Gerd von Rundstedt

Gerd von Rundstedt was a German field marshal and one of the Wehrmacht’s most senior commanders during the Second World War. He held high commands in the invasions of Poland and the Soviet Union and repeatedly served as commander in chief in western Europe.

Rundstedt oversaw German forces in the west before and after the Allied invasion of Normandy, though strategic authority was divided among Hitler and several competing commands. He was detained after the war and investigated in connection with war crimes but was not brought to trial, in part because of ill health.

In Jeff Shaara’s No Less Than Victory, On the German side, Gerd von Rundstedt understands the weakness of an operation driven by Hitler’s political hopes rather than the resources available to carry it out.