Gerd von Rundstedt
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| Gerd von Rundstedt | |
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| 12 December 1875 - 24 February 1953 | |
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| Place of birth | Aschersleben |
| Place of death | Hannover |
| Allegiance | Germany |
| Years of service | 1892-1945 |
| Rank | Generalfeldmarschall |
| Awards | Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern |
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt (December 12, 1875 - February 24, 1953) was a field marshal of the German Army during World War II. He held some of the highest field commands in all phases of the war.
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[edit] Early life
Born in Aschersleben, in today's Land of Saxony-Anhalt, into an aristocratic Prussian family, von Rundstedt joined the German Army in 1892, then entered Germany's elite military academy in 1902 – an institution that accepted only 160 new students annually and weeded out 75% of the students through exams. During World War I he rose in rank until 1918 when he was a major and was chief of staff of his division.
After the war, von Rundstedt rose steadily in the small 100,000 man army and in 1932, was appointed commander of the 3rd Infantry Division. Later that year he threatened to resign when Franz von Papen declared martial law and ordered his troops to eject members of the Nazi party from state government offices. In 1938 he retired after it was understood that Werner von Fritsch - Commander-in-Chief of the German Army (OKH) - was framed by the Gestapo
[edit] World War II
In September 1939 World War II began, and von Rundstedt was recalled to lead Army Group South during the successful invasion of Poland. Turning to the West, he supported Manstein's "armored fist" approach to the invasion of France, and this was eventually selected as Fall Gelb. During the battle he was placed in command of seven panzer divisions, three motorized infantry divisions, and 35 regular infantry divisions.
By May 14, 1940, the armored divisions led by Heinz Guderian had crossed the Meuse and had opened up a huge gap in the Allied front. General von Rundstedt had doubts about the survivability of these units without infantry support, and asked for a pause while the infantry caught up; the halt allowed the British to evacuate their forces to Dunkirk. Later Rundstedt forbade an attack on the Dunkirk beachhead, allowing the British to fully evacuate it. This turn of events has raised eyebrows over the years. von Rundstedt and others subsequently argued that the decision was Hitler's and stemmed from his belief that Britain would more readily accept a peace treaty if he magnanimously spared what remained of her expeditionary force. What was in Hitler's mind cannot be verified, and though his willingness to acquiesce in the halt is puzzling, the final decision on the matter was Rundstedt's, as Hitler delegated power over the matter to him, much to Halder's incomprehending exasperation.
von Rundstedt was promoted to field marshal on July 19, 1940 and took part in the planning of Operation Sealion. When the invasion was called off, von Rundstedt took control of occupation forces and was given responsibility to develop the coastal defences in the Netherlands, Belgium and France.
[edit] Operation Barbarossa
In June 1941 von Rundstedt took part in Operation Barbarossa as commander of Army Group South, where he led 52 infantry divisions and five Panzer divisions into the Soviet Union. At first his progress was slow, but in September AG South captured Kiev in a double encirclement operation made possible by Stalin's unreasoning refusal to abandon it, even though the Dnieper had been crossed both north and south of it. The Germans claimed a fantastic haul of 665,000 Russian prisoners based on the encircled divisions' nominal, pre-combat strength as revealed by captured Soviet records. The Soviets reported that owing to previous losses - also exaggerated by the Germans, yet not subtracted by them from their tally of Soviet prisoners - the encircled divisions possessed merely 452,000 men and that, of those, 150,541 made their way out of the pocket before the lumbering German infantry divisions caught up with the armor and the ring of encirclement was consolidated. Thus "only" 300,000 men were permanently trapped, whether captured or killed. After this von Rundstedt moved east to attack Kharkov and Rostov. He strongly opposed continuing the advance into the Soviet Union during the winter and advised Hitler to call a halt, but his views were rejected.
In November, von Rundstedt had a heart attack, but he refused to be hospitalized and continued the advance, reaching Rostov on November 21. A counter-attack forced the Germans back. When von Rundstedt demanded to be allowed to withdraw, Hitler became furious and replaced him with General Walther von Reichenau.
[edit] Western Battlefield
Hitler recalled von Rundstedt to duty in March 1942, placing him once again in command of the west. There he proved tardy, so much so that as late as the autumn of 1943, no fortifications worthy of mention existed along the entire Atlantic shore. It was only after Rommel's appointment as von Rundstedt's ostensible subordinate that fortification work began in earnest. During the debates preceding the landing von Rundstedt insisted that the armoured reserves should be held in the operational rear so that they could all be rushed to whatever sector the Allies happened to land in. Schwuppenberg, the armoured commander, supported him. Rommel, by contrast, insisted that the armoured forces must be deployed very near the shoreline, just beyond the reach of allied naval artillery, since Allied command of the air would preclude moving them from further than that. Badly affected by his experiences in Africa, Rommel believed that Allied air operations would prohibit movement during the day and even gravely inhibit movement at night. He was likewise convinced that a landing as far west as Normandy was out of the question and that very little armour should be committed there. Inclined to accept the unlikelihood of a Normandy landing, Rundstedt nonetheless felt that this was an insane gamble. Rommel was able to have his way because von Rundstedt's authority had all but evaporated as a result of his inactivity since his appointment. The armoured divisions were dispersed and only two were spared to the northern French shore, west of the Seine, with only one assigned to the Normandy sector, with disastrous consequences once the invasion began. After the D-Day landings in June 1944, von Rundstedt urged Hitler to negotiate a peace settlement with the Allies. Hitler responded by replacing him with General Günther von Kluge.
As a result of the July 20 Plot, which outraged von Rundstedt, he agreed to join Guderian and Wilhelm Keitel on the Army Court of Honour that expelled hundreds of officers suspected of being opposed to Hitler, often on the flimsiest of evidence. This removed them from court martial and turned them over to Roland Freisler. Many were executed.
In mid-August 1944, von Kluge committed suicide and von Rundstedt was once again placed in command in the west. He quickly rallied the troops just in time to fight Operation Market Garden, winning the battle. Although he was Commander of the Western Forces during the offensive to retake Antwerp (which failed against hopeless odds in what would be known as the Battle of the Bulge), he was opposed to that offensive from its inception and essentially washed his hands of it. He was relieved of command once again in March 1945 after telling Wilhelm Keitel that Hitler should make peace with the Allies, rather than continue to fight a hopeless war.
[edit] After the War
Rundstedt was captured by the US 36th Infantry Division on May 1, 1945. While being interrogated he suffered another heart attack, and was taken to Britain, where he was held in captivity. He was charged by the British as a war criminal. The charges against him concerned his involvement in mass murders in occupied Soviet territories. On October 10 1941, his subordinate, Walther von Reichenau the 6th army's commander issued his infamously bloodthirsty "Reichenau Order"[1]. Upon receiving a copy Rundstedt, much impressed, immediately reissued the order to his other army commanders, presenting it as a model to orders he expected them to issue to their troops. He was also recorded as very helpful to Einsatzgruppen. When questioned on the matter and presented with damning testimony from an Einsatzgruppe commander, Rundstedt could do no more than say that it was impudence for the SS man to "talk this way about a field marshal" yet proved unable to challenge this and documentary evidence. Ultimately he never faced trial. Allegedly because of his poor health, though the American prosecution team suspected that political considerations underlay the British's decision. He was released in July 1948, and lived in Hannover until his death.
Note: As can be seen in both photographs reproduced here, although a Field Marshal, von Rundstedt preferred to wear the silver bullion collar patches of an infantry regiment colonel-in-chief with his otherwise regulation Marshal's uniform.
[edit] Family
On January 22, 1902 von Rundstedt married Luise Bila von Götz (d. 1952) and they had one child Hans Gerd von Rundstedt (1903-1948).
[edit] Summary of the military career
[edit] Dates of rank
- Fähnrich: March 22, 1892
- Leutnant: January 01, 1899
- Oberleutnant: October 01, 1902
- Hauptmann: March 22, 1909
- Major: November 28, 1914
- Oberstleutnant: October 01, 1920
- Oberst: February 01, 1923
- Generalmajor: November 01, 1927
- Generalleutnant: March 01, 1929
- General der Infanterie: October 01, 1932
- Generaloberst: March 01, 1938
- Generalfeldmarschall: July 19, 1940
[edit] Notable decorations
- Iron Cross Second (1914) and First (1914) Classes
- Prussian Crown Order 4th. Class (?)
- Knight's Cross (1939)
- Oak Leaves (1944)
- Swords (1945)
- Royal Hohenzollern Order Knight's Cross with Swords (?)
- Bavarian Military Merit Cross 4th Class with Swords and Crown (?)
- Saxon Albert Order Knight 1.Class with Swords (?)
- Sudetenland Medal (1938)
- Schwarzburg Honor Cross 3rd. Class (?)
- Lippe War Merit Cross (?)
- Waldeck Merit Cross (?)
- Turkish War Medal (?)
- Order of the Crown of Italy, Grand Cross (1938)
- Clasp to the Iron Cross Second (1939) and First (1939) Classes
- Cross of Honor (1934)
- Armed Forces Long Service Award(?)
- Romanian Order of Michael the Brave 3rd (1941), 2nd (1941) and 1st (1942) Classes
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Blumentritt, Günther, Von Rundstedt: The Man and the Soldier, London: Odhams Press, 1952
- Liddell Hart, B. H., The German Generals Talk, New York: William and Morrow, 1948, chap. 7
- Messenger, Charles, The Last Prussian: A Biography of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, 1875-1953, London: Brassey's, 1991 ISBN 0-08-036707-0
- Ziemke, Earl, "Gerd Von Rundstedt" in Hitler's Generals, ed. Correlli Barnet, New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1989
[edit] Links
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Werner von Blomberg | Fedor von Bock | Walther von Brauchitsch | Ernst Busch | Hermann Göring | Robert Ritter von Greim | Wilhelm Keitel | Albert Kesselring | Ewald von Kleist | Günther von Kluge | Georg von Küchler | Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb | Wilhelm List | Erich von Manstein |Erhard Milch | Walter Model | Friedrich Paulus | Walther von Reichenau | Wolfram von Richthofen | Erwin Rommel | Gerd von Rundstedt | Ferdinand Schörner | Hugo Sperrle | Maximilian von Weichs | Erwin von Witzleben |
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Honorary: Eduard von Böhm-Ermolli |
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