Eighty years ago today, on July 17, 1945 (June 9, 1945), Field Marshal Ernst Busch of Nazi Germany passed away. Ernst Busch (July 6, 1885 - July 17, 1945) was a German field marshal in World War II. Born in Essen, Germany, Busch joined the Prussian army in 1904 and served on the Western Front during World War I. He was awarded the Order of the Blue Max in 1918. After the war, he remained in the German army and was appointed as a logistics inspector in 1925. In 1930 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and ordered to command the 9th Infantry Regiment. Busch was Wilhelm Liszt's deputy when he invaded Poland in 1939, and the following year he led the German 16th Army in the Battle of France. Adolf Hitler awarded him the Iron Cross for his exploits. Busch later participated in Operation Barbarossa and commanded the capture of Demyansk on September 8, 1941, before the siege of Leningrad. Despite the counter-offensive of the Soviet Red Army, Busch's troops remained from Stalayarosa to Ostashkov. Due to Hitler's strong defense on the battlefield, he was promoted to Field Marshal. He commanded German Army Group Center from 1943 to 1944, but was removed by Hitler and replaced by Walter Model in July 1944 due to his catastrophic defeat in the summer of 1944. Busch returned in March 1945 when he was appointed commander of German Army Group H. Working together with Kurt Sturden and his 1st German Parachute Regiment, Busch was tasked with preventing the Allied forces under Bernard Montgomery from entering Germany. Busch surrendered to Montgomery on May 3, 1945. He was listed as a war criminal and died in the British Idysot POW Camp on July 17, 1945. He was buried in the German War Cemetery at Cannock Chase, Staffordshire. Comment: A good Nazi general, died well!