he accompanied his unit
to France and briefly
commanded it during the
Battle of the Marne. He
was promoted to major
that fall before occupying
a number of staff posi-
tions. By the time the war
concluded in 1918, Rund-
stedt was chief of staff
with an infantry corps
and was considered one
of the army’s most prom-
ising officers.
On merit alone, Rund-
stedt became one of 4,000
officers slated to remain
with the postwar Reichs-
wehr. Germany was then
torn asunder by losing
the war and enduring an
unsteady democratic re-
gime, the Weimar Repub-
lic. Rundstedt, a true
Prussian professional, remained aloof toward
politics and especially distanced himself from
the rising Nazi Party of Hitler. This became
harder as time went by. He nonetheless
served capably, rising to colonel in 1923 and
major general by 1929. Three years later
Rundstedt accepted his first senior command,
that of the First Army Group headquartered in
Berlin. There he helped orchestrate the clan-
destine German rearmament program despite
prohibitions established by the 1919 Treaty of
Versailles. Hitler was also about to become
chancellor at this time, so high-level interac-
tion with him and other senior Nazi figures
became inevitable. Rundstedt, however, re-
signed from the service rather than deal with
them. His respite proved brief, for in June
1939, with Germany on the cusp of war, the
elderly general was summoned back to the
colors.
World War II commenced in September
1939, and Rundstedt was entrusted with com-
mand of Army Group South. With it, he ex-
pertly cut off numerous Polish armies from
retreating across the Vis-
tula River and destroyed
them. The following spring
Rundstedt took his army
through the dense Ar-
dennes Forest in Bel-
gium, previously thought
impassible, and surprised
French forces at Sedan.
He then conducted a suc-
cessful dash to the En-
glish Channel with his
tanks, pausing only at
Dunkirk for the infantry
to catch up. This delay
enabled the British to
evacuate their army, but
no blame was attached to
Rundstedt, who turned
his columns south, out-
flanked the Maginot Line,
and trapped the French
Army of the Alps. His role
in the German victory
proved decisive, and in June 1940 he was re-
warded with promotion to field marshal.
In June 1941, Hitler launched Operation
Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union.
Like many senior officers, Rundstedt asked
Hitler to reconsider, but failed. He then ac-
cepted an appointment as commander of the
Seventh Army, overrunning the Ukraine in
short order. However, mounting Soviet resis-
tance, plus a newfound appreciation for Rus-
sia’s vastness, convinced him that Germany
could not win in a single campaign. This real-
ity was underscored that November, when a
sudden onslaught by Marshal Semen Timo-
shenko at Rostov forced Rundstedt to with-
draw. Hitler was furious and ordered the Ger-
mans not to yield an inch of conquered soil.
The general repeated his intention to with-
draw his endangered units and threatened to
resign if ordered otherwise. Rather than re-
lent, Hitler accepted his resignation, and the
old soldier left in disgust.
As before, Rundstedt’s hiatus was short-
lived. In May 1942, Hitler invited him to serveRUNDSTEDT, GERDVON
Gerd von Rundstedt
Archive Photos