Gerd von Rundstedt was in an army.
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt ( 12 December 1875 -- 24 February 1953 ) was a Field Marshal in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II . In the inter-war years , he continued his military career , reaching the rank of Colonel General ( Generaloberst ) before retiring in 1938 . He was recalled at the beginning of World War II as commander of Army Group South in the invasion of Poland . He commanded Army Group A during the Battle of France , and was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal in 1940 . In the invasion of the Soviet Union , he commanded Army Group South , responsible for the largest encirclement in history , the Battle of Kiev , as well as the largest mass killing of the Holocaust to that date , at Babi Yar .