born Dec. 12, 1875, Aschersleben, near Magdeburg, Prussia
died Feb. 24, 1953, Hannover, W.Ger.
German general in World War II. Chief of staff of an army corps in World War I, he was active after the war in Germany's secret rearmament.
In World War II he was promoted to field marshal (1940) and commanded armies in the invasions of Poland, France, and the Soviet Union. As commander in chief on the Western Front (194245), he fortified France against the expected Allied invasion. Removed briefly from command (1944), he returned to direct the Battle of the Bulge . He was captured in 1945 but released because of ill health.