Walther von Brauchitsch

Born into Prussian military aristocracy in 1881, Brauchitsch entered army service in 1901 and distinguished himself on Western Front staffs during World War I. After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, he took charge of the East Prussian military district and borrowed immense sums from Hitler, binding himself financially to the regime. Appointed Commander-in-Chief of the German Army in February 1938, he orchestrated the Battle of France and the invasions of Yugoslavia and Greece — earning his field marshal's baton in the process. But in November 1941 he suffered a heart attack, and when Operati…