matter, Blomberg sent Reichenau to China in May 1934 to support General Alexander von Falkenhausen's existing military assistance mission. Konstantin von Neurath, the Foreign Minister, and German ambassador to Japan Herbert von Dirksen, raised objections to Reichenau's posting, fearing that the assignment of an officer of his stature could imperil Germany's relationship with Japan. In 1938, after the Blomberg–Fritsch affair, in which Fritsch was forced out of the Army command, Reichenau was again Hitler's first choice for head of the Heer, but older leaders such as Gerd von Rundstedt and Ludwig Beck refused to serve under Reichenau, and Hitler again backed down. World War II In September 1939, Reichenau commanded the 10th Army during the German invasion of Poland and was the first German to cross the Vistula river, which he swam across. After the campaign he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his role as commander of the 10th Army. In 1940 he led the 6th Army during the invasion of Belgium and France and later that year Hitler promoted him to Generalfeldmarschall (field marshal) during the 1940 Field Marshal Ceremony. During the German invasion of the Soviet Union, as commander of the 6th Army, he led his army into the heart of Russia during the summer of 1941. The 6th Army was a part of Army Group South, and captured Kiev, Belgorod, Kharkov and Kursk. During its offensive into the Soviet Union, the German army was confronted with a number of superior tank designs. Reichenau inspected the Soviet tanks he came across, entering each tank and measuring its armour plate. According to general staff officer Paul Jordan, after examining a T-34, Reichenau told his officers "If the Russians ever produce it on an assembly line we will have lost the war." In November 1941 Hitler relieved Field Marshal von Rundstedt from his command of Army Group South and promoted Reichenau to take his place. At his personal recommendation to Hitler, Friedrich Paulus, a protege of Reichenau's and former member of his command staff, was promoted to take over his command of the 6th Army. Death Reichenau was a habitual cross-country runner and suffered a stroke after a routine run in cold weather on 14 January 1942. He then sustained severe head injuries when the flight carrying him back to Leipzig for medical attention crashed on landing in Lemberg. Whether he died from his stroke