action! During operations around Stalingrad
later that year, his prompt actions saved the
First and Fourth Panzer Armies from encir-
clement in the Caucasus, whereupon he re-
ceived oak leaves to his Knight’s Cross and
promotion to lieutenant general. In March
1943, he garnered additional fame by surpris-
ing and literally destroying the Soviet Fifth
Shock Army, winning the coveted swords to
his Knight’s Cross. In November 1943, Balck
was elevated to general of panzer troops and
successively commanded the 48th Panzer
Corps and the Fourth Panzer Army. In August
1944, he performed brilliant work in smashing
a dangerous Soviet bridgehead at Baranov on
the Vistula River. Further attacks gained addi-
tional ground for the Germans at Pulavy, sta-
bilizing the Eastern Front momentarily and
averting a major disaster. This heroic achieve-
ment, performed against superior forces, won
him the coveted diamonds to his Knight’s
Cross. He remains one of only 26 soldiers so
decorated.
Hitler was singularly impressed by Balck
and personally selected him for service along
the Western Front. There Allied forces had
broken through German lines surrounding the
Normandy landing beachheads in July 1944
and were spreading unchecked across eastern
France. Balck arrived at Army Group G head-
quarters in late September, replacing the now
disgraced Gen. Johannes Blaskowitz. His or-
ders were to stop American forces from occu-
pying the province of Lorraine, but Balck
spent several days visiting, organizing, and in-
spiring his dispirited soldiers beforehand. In
rapid succession he ordered all rear elements
closer to the front, brought existing units up to
strength, and awaited the enemy’s approach.
In October, the U.S. Third Army under Gen.
George S. Patton had been refueled and resup-
plied since its mad dash across France and
was steadily advancing across Lorraine in de-
termined fashion. Balck met the Americans
head-on, as per the Führer’s orders, but they
were too numerous and continually rein-
forced. At length, the Germans were forced
back out of Lorraine, despite Hitler’s raging.
The Americans now began probing the Ger-
man defensive lines known as the Westwall.
On October 13, 1944, the U.S. First Army
under Gen. Courtney Hodges brought its
forces to bear upon Aachen, an ancient city
that once served as the capital of Charle-
magne’s empire. Balck’s men waged a fierce,
street-by-street defense, and both sides lost
heavily. After eight days of bloody fighting,
Hodges finally prevailed, and an important
psychological barrier had been breached: a
German city had been captured for the first
time. Hitler, possibly at the instigation of Hein-
rich Himmler, then summarily replaced Balck
with the previously disgraced Blaskowitz.
By December 1944, Balck was back on the
Eastern Front with the Sixth Army in a des-
perate attempt to stave off Soviet advances.
Between January and February 1945, he tried
relieving the German garrison at Budapest,
but he failed. Russian armies by now were too
large and too well equipped to be defeated
easily. Balck then withdrew his skeleton
forces westward, surrendering in Austria on
May 8, 1945. He was one of Germany’s best
panzer leaders and a leading exponent of that
arm.
Balck was imprisoned until 1947 and then
lived quietly in Stuttgart. Eventually, he was
sought out by U.S. Army historians, who
brought him to America for an extended se-
ries of interviews. The talented Balck, still
recognized as a consummate tank com-
mander, died in Stuttgart in 1982. Many of his
victories over Russian armor are still closely
scrutinized at the U.S. Army Command and
General Staff College.Bibliography
Astor, Gerald. The Bloody Forest: Battle for Hurtgen,
September 1944–January 1945.Novato, CA: Pre-
sidio Press, 2000; Bonn, Keith E.When the Odds
Were Even: The Vosges Mountains Campaign, Octo-
ber 1944–January 1945.Novato, CA: Presidio, 1994;
Citino, Robert M. The Path to Blitzkrieg: Doctrine
an Training in the German Army, 1920–1939.
Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999;BALCK, HERMANN