Hi fjrosetti,
A little more on Wilhelm Keitel from Wikipedia:
"During World War II, Keitel proved to be weak and cautious: he advised Hitler against invading France and opposed Operation Barbarossa. Both times he backed down in the face of Hitler and tendered his resignation: the Führer refused to accept it. In 1942 he again stood up to Hitler over Field Marshal Wilhelm von List. Keitel's defence of List was his last act of defiance to Hitler, for after that he never again challenged one of Hitler's orders and was referred to by his colleagues as "Lakaitel" ("Lackey-tel" or "Little Lackey"). He signed numerous orders of dubious legality under the laws of war, the most infamous of which being the notorious Commissar order, and unquestionably allowed Himmler a free hand with his racial controls and ensuing terror in captured Russian territory. Another was the order to have any of the French pilots fighting for the Normandie-Niemen fighter regiment in and on behalf of the USSR to be executed instead of their being treated as prisoners of war. Keitel was also instrumental in foiling the attempted coup of the July 20 Plot in 1944, whose objectives were the assassination of Hitler and the replacement of the current upper hierarchy in the Army, and sat on the following Army Court of Honour that handed many officers, including Field Marshal von Witzleben, over to Roland Freisler's notorious People's Court."
During World War II, Keitel proved to be weak and cautious: he advised Hitler against invading France and opposed Operation Barbarossa. Both times he backed down in the face of Hitler and tendered his resignation: the Führer refused to accept it. In 1942 he again stood up to Hitler over Field Marshal Wilhelm von List. Keitel's defence of List was his last act of defiance to Hitler, for after that he never again challenged one of Hitler's orders and was referred to by his colleagues as "Lakaitel" ("Lackey-tel" or "Little Lackey"). He signed numerous orders of dubious legality under the laws of war, the most infamous of which being the notorious Commissar order, and unquestionably allowed Himmler a free hand with his racial controls and ensuing terror in captured Russian territory. Another was the order to have any of the French pilots fighting for the Normandie-Niemen fighter regiment in and on behalf of the USSR to be executed instead of their being treated as prisoners of war. Keitel was also instrumental in foiling the attempted coup of the July 20 Plot in 1944, whose objectives were the assassination of Hitler and the replacement of the current upper hierarchy in the Army, and sat on the following Army Court of Honour that handed many officers, including Field Marshal von Witzleben, over to Roland Freisler's notorious People's Court.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Keitel
regards Robb
by Andreas on 06 Sep 2006 16:03 
and gets the next question.
