Gerd von Rundstedt (12 December 1875 – 24 February 1953) was a Field Marshal of Nazi Germany during World War II. From 1942 to July 1944 and from September 1944 to March 1945, he served as commander-in-chief of German forces in Western Europe, and he was sacked after D-Day, reappointed in September, and sacked after the Allied crossing of the Rhine.
Biography[]
Gerd von Rundstedt was born in Aschersleben, Prussia, German Empire on 12 December 1875 to an old junker family that traced its origins to the 12th century. He joined the Imperial German Army infantry in 1892 and joined the general staff in 1907, earning a high reputation as a staff officer while serving as a Major in the German military during World War I. Von Rundstedt remained in the Reichswehr after the war's end, and he was affiliated with the German monarchists at the time of the November Revolution. He believed that army officers should remain apolitical and support the government of the day, and he did nothing to oppose the Nazi Party's rise to power, despite his dislike for the party. In 1934, he supported the Night of the Long Knives, but he opposed the murders of Kurt von Schleicher and Ferdinand von Bredow, persuading Adolf Hitler to secretly rehabilitate them after their deaths. Rundstedt also did not report Ludwig Beck during his 1938 conspiracy against Hitler, staying out of politics, although he opposed war with Britain and France over Czechoslovakia.
In 1939, Rundstedt commanded Army Group South during the invasion of Poland at the start of World War II, and he complained to Franz Halder about the Wehrmacht's permittance of the summary executions of Polish Army soldiers and Polish Jews. On 20 October 1939, he resigned his command after Einsatzgruppen began killing Jews and members of the Polish educated class, and he was sent to command Army Group A on the border with France. He was promoted to Field Marshal after the Battle of France in 1940, and he again took command of Army Group South during Operation Barbarossa, the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. His army group took part in the largest encirclement in history, the Battle of Kiev, and also took part in the infamous Babi Yar massacres. On 5 December 1941, Hitler removed Von Rundstedt from command for Rundstedt's opposition to driving on Moscow, as Rundstedt favored digging in and waiting until winter passed.
In March 1942, Von Rundstedt was appointed Commander-in-Chief West, principally occupying himself with the occupation of France. He was dismissed after Operation Overlord in June 1944, but he was recalled in September 1944 as the Allies advanced into Belgium, the Netherlands, and the border with Germany. Under his watch, the Allies were defeated in Operation Market Garden, but the Germans lost the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944-January 1945. In March 1945, the Allies succeeded in crossing the Rhine River at Remagen, and he was scapegoated for this failure and fired, ending a 52-year military career. After the war, he faced war crimes charges, but he did not face trial due to old age and poor health. He died in Hanover, West Germany in 1953 at the age of 77.