Gerd von Rundstedt
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt was a
field marshal of the
German Army during
World War II. He was one of Germany's more competent generals, and is remembered for remaining apolitical throughout his career.
Born in
Aschersleben, in today's
Land of
Saxony-Anhalt, into an aristocratic
Prussian family, von Rundstedt joined the
German Army in 1893, 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.
Encyclopedia
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt was a
field marshal of the
German Army during
World War II. He was one of Germany's more competent generals, and is remembered for remaining apolitical throughout his career.
Born in
Aschersleben, in today's
Land of
Saxony-Anhalt, into an aristocratic
Prussian family, von Rundstedt joined the
German Army in 1893, 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. He was likewise just as upset by the growing power of the Nazis, and eventually resigned in October 1938.
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 two
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 they caught up; the halt allowed the British to evacuate the Continent at
Dunkirk. This turn of events has raised eyebrows over the years. von Rundstedt and others subsequently argued that the decision was Hitler's and was driven by his hope that Britain and Germany would more readily be able to conclude a peace treaty if he allowed the escape of what remained of the British Continental forces. 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.
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 they captured
Kiev, claiming an incredible 665,000 Russian prisoners - we now know that fewer than 400,000 were actually captured. After this he 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 he should be allowed to withdraw, Hitler became furious and replaced him with General
Walther von Reichenau.
Hitler recalled von Rundstedt to duty in March 1942, placing him once again in command of the west. There he proved fantastically tardy, so much so that as late as the autumn of 1943, no mentionworthy fortifications 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 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 even at night. He was likewise convinced that a landing far west in 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. Unfortunately, his authority had all but evaporated as a result of his inactivity since his appointment, and Rommel was able to have his way. The armoured divisions were dispersed and only two were spared to Normandy 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 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 commited 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 , 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.
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 but never faced trial because of his poor health. He was released in July 1948, and lived in
Hanover 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.
See also
- War crimes of the Wehrmacht
References
- Günther Blumentritt, Von Rundstedt: The Man and the Soldier
- Charles Messenger, The Last Prussian: A Biography of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, 1875-1953 ISBN 0-08-036707-0
- B.H. Liddell Hart, The German Generals Talk , chap. 7
Links
