Friedrich Foertsch

Who was Friedrich Foertsch?

Friedrich Albert Foertsch was a German general serving during World War II and from 1961 to 1963 the second Inspector General of the Bundeswehr.

Foertsch was born in 1900 and joined the military service in the Imperial German Army in 1918. Serving in the infantry in the final battles of World War I, Foertsch earned the Iron Cross second class before the end of hostilities. He joined the Freikorps after the war, and later was accepted into the Reichswehr in 1920. During World War II, he held several senior staff positions, including chief of the general staff of the 18. Armee. Foertsch was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 September 1944 for his leadership in the defensive battles at the Leningrad Front. He was taken prisoner of war in the Courland Pocket by the Soviet Army. At a post-war trial he initially received a death sentence, which was later commuted to 25 years of hard labor. The intervention of Bundeskanzler Konrad Adenauer, caused his release, in 1955 and Foertsch joined the newly formed Bundeswehr of the Federal Republic of Germany. He again served in many senior positions, including an assignment to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe of Nato in Paris. In 1961 he was appointed Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, a position he held until his retirement in 1963. Friedrich Foertsch died on 14 December 1976 in Goslar.