Gerd von Rundstedt
From Kaiserreich
|
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt (born on December, 12 1875 in Aschersleben, Saxony, Germany) is a German general. He is considered as one of the key officers who will make the next generation of the German Army, more emphasized about mechanized tactics.
Biography
Born in Saxony into an old Prussian aristocratic family, Rundstedt received an officer training at Oranienstein's Kadettenanstalten. Beginning in 1892 3rd Kurhessischen Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 83 in Kassel, he became in 1893 infantry officer, became a lieutenant the following year and transported for further training in the Military Academy, an institution that accepted only 160 new students annually and weeded out 75% of the students through exams. He entered the Grosser Generalstab by 1909 as captain. During the Weltkrieg, Rundstedt served as a General Staff officer in the Ottoman Empire and France. He ended the war as a major and as chief of staff of his division. Quickly noticed for his discipline and his theories, von Rundstedt quickly arose in the ranks of the German Army, helped by the establishment who always favored members of Prussian aristocratic families. But, instead of traditional emphasis about infantry and artillery doctrines, Runstedt became a strong advocate of the use of tanks and mechanized infantry in the battlefield, placing himself in the small next generation of German officers, along Heinz Guderian and Erich von Manstein. Now general and commander of the Berlin garrison. Another unusual characteristic about a Prussian officer: he often manifested great disapproval towards Pan-Germanist and National-Populist politics.
