army was then expected to advance along the eastern shore of Lake Ladoga . On 17 January 1942 , Küchler became commander of Army Group North after Field Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb was relieved of his command . Küchler , unlike his predecessor Leeb , was seen as politically compliant and was liked by Adolf Hitler , who hoped that von Küchler would succeed where he believed von Leeb had failed . Küchler commanded Army Group North from December 1941 through January 1944 but was unable to achieve any victory at Leningrad . He maintained the siege of Leningrad , launching massive bombardments in an attempt to intimidate the Soviet Red Army into surrender . On 30 June 1942 Hitler promoted Küchler to field marshal ( Generalfeldmarschall ) . In January 1944 Soviet troops were able to break the blockade of Leningrad , and Küchler was sacked when he demanded the withdrawal to the Luga River , which was vital to the survival of Army Group North . Later life . While in retirement Küchler was approached by Carl Goerdeler who tried to persuade him to join the July Plot . Although sympathetic to the group ' s objectives , he refused to participate in the attempt to assassinate Hitler . At the end of World War II , Küchler was arrested by American occupation authorities and tried by a military court in 1948 in the High Command Trial . On 27 October 1948 he was sentenced to twenty years ' imprisonment for his treatment of partisans in the Soviet Union but only served eight years before he was released in 1953 due to illness and old age . He died in Garmisch - Partenkirchen on 25 May 1968 .