Herbert Büchs

Büchs was born in Beuthen, Upper Silesia, where he graduated from the Catholic secondary school in 1933. He then studied economics at the Universities of Graz and Munich. He joined the air force in 1935 and became a fighter pilot. In 1939 at the outbreak of World War II he was an operations officer and in June 1941 he flew a Junkers Ju 88 during Operation Barbarossa and his right arm was injured by machine gun fire. On 1 November 1943 he was appointed as a General Staff Officer with the Wehrmacht Operations Staff at Adolf Hitler's headquarters. He briefed him on the air war at daily situation conferences and on one occasion had to report the loss of 300 aircraft.

In July, 1944, Büchs was injured by the briefcase bomb planted by Claus von Stauffenberg in a failed assassination attempt on Hitler. He recovered from his injuries.

In June 1946 he provided testimony as a witness at the Nuremberg Trials of Major War Criminals. He then worked in civil engineering on projects in the Middle East and in 1957 rejoined the military and became an aerial tactics instructor at the Bundeswehr Staff College. He later rose to be Deputy Director of Leadership on the Air Force Command Staff and Chief of Staff of the Federal Armed Forces Operations Staff.[1]