HITLER's Generalfeldmarschall and GrossAdmiral survivor - WITZLEBEN winner !

[big bad fab]

I've got the idea for some time now, but PiT's WW2 battles survivor has revived my wish to launch it sooner rather than later.
A list by year of promotion of Hitler's marshals and "big" admirals
(Böhm-Ermelli was only an honorary GFM in 1940 and there wasn't a GFM of the Waffen-SS):

1936:
1. Werner von Blomberg (Heer)

1938:
2. Hermann Göring (Luftwaffe)

1939:
3. Erich Raeder (Kriegsmarine)

1940:
4. Walther von Brauchitsch (Heer)
5. Albert Kesselring (Luftwaffe)
6. Wilhelm Keitel (Heer)
7. Günther von Kluge (Heer)
8. Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (Heer)
9. Fedor von Bock (Heer)
10. Wilhelm List (Heer)
11. Erwin von Witzleben (Heer)
12. Walther von Reichenau (Heer)
13. Erhard Milch (Luftwaffe)
14. Hugo Sperrle (Luftwaffe)
15. Gerd von Rundstedt (Heer)

1942:
16. Erwin Rommel (Heer)
17. Georg von Küchler (Heer)
18. Erich von Lewinski von Manstein (Heer)

1943:
19. Friedrich Paulus (Heer)
20. Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist (Heer)
21. Maximilian Freiherr von Weichs (Heer)
22. Ernst Busch (Heer)
23. Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (Luftwaffe)
24. Karl Dönitz (Kriegsmarine)

1944:
25. Walter Model (Heer)

1945:
26. Ferdinand Schörner (Heer)
27. Robert Ritter von Greim (Heer)

Results:
Round one:

Rules:
Vote for the marshal or the admiral you want to eliminate. The one who has received the biggest total of votes is eliminated. In case of a tie, the one who has received the biggest total of votes in previous rounds is eliminated. In case of a new tie, I, Führer of this survivor, will decide who is ousted.
Each round will be open for 24 hours+.

ROUND ONE IS OPEN !
Vote away!

[big bad fab]

I guess the first round will be quite simple...

Göring

[big bad fab]

I think that  Meier actually helped the Allies due to his total incompetence. So I'll vote for the biggest war criminal among them - Erich von Manstein.

The biggest ??

Göring wasn't only the head of the Luftwaffe and the Air minister...

What about Reichenau (of course, dying in 1942 helped him to be forgotten), Schörner ?
(and there is Keitel, of course)

[big bad fab]

1936:
1. Werner von Blomberg (Heer)

1938:
2. Hermann Göring (Luftwaffe)

1939:
3. Erich Raeder (Kriegsmarine)

1940:
4. Walther von Brauchitsch (Heer)
5. Albert Kesselring (Luftwaffe)
6. Wilhelm Keitel (Heer)
7. Günther von Kluge (Heer)
8. Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (Heer)
9. Fedor von Bock (Heer)
10. Wilhelm List (Heer)
11. Erwin von Witzleben (Heer)
12. Walther von Reichenau (Heer)
13. Erhard Milch (Luftwaffe)
14. Hugo Sperrle (Luftwaffe)
15. Gerd von Rundstedt (Heer)

1942:
16. Erwin Rommel (Heer)
17. Georg von Küchler (Heer)
18. Erich von Lewinski von Manstein (Heer)

1943:
19. Friedrich Paulus (Heer)
20. Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist (Heer)
21. Maximilian Freiherr von Weichs (Heer)
22. Ernst Busch (Heer)
23. Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (Luftwaffe)
24. Karl Dönitz (Kriegsmarine)

1944:
25. Walter Model (Heer)

1945:
26. Ferdinand Schörner (Heer)
27. Robert Ritter von Greim (Heer)

Results:
Round one: Göring 10, Manstein 1

Rules:
Vote for the marshal or the admiral you want to eliminate. The one who has received the biggest total of votes is eliminated. In case of a tie, the one who has received the biggest total of votes in previous rounds is eliminated. In case of a new tie, I, Führer of this survivor, will decide who is ousted.
Each round will be open for 24 hours+.

ROUND TWO IS OPEN !
Vote away!

[big bad fab]

Reichenau

Enthusiast enforcer of the early exterminations behind the frontline.
"Protector" of the Einsatzgruppen "at work" behind his army.

He wasn't a bad soldier, militarily speaking, but was a real big bad guy.

[big bad fab]

Does anyone doubt that Rommel is going to win this?

Of course, I doubt it !
Rommel wasn't very "clear", at the least, and was rather loyal to the Nazi regime.
Though he was a good soldier, I don't want to see him winning.

If you want a real opponent, you've got Witzleben.
If you want other good soldiers -militarily speaking-, you've got also Manstein, Kleist, Model, even Kesselring. Granted, they are mostly bad guys...

[big bad fab]

1936:
1. Werner von Blomberg (Heer)

1938:
2. Hermann Göring (Luftwaffe)

1939:
3. Erich Raeder (Kriegsmarine)

1940:
4. Walther von Brauchitsch (Heer)
5. Albert Kesselring (Luftwaffe)
6. Wilhelm Keitel (Heer)
7. Günther von Kluge (Heer)
8. Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (Heer)
9. Fedor von Bock (Heer)
10. Wilhelm List (Heer)
11. Erwin von Witzleben (Heer)
12. Walther von Reichenau (Heer)
13. Erhard Milch (Luftwaffe)
14. Hugo Sperrle (Luftwaffe)
15. Gerd von Rundstedt (Heer)

1942:
16. Erwin Rommel (Heer)
17. Georg von Küchler (Heer)
18. Erich von Lewinski von Manstein (Heer)

1943:
19. Friedrich Paulus (Heer)
20. Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist (Heer)
21. Maximilian Freiherr von Weichs (Heer)
22. Ernst Busch (Heer)
23. Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (Luftwaffe)
24. Karl Dönitz (Kriegsmarine)

1944:
25. Walter Model (Heer)

1945:
26. Ferdinand Schörner (Heer)
27. Robert Ritter von Greim (Heer)

Results:
Round one: Göring 10, Manstein 1
Round two: Reichenau 5, Keitel 2, Schörner 1

Rules:
Vote for the marshal or the admiral you want to eliminate. The one who has received the biggest total of votes is eliminated. In case of a tie, the one who has received the biggest total of votes in previous rounds is eliminated. In case of a new tie, I, Führer of this survivor, will decide who is ousted.
Each round will be open for 24 hours+.

ROUND THREE IS OPEN !
Vote away!

[big bad fab]

Keitel

[big bad fab]

1936:
1. Werner von Blomberg (Heer)

1938:
2. Hermann Göring (Luftwaffe)

1939:
3. Erich Raeder (Kriegsmarine)

1940:
4. Walther von Brauchitsch (Heer)
5. Albert Kesselring (Luftwaffe)
6. Wilhelm Keitel (Heer)
7. Günther von Kluge (Heer)
8. Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (Heer)
9. Fedor von Bock (Heer)
10. Wilhelm List (Heer)
11. Erwin von Witzleben (Heer)
12. Walther von Reichenau (Heer)
13. Erhard Milch (Luftwaffe)
14. Hugo Sperrle (Luftwaffe)
15. Gerd von Rundstedt (Heer)

1942:
16. Erwin Rommel (Heer)
17. Georg von Küchler (Heer)
18. Erich von Lewinski von Manstein (Heer)

1943:
19. Friedrich Paulus (Heer)
20. Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist (Heer)
21. Maximilian Freiherr von Weichs (Heer)
22. Ernst Busch (Heer)
23. Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (Luftwaffe)
24. Karl Dönitz (Kriegsmarine)

1944:
25. Walter Model (Heer)

1945:
26. Ferdinand Schörner (Heer)
27. Robert Ritter von Greim (Heer)

Results:
Round one: Göring 10, Manstein 1
Round two: Reichenau 5, Keitel 2, Schörner 1
Round three: Keitel 6, Schörner 1

Rules:
Vote for the marshal or the admiral you want to eliminate. The one who has received the biggest total of votes is eliminated. In case of a tie, the one who has received the biggest total of votes in previous rounds is eliminated. In case of a new tie, I, Führer of this survivor, will decide who is ousted.
Each round will be open for 24 hours+.

ROUND FOUR IS OPEN !
Vote away!

[big bad fab]

Schörner,
another "tough" one, with partisans, Jews, communists and... his own men.

When the former military men say that the Heer didn't pursue war crimes and that only the Waffen-SS and the political organizations were to blame...

[big bad fab]

1936:
1. Werner von Blomberg (Heer)

1938:
2. Hermann Göring (Luftwaffe)

1939:
3. Erich Raeder (Kriegsmarine)

1940:
4. Walther von Brauchitsch (Heer)
5. Albert Kesselring (Luftwaffe)
6. Wilhelm Keitel (Heer)
7. Günther von Kluge (Heer)
8. Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (Heer)
9. Fedor von Bock (Heer)
10. Wilhelm List (Heer)
11. Erwin von Witzleben (Heer)
12. Walther von Reichenau (Heer)
13. Erhard Milch (Luftwaffe)
14. Hugo Sperrle (Luftwaffe)
15. Gerd von Rundstedt (Heer)

1942:
16. Erwin Rommel (Heer)
17. Georg von Küchler (Heer)
18. Erich von Lewinski von Manstein (Heer)

1943:
19. Friedrich Paulus (Heer)
20. Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist (Heer)
21. Maximilian Freiherr von Weichs (Heer)
22. Ernst Busch (Heer)
23. Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (Luftwaffe)
24. Karl Dönitz (Kriegsmarine)

1944:
25. Walter Model (Heer)

1945:
26. Ferdinand Schörner (Heer)
27. Robert Ritter von Greim (Heer)

Results:
Round one: Göring 10, Manstein 1
Round two: Reichenau 5, Keitel 2, Schörner 1
Round three: Keitel 6, Schörner 1
Round four: Schörner 4, Dönitz 2, Milch 1

Rules:
Vote for the marshal or the admiral you want to eliminate. The one who has received the biggest total of votes is eliminated. In case of a tie, the one who has received the biggest total of votes in previous rounds is eliminated. In case of a new tie, I, Führer of this survivor, will decide who is ousted.
Each round will be open for 24 hours+.

ROUND FIVE IS OPEN !
Vote away!

[big bad fab]

Milch

Inefficient (which is a quality in this case !!), real nazi, nasty and ambitious.

[big bad fab]

1936:
1. Werner von Blomberg (Heer)

1938:
2. Hermann Göring (Luftwaffe)

1939:
3. Erich Raeder (Kriegsmarine)

1940:
4. Walther von Brauchitsch (Heer)
5. Albert Kesselring (Luftwaffe)
6. Wilhelm Keitel (Heer)
7. Günther von Kluge (Heer)
8. Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (Heer)
9. Fedor von Bock (Heer)
10. Wilhelm List (Heer)
11. Erwin von Witzleben (Heer)
12. Walther von Reichenau (Heer)
13. Erhard Milch (Luftwaffe)
14. Hugo Sperrle (Luftwaffe)
15. Gerd von Rundstedt (Heer)

1942:
16. Erwin Rommel (Heer)
17. Georg von Küchler (Heer)
18. Erich von Lewinski von Manstein (Heer)

1943:
19. Friedrich Paulus (Heer)
20. Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist (Heer)
21. Maximilian Freiherr von Weichs (Heer)
22. Ernst Busch (Heer)
23. Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (Luftwaffe)
24. Karl Dönitz (Kriegsmarine)

1944:
25. Walter Model (Heer)

1945:
26. Ferdinand Schörner (Heer)
27. Robert Ritter von Greim (Heer)

Results:
Round one: Göring 10, Manstein 1
Round two: Reichenau 5, Keitel 2, Schörner 1
Round three: Keitel 6, Schörner 1
Round four: Schörner 4, Dönitz 2, Milch 1
Round five: Milch 2, Dönitz 1, Kluge 1

Rules:
Vote for the marshal or the admiral you want to eliminate. The one who has received the biggest total of votes is eliminated. In case of a tie, the one who has received the biggest total of votes in previous rounds is eliminated. In case of a new tie, I, Führer of this survivor, will decide who is ousted.
Each round will be open for 24 hours+.

ROUND SIX IS OPEN !
Vote away!

[big bad fab]

A very low turnout...

Anyway, I vote Dönitz this time: very loyal to the Nazi regime.

[big bad fab]

1936:
1. Werner von Blomberg (Heer)

1938:
2. Hermann Göring (Luftwaffe)

1939:
3. Erich Raeder (Kriegsmarine)

1940:
4. Walther von Brauchitsch (Heer)
5. Albert Kesselring (Luftwaffe)
6. Wilhelm Keitel (Heer)
7. Günther von Kluge (Heer)
8. Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (Heer)
9. Fedor von Bock (Heer)
10. Wilhelm List (Heer)
11. Erwin von Witzleben (Heer)
12. Walther von Reichenau (Heer)
13. Erhard Milch (Luftwaffe)
14. Hugo Sperrle (Luftwaffe)
15. Gerd von Rundstedt (Heer)

1942:
16. Erwin Rommel (Heer)
17. Georg von Küchler (Heer)
18. Erich von Lewinski von Manstein (Heer)

1943:
19. Friedrich Paulus (Heer)
20. Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist (Heer)
21. Maximilian Freiherr von Weichs (Heer)
22. Ernst Busch (Heer)
23. Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (Luftwaffe)
24. Karl Dönitz (Kriegsmarine)

1944:
25. Walter Model (Heer)

1945:
26. Ferdinand Schörner (Heer)
27. Robert Ritter von Greim (Heer)

Results:
Round one: Göring 10, Manstein 1
Round two: Reichenau 5, Keitel 2, Schörner 1
Round three: Keitel 6, Schörner 1
Round four: Schörner 4, Dönitz 2, Milch 1
Round five: Milch 2, Dönitz 1, Kluge 1
Round six: Dönitz 4, Kluge 1

Rules:
Vote for the marshal or the admiral you want to eliminate. The one who has received the biggest total of votes is eliminated. In case of a tie, the one who has received the biggest total of votes in previous rounds is eliminated. In case of a new tie, I, Führer of this survivor, will decide who is ousted.
Each round will be open for 24 hours+.

ROUND SEVEN IS OPEN !
Vote away!

[big bad fab]

Kal, your vote for Kluge surprises me: granted, Kluge was a coward in the end and was never a good military leader, but he was rather dull than big evil.

Weichs or Küchler were worse.

Or Model, for whom I vote, as he was a harsh one and pretty close to the Nazis, even if I don't remember if he was a party member.
A decent military tactician, though, but, of course, it's not the main criteria for the moment...

[big bad fab]

Does anyone doubt that Rommel is going to win this?

Of course, I doubt it !
Rommel wasn't very "clear", at the least, and was rather loyal to the Nazi regime.
Though he was a good soldier, I don't want to see him winning.

If you want a real opponent, you've got Witzleben.
If you want other good soldiers -militarily speaking-, you've got also Manstein, Kleist, Model, even Kesselring. Granted, they are mostly bad guys...

No, Rommel was loyal to Germany.  He was often identified in SS reports as someone who was ambivalent to Nazi ideals, at best.  That's why he never got the really important assignments, because they knew they couldn't "trust" him to carry out the dirty work that the Nazis believed was required on other fronts.  Rommel was opposed to Hitler, for certain, and he was part of the plot to assassinate him.  The Nazis knew that Rommel was not their man.

The problem is that being loyal to Germany (you're right, that was his main aim) was equal to being "not very clear" towards nazism, especially after Stalingrad and in 1944-45.
Unfortunately, being a patriot (even a true one) didn't mean anything else than sticking with the suicidal regime of Hitler after mid-1943.
I haven't said that Rommel was a Nazi, but that the positive image projected by his son after the war and by other former officers from the army (in order to "save" themselves) was a bit overvalued...

[big bad fab]

By the way, big bad fad, you've missed Eduard von Böhm-Ermolli. Of course, it was only honorary but it's still noteworthy.

I did it on purpose: I wanted only "active" guys.

[big bad fab]

1936:
1. Werner von Blomberg (Heer)

1938:
2. Hermann Göring (Luftwaffe)

1939:
3. Erich Raeder (Kriegsmarine)

1940:
4. Walther von Brauchitsch (Heer)
5. Albert Kesselring (Luftwaffe)
6. Wilhelm Keitel (Heer)
7. Günther von Kluge (Heer)
8. Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (Heer)
9. Fedor von Bock (Heer)
10. Wilhelm List (Heer)
11. Erwin von Witzleben (Heer)
12. Walther von Reichenau (Heer)
13. Erhard Milch (Luftwaffe)
14. Hugo Sperrle (Luftwaffe)
15. Gerd von Rundstedt (Heer)

1942:
16. Erwin Rommel (Heer)
17. Georg von Küchler (Heer)
18. Erich von Lewinski von Manstein (Heer)

1943:
19. Friedrich Paulus (Heer)
20. Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist (Heer)
21. Maximilian Freiherr von Weichs (Heer)
22. Ernst Busch (Heer)
23. Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (Luftwaffe)
24. Karl Dönitz (Kriegsmarine)

1944:
25. Walter Model (Heer)

1945:
26. Ferdinand Schörner (Heer)
27. Robert Ritter von Greim (Heer)

Results:
Round one: Göring 10, Manstein 1
Round two: Reichenau 5, Keitel 2, Schörner 1
Round three: Keitel 6, Schörner 1
Round four: Schörner 4, Dönitz 2, Milch 1
Round five: Milch 2, Dönitz 1, Kluge 1
Round six: Dönitz 4, Kluge 1
Round seven: Model 3, Kluge 1, Manstein 1

Rules:
Vote for the marshal or the admiral you want to eliminate. The one who has received the biggest total of votes is eliminated. In case of a tie, the one who has received the biggest total of votes in previous rounds is eliminated. In case of a new tie, I, Führer of this survivor, will decide who is ousted.
Each round will be open for 24 hours+.

ROUND EIGHT IS OPEN !
Vote away!

[big bad fab]

Georg von Küchler,

politically loyal to the regime and his Endlösung policy

[big bad fab]

Georg von Küchler

fab, nearly all of them are a piece of crap . But it is true, Küchler is one of the worst.

You see, I really prefer survivors where all guys are pretty similar, because either you have no real favourite, or you are not affected by the defeat of your favourite(s)...

It's an art to choose between Charybdus and Scylla !

Kal's Stalin inner circle, my Soviet and sister party leaders, this one or PiT's WW2 battles are fine in the sense that it's more cool to vote in them

Do I have a favourite in this survivor ?
Mmmm.... probably, but he will lose. Of course, this is not Rommel .

[big bad fab]

1936:
1. Werner von Blomberg (Heer)

1938:
2. Hermann Göring (Luftwaffe)

1939:
3. Erich Raeder (Kriegsmarine)

1940:
4. Walther von Brauchitsch (Heer)
5. Albert Kesselring (Luftwaffe)
6. Wilhelm Keitel (Heer)
7. Günther von Kluge (Heer)
8. Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (Heer)
9. Fedor von Bock (Heer)
10. Wilhelm List (Heer)
11. Erwin von Witzleben (Heer)
12. Walther von Reichenau (Heer)
13. Erhard Milch (Luftwaffe)
14. Hugo Sperrle (Luftwaffe)
15. Gerd von Rundstedt (Heer)

1942:
16. Erwin Rommel (Heer)
17. Georg von Küchler (Heer)
18. Erich von Lewinski von Manstein (Heer)

1943:
19. Friedrich Paulus (Heer)
20. Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist (Heer)
21. Maximilian Freiherr von Weichs (Heer)
22. Ernst Busch (Heer)
23. Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (Luftwaffe)
24. Karl Dönitz (Kriegsmarine)

1944:
25. Walter Model (Heer)

1945:
26. Ferdinand Schörner (Heer)
27. Robert Ritter von Greim (Heer)

Results:
Round one: Göring 10, Manstein 1
Round two: Reichenau 5, Keitel 2, Schörner 1
Round three: Keitel 6, Schörner 1
Round four: Schörner 4, Dönitz 2, Milch 1
Round five: Milch 2, Dönitz 1, Kluge 1
Round six: Dönitz 4, Kluge 1
Round seven: Model 3, Kluge 1, Manstein 1
Round eight: Küchler 3

Rules:
Vote for the marshal or the admiral you want to eliminate. The one who has received the biggest total of votes is eliminated. In case of a tie, the one who has received the biggest total of votes in previous rounds is eliminated. In case of a new tie, I, Führer of this survivor, will decide who is ousted.
Each round will be open for 24 hours+.

ROUND NINE IS OPEN !
Vote away!

[big bad fab]

Weichs

for nasty partisan warfare (although any other marshal would have probably done the same)

Come & vote, guys ! 3 votes, it's really low....

[big bad fab]

BUMP

Hans-im-Glück is quite right.
But we are now entering a stage where we have "middle" bad guys and where I have the temptation to try to keep "good soldiers" militarily speaking... Of course, Kesselring was one of them.
But he was a real harsh one, that's true.
I've hesitated a lot before voting for Weichs: Sperrle, List, Raeder, Richthofen, Rundstedt were also possible picks, as they were harsh ones or people who lended their fame or their past or their experience to the Nazi regime.

[big bad fab]

1936:
1. Werner von Blomberg (Heer)

1938:
2. Hermann Göring (Luftwaffe)

1939:
3. Erich Raeder (Kriegsmarine)

1940:
4. Walther von Brauchitsch (Heer)
5. Albert Kesselring (Luftwaffe)
6. Wilhelm Keitel (Heer)
7. Günther von Kluge (Heer)
8. Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (Heer)
9. Fedor von Bock (Heer)
10. Wilhelm List (Heer)
11. Erwin von Witzleben (Heer)
12. Walther von Reichenau (Heer)
13. Erhard Milch (Luftwaffe)
14. Hugo Sperrle (Luftwaffe)
15. Gerd von Rundstedt (Heer)

1942:
16. Erwin Rommel (Heer)
17. Georg von Küchler (Heer)
18. Erich von Lewinski von Manstein (Heer)

1943:
19. Friedrich Paulus (Heer)
20. Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist (Heer)
21. Maximilian Freiherr von Weichs (Heer)
22. Ernst Busch (Heer)
23. Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (Luftwaffe)
24. Karl Dönitz (Kriegsmarine)

1944:
25. Walter Model (Heer)

1945:
26. Ferdinand Schörner (Heer)
27. Robert Ritter von Greim (Heer)

Results:
Round one: Göring 10, Manstein 1
Round two: Reichenau 5, Keitel 2, Schörner 1
Round three: Keitel 6, Schörner 1
Round four: Schörner 4, Dönitz 2, Milch 1
Round five: Milch 2, Dönitz 1, Kluge 1
Round six: Dönitz 4, Kluge 1
Round seven: Model 3, Kluge 1, Manstein 1
Round eight: Küchler 3
Round nine: Kesselring 4, Weichs 1

Rules:
Vote for the marshal or the admiral you want to eliminate. The one who has received the biggest total of votes is eliminated. In case of a tie, the one who has received the biggest total of votes in previous rounds is eliminated. In case of a new tie, I, Führer of this survivor, will decide who is ousted.
Each round will be open for 24 hours+.

ROUND TEN IS OPEN !
Vote away!