Bock, Fedor von, born on 03-12-1880 in Küstrin, 
four months before Adolf Hitler (did you know), into a Prussian Protestant Aristocratic family whose military heritage is traceable to the time of the Hohenzollerns. Tall and skinny Bock had a dry and cynical sense of humor; he rarely smiled. His manner has been described as arrogant, ambitious and headstrong. Although Bock was not a brilliant theorist, he was still a good officer. His theme was always that “the greatest glory anyone could get was to die for your own Fatherland.” He was soon nicknamed the “Holy Fire of Küstrin”. His father, Karl Moritz von Bock, commanded a division in the Franco Prussian war, and was decorated for bravery at the Battle of Sedan. 
His great-grandfather served in the armies of Frederick the Great, and his grandfather was an officer in the Prussian Army at Jena. His mother, Olga Helene Fransziska Freifrau von Falkenhayn von Bock, was of both German and Russian aristocratic heritage. Bock was related to Erich von Falkenhayn, died age 60 on 08-04-1922 
who was his father′s brother-in-law. His son Erich von Falkenhayn 
would be a Luftwaffe General in WWII. In 1905, Bock married Mally von Reichenbach, a young Prussian noblewoman, whom he had originally met in Berlin. They were married in a traditional military wedding at the Potsdam garrison. They had a daughter, born two years after the marriage. A year later, Bock attended the War Academy in Berlin, and after a year′s study he joined the ranks of the General Staff. He soon joined the patriotic Army League and become a close associate of other young German officers such as Generalfeldmarschall der Artillerie, Walter von Brauchitsch, 
Generaloberst der Infanterie, Head of the Army General Staff from 1938 until September, 1942, Franz Halder,
four months before Adolf Hitler (did you know), into a Prussian Protestant Aristocratic family whose military heritage is traceable to the time of the Hohenzollerns. Tall and skinny Bock had a dry and cynical sense of humor; he rarely smiled. His manner has been described as arrogant, ambitious and headstrong. Although Bock was not a brilliant theorist, he was still a good officer. His theme was always that “the greatest glory anyone could get was to die for your own Fatherland.” He was soon nicknamed the “Holy Fire of Küstrin”. His father, Karl Moritz von Bock, commanded a division in the Franco Prussian war, and was decorated for bravery at the Battle of Sedan. His great-grandfather served in the armies of Frederick the Great, and his grandfather was an officer in the Prussian Army at Jena. His mother, Olga Helene Fransziska Freifrau von Falkenhayn von Bock, was of both German and Russian aristocratic heritage. Bock was related to Erich von Falkenhayn, died age 60 on 08-04-1922 who was his father′s brother-in-law. His son Erich von Falkenhayn would be a Luftwaffe General in WWII. In 1905, Bock married Mally von Reichenbach, a young Prussian noblewoman, whom he had originally met in Berlin. They were married in a traditional military wedding at the Potsdam garrison. They had a daughter, born two years after the marriage. A year later, Bock attended the War Academy in Berlin, and after a year′s study he joined the ranks of the General Staff. He soon joined the patriotic Army League and become a close associate of other young German officers such as Generalfeldmarschall der Artillerie, Walter von Brauchitsch, Generaloberst der Infanterie, Head of the Army General Staff from 1938 until September, 1942, Franz Halder,
and Generalfeldmarschall der Panzertruppe, Kommandeur Battle of the Bulge, 
. In 1908, he was promoted to the rank of Oberleutnant. Nicknamed “ the Starver “ he lectured his soldiers about the honor of dying for the German Fatherland. By the time the First World War began in 1914, Bock was a Hauptmann. He was assigned as a divisional staff officer in von Ruppert’s Army Group on the Western Front. Two days before the Armistice, he met with Kaiser Wilhelm II 
at Spa, Belgium, in an unsuccessful attempt to persuade the Kaiser to return to Berlin to crush the mutiny at Kiel. After the Treaty of Versailles was signed, limiting the German Army to 100,000 troops, Bock stayed on as an officer of the post-treaty Reichswehr, rose through the ranks to Field Marshal on 19-07-1940. In the 1920s, von Bock was together with Kurt von Schleicher, 
Eugen Ott, he died old age 87 on 22-01-1977 
and Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord 
the died age 64, on 25-04-1943 in Berlin of a tumor in the head, a member of a secret group known as Sondergruppe R selected by and responsible to Hans van Seeckt, he died age 70 on 27-12-1936, in Berlin.
that was in charge of helping Germany evade the Part V of the Treaty of Versailles, which had disarmed Germany. Bock personally despised Nazism, and was not heavily involved in politics. However, he also did not sympathize with plots to overthrow Adolf Hitler (see Hitler parents) (see William Hitler) and never filed official protests over the treatment of civilians by the SchutzStaffel. Bock was also uncommonly outspoken, a privilege Hitler extended to him only because he had been successful in battle. At the beginning of World War II, Bock was commander of army Group North in preparation for the invasion and conquest of Poland.
The objective of Army Group North was to destroy the Polish forces north of the Vistula. Army Group North was composed of Generalfeldmarschall der Artillerie, Georg Kuchler´s 
3rd Army, and Generalfeldmarschall, Günther von Kluge‘s 
4th Army. In five weeks, Poland was overrun by German and Soviet forces and Bock had linked Germany back to East Prussia. Following the success in Poland, Bock returned to Berlin to begin preparations for the upcoming campaign in the West and East. These struck southward from East Prussia and eastward across the base of the Polish Corridor, respectivelyBock is best known for commanding Operation Typhoon, the ultimately failed attempt to capture Moscow during the winter of 1941. On one occasion, Bock, along with Generalfeldmarschall der Flieger, Oberbefehlhaber der Luftflotte 2, Albert Kesselring 
here with the American 101 AB division General Maxwell Taylor, flew over Moscow. When Bock asked for permission to withdraw his exhausted troops in December 1941, he was dismissed from his post as Commander of Army Group Center, to be reassigned to lead Army Group South in January 1942, when Field Marshal Walther von Reichenau died of a heart attack, age 57 on 17-01-1942. 
The command of Army Group South was given to Generalfeldmarschall der Kavallerie, Maximillian von Weichs. His nephew, Generalmajor der Infanterie and involved in bomb attack Wolfschanze, Henning von Tresckow tried in vain to win him for the military resistance against the Hitler (see Hitler Paula) regime. As an involuntarily retired Field Marshal, Bock felt he was made a scaspegoat for the problems of Stalingrad. He was approached to join a coup against Hitler, but he believed any such move not supported by SS Reichsführer, Heinrich Himmler, who controlled the Waffen SS, was bound to fail; he refused to move against the Führer. With the Russians closing in on Berlin in 1945, Bock was informed by Generalfeldmarschall der Infanterie, Oberbefehlhaber der Heeresgruppe Sud, Erich von Manstein 
that Grand Admiral, Karl Donitz 
was forming a new government in Hamburg after the death of Hitler (see Alois) 
and Bock started off for that city immediately, perhaps hoping for a new command. 
Death and burial ground of Bock, Fedor von ” Der Sterber” “The Dying” Moritz Albrecht Franz Friedrich Fedor.
He stayed the night in a mansion in Petersdorf, near Lensahn and left the next morning early. His wife and daughter and driver, were killed immediately by a strafing British fighter-bomber on 03-05-1945, Bock at the age of 64, was deathly wounded, 
his body was bullet-ridden and died the next day 04-05-1945 in the Naval hospital in Oldenburg. The only Field Marshal of the Third Reich, who came by direct enemy action, to death. Bock is buried on the Field of honor, of the St. Catharina cemetery in Lensahn, next to his wife Wilhelmine Gottliebe Jenny von Boddine, age 51. 
Bill Sanstrom from Arizona visited the area and sent me kindly the pictures he made of the mansion and the place where von Bock’s car was strafed, The information was from an old lady who was there during the event.
his body was bullet-ridden and died the next day 04-05-1945 in the Naval hospital in Oldenburg. The only Field Marshal of the Third Reich, who came by direct enemy action, to death. Bock is buried on the Field of honor, of the St. Catharina cemetery in Lensahn, next to his wife Wilhelmine Gottliebe Jenny von Boddine, age 51. Bill Sanstrom from Arizona visited the area and sent me kindly the pictures he made of the mansion and the place where von Bock’s car was strafed, The information was from an old lady who was there during the event.
Message(s), tips or interesting graves for the webmaster: robhopmans@outlook.com
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