Georg Bruchmüller
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Georg Bruchmüller (11 December 1863 – 26 January 1948) was a German
artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
officer who greatly influenced the development of modern artillery tactics. He was nicknamed ''Durchbruchmüller'', a combination of the German word ''Durchbruch'' (breakthrough) with his name.


Early life

Bruchmüller was born in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
into a middle-class family. He studied physics at Berlin University; when he left in 1883 he became a three-year volunteer in the Imperial Army. Two years later, he was commissioned into the (foot artillery), the branch of the German army armed with heavier guns, howitzers and mortars, designed principally for siege warfare, which now was assuming a role in field operations. In 1897 and 1898, Bruchmüller served as a battery commander in ''Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr''. 3 in the
Fortress of Mainz The Fortress of Mainz was a fortressed garrison town between 1620 and 1918. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, under the term of the 1815 Peace of Paris, the control of Mainz passed to the German Confederation and became part of a chain of stra ...
. Next, he commanded a battery in the ''Lehr-Bataillon'' (Demonstration Battalion) of the ''Royal Prussian Fußartillerie-Schießschule'' (Foot Artillery Firing School) in
Jüterbog Jüterbog () is a historic town in north-eastern Germany, in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg. It is on the Nuthe river at the northern slope of the Fläming hill range, about southwest of Berlin. History The Slavic settlement of ' ...
from 1901 to 1902. During this time, he worked with one of the instructors at the ''Fußartillerie-Schießschule'', Hauptmann Arthur Bilse, a heavy artillery specialist. (Bilse, when ''General der Fußartillerie'' 15, was killed in action on New Year's Day 1916, at Les Baraques France.) In 1908, Bruchmüller was promoted to major and assigned to write the tactical manual for foot artillery. In 1913 he was thrown from his horse and subsequently suffered a nervous breakdown. He was medically discharged as a lieutenant colonel, but with major's pay.


World War I

At the beginning of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Bruchmüller was recalled to active duty and soon became artillery commander of the 86th Division on the Eastern Front. In 1915 he fought in thirteen actions, winning the
Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...
First Class and Second Class. The Russians conducted the
Lake Naroch Offensive The Lake Naroch offensive in 1916 was an unsuccessful Russian offensive on the Eastern Front in World War I. It was launched at the request of Marshal Joseph Joffre and intended to relieve the German pressure on French forces. Due to lack of reco ...
from 18 to 30 March 1916. For the counter-attack, Bruchmüller persuaded the commander of the Tenth Army, ''
Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German ''Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East Germany, East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. ...
'' Hermann von Eichhorn, to centralize the artillery command. Bruchmüller planned the leading of the infantry attack with a creeping barrage, which contributed to the German victory, for which he was awarded the
Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...
, Germany's highest military award, in 1917 (one of only four senior artillery officers to receive this honor during the war). The French and British used prolonged bombardments before an infantry assault, to try to destroy the defenders, like the seven-day barrage opening the
Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...
, while the Germans favored short, intense bombardments, sometimes called
hurricane bombardment In warfare, infiltration tactics involve small independent light infantry forces advancing into enemy rear areas, bypassing enemy frontline strongpoints, possibly isolating them for attack by follow-up troops with heavier weapons. Soldiers ta ...
s, like the ten-hour barrage which opened the
Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...
. Bruchmüller devised intricate, centrally-controlled firing plans for intense bombardments. His operations emphasized fire in depth throughout the enemy positions, switching rapidly from target to target and then back again, which required strict, detailed control of every gun, to cause maximum disruption of the defenders. Each battery of each type of weapon received fire missions on a timetable. The first stage hit headquarters, phone links, command posts, enemy batteries and infantry positions; the fire was sudden, concentrated, and made extensive use of gas shells. In the second stage, more guns engaged the enemy batteries; much firing was required (for example, from howitzers were considered necessary to eliminate a gun pit). The third stage directed fire for effect on targets; some batteries continued to shell infantry positions, while heavy pieces engaged long-range targets to cut off reinforcements. Advancing infantry followed a precisely organized
creeping barrage In military usage, a barrage is massed sustained artillery fire (shelling) aimed at a series of points along a line. In addition to attacking any enemy in the kill zone, a barrage intends to suppress enemy movements and deny access across tha ...
, the '. For some of the key counter-attacks during Russia's Brusilov Offensive, Bruchmüller directed the 76 artillery batteries of ''Heeresgruppe'' '' von Linsingen''. In July 1917, he commanded 134 batteries during the counter-attack that recovered
Tarnopol Ternópil ( uk, Тернопіль, Ternopil' ; pl, Tarnopol; yi, טאַרנאָפּל, Tarnopl, or ; he, טארנופול (טַרְנוֹפּוֹל), Tarnopol; german: Tarnopol) is a city in the west of Ukraine. Administratively, Ternopi ...
from the Russians, after its loss during the Kerensky Offensive. Surprise was essential for creating maximum disruption, so Bruchmüller adopted the Pulkowski Method, for bombardments without the customary registration fire. The position of each gun was surveyed. Knowing the
muzzle velocity Muzzle velocity is the speed of a projectile (bullet, pellet, slug, ball/shots or shell) with respect to the muzzle at the moment it leaves the end of a gun's barrel (i.e. the muzzle). Firearm muzzle velocities range from approximately to i ...
of the gun, taking into account variables like air temperature, wind velocity and direction, using tables provided by mathematicians, and pre-registering guns on firing ranges, it was possible to fire fairly accurately at targets on the gunnery maps. The Germans concealed their attack preparations but their initial target data had to be precise. (The British had fired from the map in their assault at
Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...
on 20 November 1917.) Bruchmüller commanded the artillery of the 8th Army (General
Oskar von Hutier Oskar Emil von Hutier (27 August 1857 – 5 December 1934) was a German general during the First World War. He served in the German Army from 1875 to 1919, including war service. During the war, he commanded the army that took Riga, Russian Repub ...
) in the victory at Riga in September 1917. The 8th Army moved west soon thereafter and, in the first months of 1918, Bruchmüller's techniques were taught to gunners at a special school in Belgium before the German spring offensive of 1918. Infantry officers were also taught his methods and there were joint infantry-artillery exercises with live ammunition, with advances shielded by the creeping barrage. The first attack,
Operation Michael Operation Michael was a major German military offensive during the First World War that began the German Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918. It was launched from the Hindenburg Line, in the vicinity of Saint-Quentin, France. Its goal was to ...
, began with a barrage of shells in five hours, almost a second. Defying instructions, Bruchmüller eliminated preliminary registration by firing from the map and then directed the artillery during the next attack at the Battle of the Lys on Flanders, where the artillery had not yet been trained in the Pulkowski method. The guns were registered by observation during the first phase of the bombardment. Bruchmüller was awarded the oak leaves to his ''Pour le Mérite'' on March 26, 1918, one of just two higher artillery commanders decorated this way. Still only a lieutenant-colonel and a retired officer on temporary recall, he commanded the artillery in
Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz The Army Group German Crown Prince or Army Group B (german: Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz) was an Army Group of the German Army, which operated on the Western Front under command of Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, between 1 August 1915 and 11 ...
in the
Third Battle of the Aisne The Third Battle of the Aisne (french: 3e Bataille de l'Aisne) was a battle of the German spring offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Forces arrived completely in ...
and the
Second Battle of the Marne The Second Battle of the Marne (french: Seconde Bataille de la Marne) (15 July – 18 July 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First World War. The attack failed wh ...
. The artillery fired from the map in darkness and the infantry advanced at first light. Ludendorff cited him as an example of "the decisive influence of personality on the course of events in war".


Post-war

Bruchmüller was not eligible for the post-war ''
Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...
'', because the Versailles Treaty prohibited heavy artillery, and he was retired in 1919 as a full colonel. He wrote several books on artillery that were translated into English, French and Russian. In 1939, on the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Tannenberg, he was promoted to major-general on the retired list.Zabecki, 1996, p. 144 Bruchmüller died at
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...
in 1948.


Citations


Cited works

* * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * Blythe, Wilson C. "Enduring Lessons From the Father of Modern Fires Planning", ''Fires: A Joint Publication for U.S. Artillery Professionals'' (July-August 2013), accessible online at: http://sillwww.army.mil/firesbulletin/2013/Jul-Aug/July-August.pdf * * * *


External links


Bruchmüller's biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruchmuller, Georg 1863 births 1948 deaths German Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Berlin People from the Province of Brandenburg Prussian Army personnel Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)