powers, make any necessary adjustments. His inspection revealed that
the flank of the First Army under General Alexander von Kluck was
endangered and could no longer continue its offensive drive to the
Marne River. Hentsch therefore ordered the two armies to retreat to
the Aisne River and establish a defensive line there. As a result of the
battle of the Marne, the Germans failed to capture nearby Paris, and
the deadly stalemate of trench warfare ensued.
Hentsch’s decision has been the object of considerable contro-
versy. At his request, a formal inquiry headed by General Erich Lu-
dendorff took place, concluding in May 1917 that Hentsch had been
“justified” in reaching his decision and had not violated Moltke’s oral
instructions. Whether or not his battlefield assessment was correct,
the retreat proved to be an enduring psychological blow for the troops
and the officer corps. For Adolf Hitler, Hentsch’s name became syn-
onymous with military betrayal. While serving as the chief of staff
to the military administrator of occupied Rumania, Hentsch died in
Bucharest on 13 February 1918.HENTSCHKE, HERBERT (1919–1991). A Soviet agent and senior
officer of the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), Herbert
Hentschke was born in Oberseifersdorf (Saxony) on 20 December
1919, the son of a worker. After immigrating to Czechoslovakia in
1934, he moved to Moscow and found employment as a locksmith.
Twice arrested by the NKVD (Soviet People’s Commissariat of In-
ternal Affairs) during the Stalinist purges, Hentschke was released
and then trained at the Comintern school in Kushnarenkovo for
behind-the-lines intelligence work in Belorussia beginning in 1944.
Returning to Germany in 1945, he was appointed to various party
and police positions before becoming an early member of the MfS.
Hentschke’s most notable assignments included representing the
Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung with the Cuban secret service in Ha-
vana between 1971 and 1974 and directing the MfS administration at
Wismut until his retirement in 1981. He died on 28 October 1991.
HERING, HORST (1920– ). A double agent in the employ of the
Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Horst Hering worked as a jour-
nalist in Bavaria after serving in the navy during World War II.
Known by his Stasi code name alexander and his BND code name
182 • HENTSCHKE, HERBERT