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Oskar von Hutier

Oskar von Hutier was one of Germany Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country [i] in central Europe [i]. ... 

's most successful and innovative generals of World War I World War I

World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War and "The War to End All War... 

. Hutier spent the first year of the war as a divisional commander in France France

France, officially the French Republic, is a country [i] whose metropolitan territory [i] ... 

, performing well but not distinguishing himself until the spring of 1915, when he was transferred to the Eastern Front. There, he became a corps commander attached to the German Tenth Army, and helped that force conquer large parts of Russia Russia

Russia , also the Russian Federation , is a country [i] that stretches over a vast expanse of Eurasia [i] ... 

n-held Poland Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country located in Central Europe [i]. ... 

 and Lithuania Lithuania

Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania , is a country in northern Europe.... 

 over the next two years. After rising to army command early in 1917, Hutier began to apply the lessons learned from his three years of commanding troops, along with his study of tactics used by other armies.

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Oskar von Hutier was one of Germany Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country [i] in central Europe [i]. ... 

's most successful and innovative generals of World War I World War I

World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War and "The War to End All War... 

.

Hutier spent the first year of the war as a divisional commander in France France

France, officially the French Republic, is a country [i] whose metropolitan territory [i] ... 

, performing well but not distinguishing himself until the spring of 1915, when he was transferred to the Eastern Front. There, he became a corps commander attached to the German Tenth Army, and helped that force conquer large parts of Russia Russia

Russia , also the Russian Federation , is a country [i] that stretches over a vast expanse of Eurasia [i] ... 

n-held Poland Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country located in Central Europe [i]. ... 

 and Lithuania Lithuania

Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania , is a country in northern Europe.... 

 over the next two years.

After rising to army command early in 1917, Hutier began to apply the lessons learned from his three years of commanding troops, along with his study of tactics used by other armies. He devised a new strategy for the Germans to break the stalemate Stalemate

Stalemate is a situation in chess [i] where the player whose turn it is to move has no legal moves but i ... 

 of trench warfare Trench warfare

Trench warfare is a form of war [i] in which both opposing armies have static lines of fortification [i] ... 

. These tactics were to prove so successful in 1917 and 1918 that the French dubbed them "Hutier tactics", although the more commonly used term today is "infiltration tactics".

Hutier tactics

Hutier had noticed that in many previous battles, the conventional method of launching an attack, with a lengthy artillery barrage all along the line followed by an assault from massed infantry, was leading to disastrous losses. He suggested an alternate approach, now called either Hutier Tactics or infiltration tactics, which consisted of these basic steps:

1: A short artillery bombardment, featuring heavy shells mixed with numerous poison gas Chemical warfare

The Battle of Barnet, which took place on April 14 [i], 1471 [i], was a decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses [i] ... 

 projectiles would concentrate on neutralizing the enemy front lines, but not to destroy them.

2: Under a creeping barrage, German shock troops would move forward and infiltrate the Allied defenses at previously identified weak points. They would avoid combat whenever possible and attempt to destroy or capture enemy headquarters and artillery strongpoints.

3: After the shock troops had done their job, German Army units, heavily equipped with machine gun Machine gun

A machine gun is a fully-automatic [i] mounted or portable firearm [i], usually design ... 

s, and mortars would make heavy attacks along narrow fronts against any Allied strongpoints the shock troops missed. When the artillery was in place, officers could direct the fire wherever it was needed to accelerate the breakthrough.

4: In the last stage of the assault, regular infantry would mop up any remaining Allied resistance.

Many other generals had planned attacks along similar lines in the past, dating as far back as United States United States

The United States of America, also known as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., a... 

 Army Colonel Emory Upton Emory Upton

Emory Upton was a U.S. Army [i] general [i] and military strategist, prominent for his role in leading i ... 

 at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House Battle of Spotsylvania Court House

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania... 

 in 1864. Allied generals had done so on a small scale in earlier battles in France France

France, officially the French Republic, is a country [i] whose metropolitan territory [i] ... 

, but Hutier was the first commander to employ them on a wide, ongoing scale.

Success

On September 3, 1917, Hutier, commanding the German Eighth Army, ended the two-year siege of the Russian city of Riga Riga

Riga , the capital [i] of Latvia [i], is situated on the Baltic Sea [i] coast on the mouth of the River Daugava [i] ... 

 with his tactics. He followed that success with an amphibious assault to seize Russian-held islands in the Baltic Sea Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe [i], from 53N to 66N latitude [i] and from 20E to 26E longitude [i]... 

.

Although Hutier was not present, other German generals used his methods in October 1917 to win a spectacular victory over the Italians Italy

Italy, officially the Italian Republic , is a Southern European [i] country. ... 

 at the Battle of Caporetto Battle of Caporetto

The Battle of Caporetto, took place from 24 October [i] to 9 November [i] 1917 [i], near Kobarid [i], in... 

. Hutier was awarded the Pour le Mérite Pour le Mérite

The Order Pour le Mrite, known informally as the Blue Max, was Prussia [i]'s highest military order [i] ... 

 by Kaiser Wilhelm II William II, German Emperor

William II or Wilhelm II , was the last German Emperor [i] and King of Prussia [i] , ruling both ... 

 and transferred to the Western Front in 1918.

In March of that year, Hutier again employed the infiltration tactics in the Spring Offensive and hammered the Allied line along the gap between the French France

France, officially the French Republic, is a country [i] whose metropolitan territory [i] ... 

 and British United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country and sovereign state [i] tha ... 

 armies, advancing some 40 miles along the Somme River Somme River

The Somme is a river [i] in Picardy [i], northern France [i].
... 

 toward Amiens Amiens

Amiens is a city and commune [i] in the north of France [i], 120 km north of Paris [i] ... 

. The Germans took 50,000 prisoners and Hutier was awarded the Oak Leaves to accompany his Pour le Mérite.

Final Days of World War I and Retirement


Hutier's tactics were used in another major victory against the French in June 1918, but the Allies had begun to develop counters to his methods. In July, when the Germans again advanced in what became known as the Second Battle of the Marne, the American and French defenders had created a deep defensive system which the depleted and exhausted shock troop units failed to break.

Still, Hutier returned to postwar Germany as a hero. Like his overall commander and cousin, General Erich Ludendorff Erich Ludendorff

Erich Ludendorff was a German [i] Army officer [i], noted as a general [i] duri... 

, Hutier maintained that the German Army had not been defeated in the field, but was "stabbed in the back Dolchstosslegende

The Dolchstosslegende refers to a social mythos [i] and persecution [i]-propaganda [i] theory popul... 

" by enemies on the home front.

He left the army in 1919 and served as president of the German Officers' League until shortly before his death in 1934.