Desert Fox - Field Marshall Erwin Rommel

1891 – 1944
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Erwin Rommel was born on November 15th 1891 in Heidenheim Germany. In his youth, Rommel participated in the first World War as officer for Germany. Despite his young age, Rommel received much praise and decoration at the end of the war. Some 26 years later, at the beginning of the second World War, Rommel was appointed by Chancellor Adolf Hitler to command the 7th Panzer Division on the western front.

In a short period of time, Rommel developed himself as a brilliant strategist and tactician, and excelled in commanding Panzer (Tank) Divisions. In the spring of 1941, Rommel was assigned to lead the German troops in Northern Africa, and was ordered to take Tripoli from the British. He was appointed as Lieutenant General and immediately advanced the German African Division against the English. This is when Rommel employed his infamous “Blitzkrieg” attack formation. (1) This ingenious tactic stunned and overwhelmed the British, and they gave Rommel the nickname “Desert Fox” The British were routed and fled to Egypt, leaving a small force in Tobruk.

The British however, returned with their 8th Division, and intended to oust Rommel from Africa. In May 1942, Chancellor Adolf Hitler presented Erwin Rommel with the Field–Marshall’s Staff, making him the youngest Field Marshall in German History. Rommel was ordered to leave Tripoli, and a march through northern Africa began. Rommel only had a small force, but in the beginning of June 1942, he recaptured Tobruk, and he reached Marsa Matruk on June 30th. The British’ last line of defense was at El Alamein, 96 kilometers west of Alexandria. However the situation became desperate; Rommel only had some fifty tanks left, he relied on captured enemy spoils, and there was no hope of reinforcements from Germany, which was entangled in its front against the Russians. Rommel was attacked at every front. Not only was he attacked by the English Commander Montgomery, he was also constantly assaulted by the British Airforce. (2) Hitler ordered Rommel to leave the African front, which was now reinforced by the Americans, but Rommel protested, saying: “We must hold out, never retreat, bring every gun and man into the fight.” On November 4th of that year however, Rommel gave up his offensive at El Alamein, gathered the remaining German and Italian forces, and retreated to Libya. (3)

Rommel remained in Libya for some time, but was recalled to the German Headquarters in March 1943. After a short career in Italy (July – November 1943), Rommel was assigned to lead the Armygroup B at the westcoast of Europe. In this capacity, Rommel made valuable preparations for the defense of the Atlantic coast. He urged the German government to install reserves around the coastal area, in preparation of a beach–landing by either the British or the Americans. However, the German Headquarters took no note of his advice.

During an army inspection on July 17th 1944 in France, Rommel was seriously injured during an allied bombardment. Rommel was brought to Herrlingen (bei Ulm) to recover from his injury. However, if he would recover, Rommel would have had to appear before the court, because he was suspected of aiding or even leading the assassination attempt on Hitler earlier that year. The accusations were unfound, but the Nazi–leaders wanted to get rid of Rommel. Instead of facing this fake trial and baseless accusations, Rommel committed suicide on October 14th, 1944. In order to keep up appearances, Rommel was given a state funeral by the Nazi Command.

His son, Manfred Rommel, was a Christian–Democratic politician and Mayor of Stuttgart since 1974. He was known as one of the leading communal politicians of Germany.

Erwin Rommel was an outstanding Field Marshall, a brilliant strategist, and one of the most feared military commanders of his time. With inferior numbers, Rommel continued to resist the overwhelming force of the British in Africa. Though not popular with the Nazi High Command, Rommel was a respected officer of the German Military, and his strategies were used by many people after his death.

1: The Biltzkrieg (Thunder war) attack was a combination of two things. Firstly, the Panzer (Tank) divisions on the ground, would attack the enemy with fast maneuver, while the german Luftwaffe (Air weapons) would send in their Stuka planes, which made steep drop attacks on the enemy. Because of the fast paced and often unpredictable maneuver, this strategy was among the most successful in the second World War. (Return)

2: Bernard Law Montgomery, first Viscount of Alamein, was one of the most successful British Commanders of his time. Like Rommel, Montgomery started his career in the first World War, and was made Field Marshall in the second World War. He served in India, Egypt and Belgium, and after the war, he was acting Commander of the Atlantic Forces. “Monty” was popular among his troops, but his severe criticism on the English command, earned him a reputation of being stubborn and shortsighted. (Return)

3: At the time of the El Alamein offensive, Rommel was already in a dangerous situation. There were no supplies coming from the North, and his troops had to salvage everything they could from the conquered cities and battle posts. Rommel made due with little supplies, low morale and virtually no chance of reinforcement. Regardless of that, Rommel was not beaten until the arrival of the Americans. Unlike Rommel, the Americans had new, better equipped tanks, and they were accompanied by ground troops from all over the world. Despite all odds being against him, Rommel never gave up, and he did not retreat until he had exploited every opportunity. (Return)

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