caption serviceyears death_date death_place birth_place awards battles birth_date rank image article_title name
gerd von rundstedt , 1942 1892 -- 1938 , 1939 -- 45 24 february 1953 hanover , lower saxony , west germany aschersleben , duchy of anhalt , german empire knight leaves and swords 's cross of the iron cross with oak world war i world war ii 12 december 1875 '' generalfeldmarschall '' bundesarchiv bild 146-1987-047-20 , gerd v. rundstedt.jpg gerd von rundstedt
 karl rudolf gerd von rundstedt
gerd von rundstedt

karl rudolf gerd von rundstedt -lrb- 12 december 1875 -- 24 february 1953 -rrb- was a german field marshal -lrb- `` generalfeldmarschall '' -rrb- during world war ii .
born into a prussian family with a long military tradition , rundstedt entered the imperial german army in 1892 and rose through the ranks until world war i , in which he served mainly as a staff officer .
in the inter-war years , he continued his military career , reaching the rank of colonel general -lrb- `` generaloberst '' -rrb- before retiring in 1938 .
he was recalled at the beginning of world war ii as commander of army group south in the polish campaign .
he commanded army group a during the german invasion of france , and was promoted to the rank of field marshal during the 1940 field marshal ceremony .
in the russian campaign , he commanded army group south , responsible for the largest encirclement in history , the battle of kiev .
he was dismissed by adolf hitler in december 1941 , following the german retreat from rostov , but was recalled in 1942 and appointed commander in chief in the west .
he was dismissed again after the german defeat in normandy in july 1944 , but was again recalled as commander in chief in the west in september , holding this post until his final dismissal by hitler in march 1945 .
rundstedt was aware of the various plots to depose hitler , but refused to support them .
after the war , he was charged with war crimes , but did not face trial due to his age and poor health .
he was released in 1949 , and died in hanover in 1953 .
