German field marshal (1891-1945)
A Wehrmacht field marshal who made his name stopping Soviet offensives when the Eastern Front was collapsing, then commanded the final doomed counter-attack in the Ardennes and shot himself in the Ruhr encirclement three weeks before Germany surrendered.
Model rose as a panzer commander early in the war, but the battles of 1941–42 on the Eastern Front reshaped him into a defender. His Ninth Army performance caught Hitler's eye. What followed was a pattern: whenever a sector looked lost — Army Group North, Army Group North Ukraine, Army Group Centre — Hitler sent Model to hold it, and often he did. By August 1944 he was in the West, running OB West and Army Group B. The Bulge offensive failed, the trust with Hitler cracked, and when Army Group B was surrounded in the Ruhr Pocket he ended it himself on 21 April 1945.
Sourced, dated quotes from Walter Model
I sincerely believe that I have served a criminal. I led my soldiers in good conscience... but for a criminal government.
Has everything been done to justify our actions in the light of history? What can there be left for a commander in defeat? In antiquity they took poison.
My Soldiers are My Children. (Meine Soldaten sind Meine Kinder)
I fully subscribe to those words with my special thanks to all officers, noncommissioned officers and men for the attitude displayed during this fighting.
We have lost a battle, but I assure to you that we will not lose the war! I cannot say more at the present moment although I know the losses are crowded in your minds.
The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.
Germany
_(cropped)_(3-to-4_aspect_ratio).jpg)
.jpg?width=1200)
.jpg?width=1200)
.jpg)
