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Erwin Rommel

Surname Rommel Given Name Erwin Born 15 Nov 1891 Died 14 Oct 1944 Country Germany Category Military-Ground Gender Male

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseErwin Johannes Eugen Rommel was born in Heidenheim near Ulm in the Duchy of Swabia in the Kingdom of Wüttemberg in southwestern Germany. His father, Erwin Rommel, Sr., was a school master; his mother, Helene von Luz, was the daughter of a local government official. He was the second of four children. The Rommel family had no connection to the military; on top of that, Rommel was pale and often sick as a child, thus no one expected Rommel to become a soldier. His interest was in engineering. At the age of 14, he and a friend built a full-scale box glider; though it only barely flew, one must keep in mind that this was 1906, the first year of powered flight in Europe. In 1907, he enrolled in the local school Realgymnasium. Urged by his father, he joined the army. On 19 Jul 1910, at the rank of Fahnenjunker (officer candidate), he became a member of the Infanterie-Regiment König Wilhelm I (6. Wüttembergisches) Nr. 124 (or, in English, 124th Infantry Regiment of the Wüttemberg Army) based in Weingarten. In Mar 1911, he enrolled in the Royal Officer Cadet School in Danzig, completing the studies on 15 Nov. In Mar 1914, he was posted to the 4. Batterie of Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr. 49 (4th Battery of the 49th Artillery Regiment).

ww2dbaseDuring WW1, Rommel first served two years in France. In Sep 1914, while facing three French soldiers alone with an empty rifle, he was wounded by a ricocheting rifle bullet in the left thigh; his actions during this engagement won him the Iron Cross Second Class. In Jan 1915, "he crawled with his riflemen through 100 yards of barbed wire into the main French positions, captured four bunkers, held them against a counterattack by a French battalion and then withdrew before a new attack could develop"; for that action, he was awarded the Iron Cross First Class, and was the first man at the rank of Leutnant to receive this medal. He was injured by shrapnel in one shin in Jul 1915. After recovery, he was posted as the company commander in the mountain infantry battalion Württembergisches Gebirgs-Bataillon. Theodor Werner, a comrade of 1915, recalled Rommel as "slightly built, almost schoolboyish, inspired by a holy zeal, always eager and anxious to act.... [E]verybody was inspired by his initiative, his courage, his dazzling acts of gallantry." With this unit he served in France and Romania until he was injured again in Aug 1917 with a bullet wound to his arm. Upon recovery, he was transferred to Italy, and it was really his time in Italy that transformed him into a great leader. He constantly inspired his men to put forth their best efforts, whether it was to trek through thick fresh snow with full load of equipment on their backs, or it was scaling cliff faces that daunted even the most skilled mountaineer. It was this ability to inspire that allowed him to achieve spectacular victories against the Italians, surprising the enemy from the rear and crushing them even with a smaller force. For example, in Nov 1917 at Longarone, a town in northern Italy that represented the key of the entire Italian mountain defense system in the region, his smaller force braved the raging Piave River and set up a trap that captured 8,000 Italian soldiers in one day. For his achievements including Longarone, he was awarded the Pour le Mérite, the highest Prussian military honor, by Kaiser Wilhelm II.

ww2dbaseWhile on leave briefly during the war, Rommel visited Danzig in Nov 1916 and married Lucia Maria Mollin whom he had met during his years in the Royal Officer Cadet School. He would grow to become emotionally dependent on his strong wife. "It was wonderful to see how much Erwin fussed around her," recalled a friend of Lucie's. He would write her every chance he got when he was away, including during WW2. The letters would later become valuable research material for Rommel biographers and WW2 historians. The couple produced one son, Manfred Rommel, on 24 Dec 1928; Manfred Rommel later became the mayor of the city of Stuttgart between 1974 and 1996.

ww2dbaseAfter WW1, Rommel remained in the small German military. On 1 Oct 1929, upon his battalion commander's recommendation, he was posted to the Infantry School in Dresden as a junior instructor training lieutenants. "I want to teach them first how to save lives.... Shed sweat, not blood." He was a popular instructor to the students, who filled his lectures to get a glimpse of Rommel's gallantry during WW1, who was by no means shy to recite them over and over again to the point that the stories were much romanticized. "He is a towering personality even in a milieu of hand-picked officers.... A genuine leader, inspiring and arousing cheerful confidence in others.... Respected by his colleagues, worshipped by his cadets", wrote the school commandant in Sep 1931. In Oct 1933, he was posted to a battalion command in Goslar, Germany in the Hartz mountains. While at this position, the up-to-now non-political Rommel met Adolf Hitler on 30 Sep 1934. With Hitler's promise for military glory, he, like so many officers, became a stern Nazi supporter. In Oct 1934, Rommel was posted to the Infantry School in Potsdam as an instructor. He was a non-traditional instructor. While the other instructors pushed military theories on the students, Rommel placed more value on the students' own analysis. A student recalled Rommel asking "[n]evermind what [Carl von] Clausewitz thought, what do you think?"

ww2dbaseIn Sep 1936, Rommel was posted to be one of Hitler's escorts for the Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg. One day Hitler decided to go for a drive, and casually mentioned that no more than six cars should follow him. Rommel counted the number of cars after Hitler, and stopped the rest. The high ranking party leaders who were stopped were furious at the young colonel who dared to stop them. Upon receiving complaints from party leaders that evening, Hitler sent for Rommel and personally congratulated him for his job well done.

ww2dbaseIn early 1937, Rommel published a book on infantry tactics titled Infanterie greift an; a copy of the book found its way to Adolf Hitler's desk, and the writing highly impressed him. He made handsome amounts of money from the sale of the book, but in order to avoid paying taxes, he told his publisher to pay him only 15,000 Reichsmarks per year, keeping the rest in a bank account, gathering interest. Whether this was tax evasion was not really a topic of investigations, for that he was becoming closer and closer to Hitler. In Feb 1937, he became the army's liaison to the Hitler Youth; Rommel clashed with Hitler Youth's chief Baldur von Schirach and did not particularly enjoy this post.

ww2dbaseIn Oct 1938, Rommel was the commander of Hitler's personal guards during the German leader's tour of newly annexed Sudetenland (from Czechoslovakia). Twice during Mar 1939, to Prague and then to Memel, Hitler sent for him to command his mobile headquarters. Being exposed to Hitler so regularly turned Rommel into the grasp of Nazism. "While many of his brother officers still hesitated to commit themselves to the Nazi philosophy, Rommel's conversion was undoubtedly complete. Even in private postcards to his friends, he now signed off: "Heil Hitler! Yours, E. Rommel". In Dec 1938, he made the note that "[t]oday's soldier must be political, Because he must always be ready to fight for our new policies". On 25 Aug 1939, he was promoted to the rank of general, and Hitler ordered that the promotion was to be back dated to 1 Jun 1939. Hitler had also begun to confide in Rommel. "I'm together with [Hitler] very often, even in the most intimate discussions", wrote Rommel in a letter to Lucie. "It means so much to me that he confides in me -- far more than being promoted to general." As Polish men were gathered and sent into camps, Rommel brushed off the observations, convinced that they must be guerilla fighters and other prisoners of war. He was so convinced that Hitler was so perfect that it did not occur to him that cruel fates awaited these men. It all began with his belief in the Prussian military tradition. "Soldiers are worth something again", he wrote Lucie happily and innocently in Sep 1939. In Oct 1939, Rommel suggested that he would like to gain field command. The army offered a mountain division, thinking of his infantry instructor experience and his time commanding mountain troops during the inter-war years. Rommel turned it down. He wanted an armor division. With Hitler's influence, he got the Seventh Panzer Division on 10 Oct.

ww2dbaseOn 12 Feb 1940, Rommel became the commanding officer of the German 7th Panzer Division, which was his first field command; he would become the only divisional commander during the invasion of France and the Low Countries who had no experience during the invasion of Poland. When he first took over the division, he was disappointed to see many of his subordinate officers preferring the "easy life" while some others were described as "floppy". One of his first tasks he embarked upon was to shape these officers so that "they were capable at all times of achieving what I demanded of them." The invasion of France and the Low Countries commenced on 10 May 1940. In Belgium, and then in France, his tanks pushed forward brashly, ignoring risk of enemy counterattacks from the rear because the shock of his rapid advances crushed enemy morale which made calculated counterattacks impossible. Some commanders criticized his carelessness which at times cut off communications between his armor and the main army. In a later writing, Rommel explained that he had acted not carelessly; rather, his bold actions were only committed after careful considerations.

It is my experience that bold decisions give the best promise of success. But one must differentiate between [strategic] and tactical boldness and a military gamble. A bold operation is one in which success is not a certainty but which in case of failure leaves one with sufficient forces in hand to cope with whatever situation may arise. A gamble, on the other hand, is an operation which can lead either to victory or to the complete destruction of one's force. Situations can arise where even gamble may be justified - as, for instance, when in the normal course of events defeat is merely a matter of time, when the gaining of time is therefore pointless and the only chance lies in an operation of great risk.

ww2dbaseDuring the campaign in the Low Countries and France, Rommel's command vehicle was a modified Panzer III tank, and this vehicle was often seen on the front lines; at times, he would also ride with Colonel Karl Rothenburg in a Panzer IV tank, or fly high above in a Storch observation aircraft. Whatever the means of transportation was, he always wanted to be close to the front lines so that he could appraise the situation. On 14 May, his troops reached the Meuse River, but halted while waiting for the engineers to set up a pontoon bridge. Being close to the front lines, Rommel immediately reached the area and personally led a number of tanks to cross the river on ferries to keep up the offensive momentum; his colleague Heinz Guderian, on the other hand, waited, thus giving French troops before him some time to re-organize.

ww2dbaseOn 27 May 1940, at the end of a routine conference with armor commanders, his aid Karl Hanke appeared unexpectedly, announcing "[o]n the Führer's orders I herewith bestow on Herr General the Knight's Cross", making him the first divisional commander to be awarded the Knight's Cross in France. His connections with the Nazi Party in Munich and Berlin probably had much to do with the award, but none could argue against his successes. On that same night of the award, he pushed forward toward Lille, one of the biggest French industrial centers. "Mount up! Start Engines! Advance!" He ordered his armor while other armor commanders were just settling down to get a few hours' sleep. The surprise night attack frustrated the the French and British retreat toward Dunkirk, but it also brought his units in the direct path of German artillery shells which had no idea his armor had already made so much progress; he had no choice but to pull back slightly and let his men rest until the morning. On the next day, he took Lille, earning him a few days' rest. By 5 Jun, he crossed the Somme using two bridges the French had failed to demolish. From there, his armor traveled in a box formation across the French countryside, trampling everything in their path, moving 40 to 50 miles a day. At Thieulloy, he captured a British supply convoy full of chocolate and canned fruit, showing the British were not ready for the Germans to advance so quickly. At Elbeuf, a French woman waved to Rommel, convinced any foreign men this far behind the battle front must be British. By 10 Jun, his units reached the English Channel near Dieppe, the first Germas to do so. On the next day, he surrounded thousands of British and French troops waiting to be evacuated at Saint-Valéry, which surrendered after a terrifying artilery and dive bombing attack. After four days of rest, Rommel started to move again. On 16 Jun his troops crossed the Seine, and on 18 Jun he pushed 220 miles to captured Cherbourg, a major French port city with a garrison 20 times larger than Rommel's numbers. The capture of Cherbourg ended the campaign for Rommel. By this time, he was credited with the capture of 97,000 prisoners of war at the cost of 42 armor and crew.

ww2dbaseRommel's methods were questionable at times however. For example, the German 32nd Division, on Rommel's left flank in France, complained that Rommel had used up not only his own bridging tackle on the first day, but also helped himself to use the 32nd's, which delayed the 32nd Division's timetable. Being a favored commander of Nazi political officers gave him the immunity from much criticism. Some of his peers also complained that Rommel did things his own way and completely disregarded the other divisions. For example, at least one occasion, he commandeered bridging resources originally meant to go to a nearby division which had requested first. When units of the neighboring division arrived to use the bridge that now set up for the 7th Panzer Division instead of their own, Rommel freely commandeered these units' men and equipment as well for his own offensive. Needless to say, as Rommel established his fame as an able commander, he made many opponents as well among his peers.

ww2dbaseIn one of his later papers on the campaign in France, he wrote the following that provided some insight into his mindset when he pushed his troops forward at such a great pace. "The sole criterion for a commander in carrying out a given operation must be the time he is allowed for it, and he must use all his powers of execution to fulfill the task within that time." He also wrote "[t]he officers of a Panzer Division must learn to think and act independently within the framework of a general plan and not wait until they receive orders", again stressing the importance on rapid movement during offensive operations.

ww2dbaseIn Feb 1941, Rommel was selected by Hitler to lead the German forces in North Africa. He arrived there on 12 Feb, witnessing a full retreat of the Italian forces toward Tripoli. with his usual willingness to see the front line situations for himself, he jumped into a Heinkel bomber and took off immediately for an observation run. His troops arrived two days later, on 14 Feb. Several days later, his troops staged a parade at Tripoli. To falsify the numbers to the lower ranks in order to boost morale and to any British spy that could be observing, he ordered his armor to circle the block several times. "We've got to keep the enemy guessing about our strength - that is, about our weakness - until the rest of the Fifth Light Division gets here", he said. Meanwhile, to trick British air reconnaissance, he ordered his men to construct fake armor. Some of the fake armor were built atop Volkswagen cars that moved around every so often, while others were stationary wooden ones. Intercepted British messages revealed British warnings of presence of German medium armor, which meant the fake armor had worked.

ww2dbaseOnce Rommel received adequate equipment, he attacked aggressively, driving the British 8th Army out of Libya and attempted to venture into Egypt. At El Alamein, his aura of invincibility was finally lifted as his supply lines stretched too far. When the Americans landed in North Africa, he turned his attention west, realizing that if the newly arrived troops had the opportunity to meet with the British in his east, the German army would face an even greater challenge. He left the North African theater to meet with Hitler in Berlin on the issues in the theater, and as events would turn out, he would never return to North Africa again.

ww2dbaseRommel's successes in North Africa were respected by friend and foe alike. British general Harold Alexander commented that Rommel "was a very chivalrous enemy", and Allied Supreme Commander Dwight Eisenhower also held Rommel's capabilities in the utmost regard. American general George Patton, with his colorful and usual expression, symbollically yelled at the German commander, "Rommel, you magnificent bastard! I read your book!", perhaps commenting on the impressive works on military maneuvers that Rommel had published. It was in North Africa that Rommel, nicknamed the Desert Fox, made himself known as an extremely capable and innovative leader.

ww2dbaseAfter North Africa, Rommel served briefly in Italy before returning to France to strengthen the coastal defenses there. He was convinced that if the western Allies launched an attack on continental Europe, the Allies must not be given the chance to gain secure footing, otherwise all would be lost. He prepared armor units miles from the beaches, prepared to counterattack any landing attempts on the French coast without risking exposing tanks in transit to Allied air power. His deployment strategy for his tanks fell in line with his belief that air power was the key to winning a modern war. "The future battle on the ground will be preceded by battle in the air", he said. "This will determine which of the contestants has to suffer operational and tactical disadvantages and be forced throughout the battle into adoption compromise solutions."

ww2dbaseEarly 1944, Rommel was approached to participate in the July Plot to assassinate Hitler. It is popularly believed by historians today that Rommel had refused due to his loyalty, but the exact facts are still unknown.

ww2dbaseAfter the western Allies launched the Normandy landings in Jun 1944, Rommel was out of the area and unable to get a clear picture of the situation, and then Hitler hesitated to approve a counterattack by armor until it was too late. Rommel's nightmare came true over the next six weeks as the Allied beachhead strengthened. On 15 Jul, he communicated to Hitler that Germany should seriously consider ending the war on favorable terms when it was still possible; for whatever reason, this letter was delayed in its delivery. When it reached Hitler, it was more than five days later, and the conspirators of the July Plot had made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Hitler. The letter that was brutally honest suddenly carried a traitorous tone. It was soon discovered that Rommel had previously been approached by some of the members of the inner circle who planned the July Plot. While the fiercely loyal Rommel was unlikely to have approved an attempt on Hitler's life (and he might not be informed of such a plan), it was unknown whether Rommel agreed with those who contacted him regarding assuming a leadership role in post-war Germany. Most people understand fairly well that only a small handful of people were respected by Germans and Allies alike, and Rommel topped that list. This characteristic, in the post-July Plot atmosphere, became a threat to Hitler, and Gestapo findings that Rommel was linked to some of the plotters only made Rommel's position worse.

ww2dbaseBetween Jul and Oct 1944, Rommel largely remained inactive, recovering from head injuries sustained when his car was attacked by Allied aircraft on 17 Jul 1944. He wrote several papers during this time, one of which discussed his vision for the model officer of the modern German Army:

The tactical leader of the future, who will decide the battle - for the main emphasis of future battles will be on the tactical destruction of the enemy's fighting power - will need not only mental gifts of a high order, but also great strength of character if he is to be a match for his task. Because of the great variety of tactical possibilities which motorization offers it will in the future be impossible to make more than a rough forecast of the course of a battle. This being so, the issue will be decided by flexibility of mind, eager acceptance of responsibility, fitting mixture of caution and audacity, and the greater control over the fighting troops.

ww2dbaseIn Oct 1944, while at home, Rommel received a phone call from Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel in Berlin, asking him to report in person in regards to his next assignment. Rommel was unsure whether he was indeed to receive a new command possibly on the Eastern Front, or if he was destined to be turned over to the Gestapo; even if Keitel had no hidden agenda, traveling to Berlin might be an one-way trip, delivering himself to Nazi agents who might suspect him to be a plotter. Refusing to go to Berlin, using his health condition as an excuse, Keitel agreed that he would send Generals Wilhelm Burgdorf and Ernst Maisel to Rommel's home in southern Germany with details of his next assignment. Rommel knew them as officers in the staff department, and thought perhaps they would indeed bring news of a new position rather than questions regarding the assassination attempt.

ww2dbaseBurgdorf and Maisel arrived at Rommel's home on 14 Oct 1944, and Rommel brought them to his study. On this day, Rommel chose to wear his desert uniform. Burgdorf, who did most of the talking as Maisel acted mainly as a witness only, revealed what Rommel had feared: Rommel had been implicated in the July Plot, and was given a choice to face the People's Court or commit suicide. Burgdorf promised that, should he choose the latter, he would be given a state funeral and praised as a hero, while his wife Lucia and son Manfred would be protected. Knowing that he had little chance of success with the People's Court, and knowing that family members of those convicted by the People's Court often suffered as well, Rommel immediately knew he really only had one choice. Dismissing Maisel, Burgdorf secretly produced a cyanide capsule for Rommel, promising that it would kill him within seconds, thus sparing him of unnecessary suffering.

ww2dbaseHaving already made up his mind, Rommel exited from the study and went upstairs to see his wife, telling her his decision to take his own life. A few minutes later, Rommel revealed the plan to his son Manfred, who initially suggested that they could shoot Burgdorf, Maisel, and their SS driver Heinrich Doose and then make an escape, but Rommel would have none of it, citing that the home was most like surrounded at a distance and the murder of these men would only make matters worse. With his field marshal's baton under his arm and his son Manfred beside him, he walked out into the garden and cooperatively entered the backseat of the car. Manfred Rommel recalled that his father never looked back as the car drove away. Rommel was driven a few miles onto a side road. When the car came to a stop, Burgdorf dismissed Maisel and Doose, and Rommel knew it was time to bite the cyanide capsule. Burgdorf waved Maisel and Doose back about five minutes later. Doose noticed that Rommel's cap had fallen; crying, he picked it up and placed on the field marshal's head. Lucia was informed of the death about ten minutes later.

ww2dbaseRommel's body was driven to a nearby hospital for a doctor to certify a time of death. The doctor immediately knew that the cause of death was unnatural, and recommended an autopsy, a suggestion that was rejected by Burgdorf. The German government announced Rommel's death as caused by aneurysm in the brain. A personal correspondence from Keitel to Keitel's wife dated 24 Oct 1944 noted that "Rommel has died after all from the multiple skull injuries he received on a car journey, through a blood-clot." Only later in Keitel's memoirs written in 1945 had he admitted in knowing the truth about Rommel's death. Keitel explained that orders were given to prevent Rommel from shooting himself; instead, poison was offered so that the cause of death could be attributed to injuries suffered in an accident. Rommel was buried as a national hero, receiving a state funeral with full military honors. Lucia received full pensions of a field marshal.

ww2dbaseSources:

Pier Paolo Battistelli, Erwin Rommel

Terry Brighton. Patton, Montgomery, Rommel

Walter Görlitz, In the Service of the Reich

David Irving. The Trail of the Fox



Last Major Revision: Sep 2010

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