Gerd von Rundstedt

Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt (12 December 1875 – 24 February 1953) was a Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) of the German Army during World War II. He held some of the highest field commands in all phases of the war.

Born in Aschersleben in the Province of Saxony 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.

On 22 January 1902, von Rundstedt married Luise Bila von Götz (d. 1952) and they had one child, Hans Gerd von Rundstedt (1903–1948).

In the inter-war years, he continued his career, but ultimately retired. Nevertheless. at the beginning of World War II he returned as Commander of the Army Group South in the Poland campaign. He maintained command of large formations during Fall Gelb and was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal on 19 July 1940.

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 Joseph Stalin′s unreasoning refusal to abandon the city, although the Dnieper had been crossed both north and south of it.

Soon after, 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 halt the offensive, 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 21 November. 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.

Hitler recalled von Rundstedt to duty in March 1942, placing him once again in command of the west. There he proved complacent, 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 Field Marshal Erwin Rommel′s appointment as von Rundstedt′s ostensible subordinate in November 1943 that fortification work began in earnest.

After the D-Day landings in June 1944, von Rundstedt urged Hitler to negotiate a settlement with the Allies, his frustration culminating in his outburst, "Make peace, you idiots!" Hitler responded by replacing him with Field Marshal Günther von Kluge.

In mid-August 1944, von Kluge committed suicide after being implicated in the 20 July Plot and Field Marshal Walter Model was given command of OB West; Model held the post for 18 days before von Rundstedt was reappointed to command Germany′s forces in the west. He rallied them in time to fight off Operation Market Garden, with Model′s Army Group B at the centre of the German defence. Although von Rundstedt was in command of the German forces on the Western front throughout Operation Wacht am Rhein (the Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Runstedt Offensive), he was opposed to that offensive from its inception, and essentially washed his hands of it. He was relieved of command for the last time in March 1945, after telling Keitel once again that Hitler should make peace with the Allies, rather than continue to fight a hopeless war.

Rundstedt was captured by the U.S. 36th Infantry Division on 1 May 1945. During his captivity, he was reportedly asked by Soviet interrogators which battle he regarded as most decisive. They expected him to say "Stalingrad", but von Rundstedt replied "The Battle of Britain". Annoyed, the Soviets "put away their notebooks and left." While being interrogated, he suffered another heart attack, and was taken to Britain, where he was held in a prisoner-of-war camp in Bridgend, South Wales and at Redgrave, Suffolk, England.

He was charged with war crimes, but never faced any trial due to his poor health. He was released from captivity in 1948 and died in Hanover in 1953.

Role in Downfall
Rundstedt does not appear in Downfall, instead, he's mentioned by Wilhelm Keitel, after he refutes Fegelein's idea of confrunting Hitler, claiming that they'll be "thrown out like Rundstedt and Guderian".

He has not appeared nor mentioned in parodies so far, even though he objected to Hitler in RL more than Jodl.