[1] He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords in 1917 and the following year received the Pour le Mérite.

He mostly served in a series of staff positions for the next several years, including a period as Inspector of Transport Troops and as a battalion commander in the 9th Infantry Regiment.

[2] The following year Busch led the 16th Army, which consisted of 13 infantry divisions, during the Battle of France and covered the left flank of General der Panzertruppe Heinz Guderian's XIX Panzer Corps.

[7] When Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, commenced in late June 1941, the 16th Army controlled seven infantry divisions.

Assigned to Army Group North, and operating on its southern flank during the advance into the Baltic States and Russia, it captured Staraya Russa in August.

[6] On 28 October 1943, Generalfeldmarshall Gunther von Kluge, the commander of Army Group Centre, was injured in a vehicle accident and Busch was named as his replacement.

When fighting around Vitebsk threatened to cut off one of the divisions of Generaloberst Georg-Hans Reinhardt's 3rd Panzer Army, he had to seek Hitler's permission to allow it to withdraw.

[9] In May 1944, Busch also conceded to Hitler's instructions to transfer his LVI Panzer Corps to Army Group North Ukraine despite this leaving his own command with minimal tanks.

His army commanders immediately sought permission to withdraw to the Dnieper River but this was denied by Busch, who insisted their positions be held.

[12] Having overseen the loss of 250,000-300,000 men (25 full divisions), the biggest defeat for Germany on the Eastern Front, Busch was relieved of his command by Hitler on 28 June.

He was replaced by Field Marshal Walter Model who managed to stop the advance of the Red Army, but not until it reached the Vistula.

[13] Having gradually returned to favour with Hitler, Busch was recalled to duty on 20 March 1945 when he became head of Army Group Northwest.

Tasked with defending the portion of German coastline along the North Sea, he had few resources and lacked the respect of many men under his command.