Germany
Georg Bruchmüller
1863–1948 Artillery planner
A retired German artillery officer recalled in 1914, Bruchmüller was initially dismissed as an eccentric by some of his superiors. He made his name on the Eastern Front, where his method of short, concentrated bombardments with a mix of gas and high explosive broke the Russian lines at Riga in September 1917, and then at Caporetto in October. In March 1918 his artillery plan for Operation Michael produced the greatest bombardment of the war. His fellow officers nicknamed him 'Durchbruchmüller', Breakthrough Müller, and after the war he wrote about his methods. He is considered by many military historians to be the most influential artillery officer of the twentieth century.