Erwin Rommel

This article is about a German officer during World War II. He took part in Invasion of Poland, Battle of France, North African Campaign, Battle of Normandy and so on.

Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel (Heidenheim, 15 November 1891 – Herrlingen, 14 October 1944) was a German General Field Marshal. He played an important role in the Second World War in North African Campaign (the desert war). His nickname was the Desert Fox. At the  Second Battle of El Alamein, he was the opponent of Bernard Montgomery.
He was the son of the teacher Erwin Rommel and his wife Helene von Luz. He attended school and intended to work as an engineer for the Zeppelin factory in Friedrichshafen, but took the advice of his father in 1910 for a military career. In 1911, he went to the Officer Cadet School in Danzig.
Rommel fought in the First World War, initially in the infantry and later a battalion of mountain troops, the Württemberg-Mountain Battalion, which was by way of German aid to the Austrian ally. An Italian counterattack was repulsed and a full regiment Bersaglieri (certainly not the least) was taken prisoner.  With the arrival of the rest of the battalion, Oberleutnant led the formation along the back of Monte Matajûr (in present-day Slovenia) and could be even more Italians to surrender. One hundred and fifty Italian officers and 9000 men left the battlefield as a prisoner of war and 81 artillery pieces were captured by the Germans. He was promoted to Oberleutnant Hauptmann (captain) and was later promoted for his part in the Battle of Longarone the Pour le Merite award, Rommel was one of the youngest recipients of this award, which actually was intended for senior officers.
After the First World War, he was transferred to the Reichswehr in the Weimar Republic, where he taught military science. He published his book named Infantry Attacks about his experiences during the First World War. He met Adolf Hitler after his seizure of power, became chief of the troops that accompanied Hitler, and on 1 August, 1939, one month before the start of the Second World War was appointed by Hitler as Major-General. More than four months after the victory in Poland, Rommel was the commander of the 7th Armored Division. During the stay in Blitzkrieg of France, he was operating his business so quickly that it was nicknamed the Ghost Division. Even the German High Command did not always know where the division was. For his huzarenrit, the Maginot Line was Rommel later the Knights Cross.
In 1941, Rommel was promoted to lieutenant general, then he got command of the Afrika Korps. During the campaign in North Africa, the British gave him his famous nickname of the desert, because he always improvised and used tricks to outwit the enemy, if necessary. After the capture of Tobruk on 21 June, 1942, he was promoted to Field Marshal the next day. His troops marched on to El Alamein in Egypt, but due to inadequate supplies and materials from the Afrika Corps in October of that year were reduced by Allied forces under Bernard Montgomery to Tunisia. However, Rommel was able to retreat in order smoothly, which, when gave the Allied supremacy in the air, was a veritable tour de force. Hitler refused to constantly respond to the requests of Rommel to his soldiers to withdraw to Sicily. On 9 March, 1943, Rommel returned to Germany in yet another attempt to persuade Hitler to see the seriousness of the situation. Even then Hitler refused to do this and Rommel was in Germany to avoid the defeat that he would have to endure. On 13 May of that year, the Afrika Korps surrendered in Tunisia.
As of November 1943, Rommel as commander of Army Group B was responsible for the German defenses on the Atlantic coast in France. In this he differed from the opinion of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, who was commander of all German troops on the Western Front: Von Rundstedt wanted the armored divisions further inland up, away from the Allied navy, while Rommel wanted them along the coast position. He was convinced that if they were drawn inland, they had to run through the gauntlet of Allied air forces before they could reach the front. Rommel inspected the Atlantic and made many improvements. According to him, the first 24 hours of the invasion was the most important and the attacker had to drive back as soon as possible, before a bridge could be located.
Meanwhile, he met a group of conspirators against Hitler. After the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June, 1944, Rommel struck on 17 July in an air strike near the French village Livarot and got seriously injured when he was in a car. Because of this, he could not participate in the preparations for the attack by Claus von Stauffenberg (those under him in the Africa Corps had fought) and the subsequent takeover, which should follow. Rommel was also always against a stop, because he was afraid that Hitler as a martyr would cause creating a civil war. He would have probably had provided a new government.
After the failed attack (20 July), he was suspected of complicity, because his name was called by the conspirators. When he was at home on 14 October, 1944 in Herrlingen, he was visited by Generals Wilhelm Burgdorf and Ernst Maisel who persuaded him to commit suicide himself, and so a show trial, and his family called Sippenhaftung savings. If he would commit suicide, he would be buried with military honors and his family would receive living allowance. After a few minutes thinking, Rommel decided to end his life, and was racked by the generals of the village.  Rommel took a poison pill at their presence, but has never been known to be involved in the conspiracy. He received a state funeral on 18 October. The German people were led to believe that the deceased was popular Clutter from wounds him in the car accident of 17 July had risen. The true cause of death of Rommel came to light during the Nuremberg trials, when Field Marshal and accused Wilhelm Keitel was questioned.
Rommel’s military successes were not only by his troops and Adolf Hitler respected, but also by the forces of the enemy Commonwealth during the campaign in North Africa. Rommel was always regarded as a chivalrous and humane military leader, unlike many other people in Nazi Germany. His famous Afrika Korps was never accused of a war crime. Rommel himself referred to the fighting in North Africa as Krieg ohne Hass—war without hate. Numerous examples exist of Rommel’s chivalry towards Allied POWs, such as his defiance of Hitler’s infamous Commando Order following the capture of Lt. Roy Woodridge and Lt. George Lane as part of Operation Fortitude. He also refused to comply with Hitler’s order to execute Jewish POWs. This humanity was due to several factors: the battles were fought in Africa, were largely in place of almost uninhabited areas, causing civilian casualties only.  Even if attacks by local tribes took place, Rommel decided to ignore them. Also, the racial issues do not apply, unlike the front in the Soviet Union. Rommel’s personality also played a role: he realized that the more soldiers were killed, the more suffering for the affected families this meant. Therefore there were no soldiers to be slain than necessary (so only the bare minimum). Krieg ohne Hass (War without hate) was the motto of this approach.
Rommel was so respected by his initial British opponent in North Africa, General Claude Auchinleck. After the fall of Tobruk in June 1942, the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill himself was accountable in parliament, noting: ” We have a very daring and skillful opponent against us, and, may I say across the havoc of war, a great general.” After the message in July 1944 that Rommel was dead, Churchill expressed his respect to him.
In his own country, he was popular not only because of his ability, but also because he will implement his plans led from the front line instead of a security headquarters, he was also, unlike most other top officer, not nobility.
Rommel admired Hitler’s personality (which was sparked by his first success), but the Nazi ideology kept him lifelong debt.
Rommel had been married since 1916 with Lucie Maria Mollin, the daughter of a Prussian landowner. In 1928, the couple had a son, Manfred Rommel, who was Mayor of Stuttgart from 1974 to 1996. Rommel also had an affair with a fruit seller, Walburga Stemmer, who allegedly produced in 1913 a daughter named Gertrud. Other sources, however, speaking of suicide – they would have come to the conclusion that Rommel never would return.
Following recognition in Germany in the 60’s is because that his name is connected to two barracks (the “General Field Marschall Rommel-Kaserne”in Augustdorf and “Rommel-Kaserne” in Ulm). Also, the Federal Navy ship named after him.