Gerd von Rundstedt |Born||12 Dec 1875| |Died||24 Feb 1953|
Contributor: C. Peter Chen Gerd von Rundstedt was born into a
Prussian aristocratic family in Aschersleben, Germany. Following
his father's footsteps as a career army officer, he joined
Germany's elite military academy in 1902 and served in WW1. By
1918, he held the rank of major and was chief of staff for his
division. After WW1 ended von Rundstedt remained with the small
post-war German army. In 1932, he was appointed the commander of
the 3rd Infantry Division, and in 1934 he joined with General
Wilhelm Leeb to politically oppose the pro-Nazi movements within
the army. He eventually resigned from the army on 31 October
1938 from his growing discontent at the Nazi policies, at 62
years of age. Two years later, however, Rundstedt was recalled
into service. He supported Erich von Manstein's plan to invade
France, and used his political ties to ensure that particular
invasion plan was used as part of the westward offensive. He led
seven panzer divisions