Bitsch was killed in action against United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters on 15 March 1944.

Bitsch was born on 14 June 1916 in Bad Griesbach in the Grand Duchy of Baden within the German Empire.

[2] World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland.

Gruppe (3rd group) of Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3–3rd Fighter Wing), based on the Eastern Front and under the command of Walter Oesau.

[Note 1] The Wehrmacht had launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, on 22 June 1941.

Gruppe supported Army Group South in its strategic goal towards the heavily populated and agricultural heartland of Ukraine, taking Kiev before continuing eastward over the steppes of southern USSR to the Volga with the aim of controlling the oil-rich Caucasus.

The first elements of the Gruppe arrived by train in Mannheim on 8 December, the transfer was completed a week later.

[6] The Gruppe received a full complement of 41 Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 aircraft and on 6 January 1942 was ordered to relocated to Sicily.

He bailed out of his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 (Werknummer 13325—factory number) and landed safely but suffered light injuries in the incident.

[12] On 19 July he shot a Yakovlev Yak-1 down on the Mius front, possibly flown by Soviet female ace Yekaterina Budanova.

The next day, the Gruppe was ordered to Chasiv Yar and then back to Germany where it was based at Münster-Handorf Airfield.

[20] On 1 October, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) attacked German aircraft production, approaching from the south, targeting the Wiener Neustadt Flugzeugwerke (WNF) in Wiener Neustadt and other targets at Friedrichshafen.

[22] On 19 December, the Fifteenth Air Force targeted the railroad transportation infrastructure at Insbruck as well as Messerschmitt aircraft manufacturing sites at Augsburg.

[25] Bitsch claimed his 108th and last aerial victory on 23 February during the USAAF "Big Week" operation.

While the flight was still airborne, the Gruppe received further instructions and were vectored to intercept the USAAF bombers on their return from the target area.

[27] That day, Bitsch was shot down and killed in action by a P-47 of the 352d Fighter Group in his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 161139) 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) west of Schijndel.

The crash site was rediscovered in 1994 by Thijs Hellings, a researcher of the World War II airwar from Schijndel.

With help from the landowner, remains of the plane were recovered including the radio, armored glass, the compass and many other small items.