Editing Gerd von Rundstedt (section)

==Early life==
Gerd von Rundstedt was born in [[Aschersleben]], north of [[Halle, Saxony-Anhalt|Halle]] in [[Province of Saxony|Prussian Saxony]] (now in [[Saxony-Anhalt]]). He was the eldest son of Gerd Arnold Konrad von Rundstedt, a cavalry officer who served in the [[Franco-Prussian War]]. The Rundstedts are an old [[Junker]] family that traced its origins to the 12th century and classed as members of the ''[[Uradel]]'', or old nobility, although they held no titles and were not wealthy. Virtually all the Rundstedt men since the time of [[Frederick the Great]] had served in the [[Prussian Army]]. Rundstedt's mother, Adelheid Fischer, was of [[Huguenot]] (French Protestant) descent.<ref>{{harvnb|Messenger|2011|p=3}}</ref> He was the eldest of four brothers, all of whom became Army officers. Rundstedt's education followed the path ordained for Prussian military families: the junior cadet college at [[Diez, Germany|Diez]], near [[Koblenz]], then the military academy at [[Lichterfelde (Berlin)|Lichterfelde]] in Berlin.{{Sfn|Messenger|2011|loc= ch. 1}}

Unable to meet the cost of joining a cavalry regiment,<ref>{{harvnb|Messenger|2011|p=6}}</ref> Rundstedt joined the 83rd Infantry Regiment in March 1892 as a cadet officer ({{lang|de|Portepee Fähnrich}}). The regiment was based at [[Kassel]] in [[Kassel (region)|Hesse-Kassel]], which he came to regard as his home town and where he maintained a home until 1945. He undertook further training at the military college ({{lang|de|Kriegsschule}}) at [[Hannover]], before being commissioned as a lieutenant in June 1893. He made a good impression on his superiors.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} In 1896 he was made regimental adjutant, and in 1903 he was sent to the prestigious [[Prussian Military Academy|War Academy]] ({{lang|de|Kriegsakademie}}) in Berlin for a three-year staff officer training course. At the end of his course Rundstedt was described{{by whom|date=April 2016}} as "an outstandingly able officer&nbsp;... well suited for the General Staff."<ref>{{harvnb|Messenger|2011|p=14}}</ref> He married Luise "Bila" von Goetz in January 1902 and their only child, Hans Gerd von Rundstedt, was born in January 1903.

Rundstedt joined the General Staff of the German Army in April 1907 serving there until July 1914, when he was appointed chief of operations to the 22nd Reserve Infantry Division. This division was part of XI Corps, which in turn was part of General [[Alexander von Kluck]]'s First Army. In 1914 this Army was deployed along the Belgian border, in preparation for the invasion of Belgium and France, in accordance with the German plan for victory in the west known as the [[Schlieffen Plan]].