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Erwin Rommel The Desert Fox Biography
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Manfred Rommel, Walburga Stemmer, Rudolf von Bünau (father)
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as the Desert Fox was a German field marshal of World War II. He earned the respect of both his own troops and his enemies.
Rommel was a highly decorated officer in World War I and was awarded the Pour le Mérite for his exploits on the Italian Front.
In World War II, he further distinguished himself as the commander of the 7th Panzer Division during the 1940 invasion of France. His leadership of German and Italian forces in the North African campaign established him as one of the most able commanders of the war, and earned him the appellation of the Desert Fox. He is regarded as one of the most skilled commanders of desert warfare in the conflict.
He later commanded the German forces opposing the Allied cross-channel invasion of Normandy. His assignments never took him to the Eastern Front. Rommel is regarded as having been a humane and professional officer.
His Afrika Korps was never accused of war crimes, and soldiers captured during his Africa campaign were reported to have been treated humanely.
Orders to kill Jewish soldiers, civilians and captured commandos were ignored.
Late in the war, Rommel was linked to the conspiracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
Because Rommel was a national hero, Hitler desired to eliminate him quietly. He forced Rommel to commit suicide with a cyanide pill, in return for assurances that Rommels family would not be persecuted following his death.
He was given a state funeral, and it was announced that Rommel had succumbed to his injuries from an earlier strafing of his staff car in Normandy.
Life and career
Rommel was born on 15 November 1891 in Southern Germany at Heidenheim, 45 kilometres (28 mi) from Ulm, in the Kingdom of Württemberg, then part of the German Empire. He was baptised on 17 November 1891.
He was the second of four children of Professor Erwin Rommel Senior (1860–1913) and his wife Helene von Luz.
As a young man Rommels father had been a lieutenant in the artillery. He later served as the headmaster and rector of the secondary school at Aalen.
Rommel had both older and younger brothers, and a younger sister. He wrote "my early years passed quite happily." At the age of 14, Rommel and a friend built a full-scale glider and were able to fly it short distances.
He later purchased a motorcycle, and upon getting home immediately set about taking it apart and putting it back together.
He displayed remarkable technical aptitude throughout his life.Rommel considered becoming an engineer, but at age 18 he acceded to his fathers wishes and joined the local 124th Württemberg Infantry Regiment as a ensign In 1910, studying at the Officer Cadet School in Danzig. He graduated on 15 November 1911 and was commissioned as a lieutenant in January 1912.
At this time Rommel developed a relationship with Walburga Stemmer in 1913, which produced a daughter, Gertrud.Rommel ultimately broke off his relationship with Stemmer.
While at Cadet School, Rommel met his future wife, 17-year-old Lucia Maria Mollin (1894–1971; commonly called Lucie). They married on 27 November 1916 in Danzig.
Twelve years later they had a son, Manfred Rommel, born on 24 December 1928. Walburga died around the time of the birth of Manfred.
Rommel supported his daughter, who was brought up by her grandmother and was referred to as Rommels niece.He maintained a close relationship with her throughout his life.
The plaid scarf he wore that can be seen in many photos from the desert was made by his daughter, Gertrud. Rommels son, Manfred, would later become Lord Mayor of Stuttgart from 1974 to 1996. He died on 7 November 2013.
Rommels marriage with Lucie was a happy one, and Rommel wrote her at least one letter every day while he was in the field
Rommel as military commander
Manoeuvre warfare
Taking his opponent by surprise and creating uncertainty in the mind of the adversarial commander were key elements in Rommels thinking on offensive warfare.
Rommel understood the impact of striking quickly, and his offensive campaigns are noted for his ability to arrive in force where his opponents did not expect him. Rommel would take advantage of sand storms and the dark of night to conceal the movement of his forces.
In France and later in Africa Rommel made use of the Luftwaffe as a forward, mobile artillery to support the advance and help overcome difficult obstacles. He viewed the essential aspect of successful use of armour was the ability to concentrate all available strength at one point and then hit that point with everything at hand to force a breakthrough.
Maintaining momentum was critical. He was willing to trade the tenuous logistical support of such moves for the advantage in creating havoc and confusion in the enemy. A former Afrika Korps soldier recalled: "When the kampfgruppe leader would say Jawohl Herr Feldmarschall. According to my estimates the proposed drive behind the lines to encircle the enemy would require a drive of 150 km. Our fuel supply is barely enough for 50 km. Rommel would reply in his Schwaebisch dialect, Fahren Sie, fahren Sie, dann brauchen Sie keinen Treibstoff (Drive, drive, then you do not need fuel), which was understood to mean Get there quickly, take the enemy by surprise, then use the fuel available from the enemys supply."
Leadership
The 7th Panzers drive through the Belgian, French and British lines in 1940 succeeded to a remarkable degree from Rommels driving presence with his forces.The boldness of his attacks often led larger enemy formations to surrender, as they were overwhelmed by the pace of the action and became unsure of themselves.
This was even more evident in North Africa. A central aspect of his thinking on command was the high value he placed on a commander being physically present at the point of contact.
When the British mounted a commando raid deep behind German lines in an effort to kill Rommel and his staff on the eve of their Crusader offensive, Rommel was indignant, not that the British had singled him out to be killed, but that the British could believe his headquarters would be found 250 miles behind his front.
In terms of making tactical decisions quickly he believed the commander needed to be at the crucial place at the crucial time.If Rommel did find it necessary to keep his headquarters well behind the lines, he would often personally pilot a reconnaissance aircraft over the battle lines to get a view of the situation. Although Rommel did not have a pilots license, he was a competent pilot, and none of the Luftwaffe officers had the nerve to stop him.
Rommel led by example. In 1933 when he became commander of a Hanoverian Jaeger battalion expert in the ski, its officers gave him the mandatory test on the snow slopes. No lift was present, and the men had to climb to ski down the hillside. They trudged to the top and descended, and honour was satisfied, but the 41 year old commander led his officers up and down the slope twice more before he let them fall out. He felt a commander should be physically more robust than the troops he led, and should always show them an example.
He expected his subordinate commanders to do the same. They had to live hard. He felt it the obligation of a commander to be willing to suffer whatever hardships the soldier in the line was facing, and he understood the effect of this on the morale of his men. The respect afforded Rommel by his soldiers was the result of their observation of him.
Said staff officer Friedrich von Mellenthin: "The Afrika Korps followed Rommel wherever he led, however hard he drove them... the men knew that Rommel was the last man to spare Rommel." Hard on his officers, he demanded they take proper care of their men and materiel. Once he saw things were properly attended to he could be easy and comfortable, but if unhappy with the way an officer was applying himself he could be very severe, being quick to fire officers who did not maintain standards or dithered over his commands.
Said von Mellenthin: "While very popular with young soldiers and N.C.O.s, with whom he cracked many a joke, he could be most outspoken and offensive to commanders of troops if he did not approve of their measures." When asked what he thought of James Masons portrayal in the film "The Desert Fox", von Mellenthin smiled before replying "Altogether too polite".
His successes did cause a certain amount of resentment among headquarters staff officers, who might criticize him for failing to keep them in contact and properly informed of his intentions. For Rommel this was not always an oversight, but was sometimes preferred. Personality
In battle, Rommel was often directing fire or leading an assault in the hottest point of decision.Wounded multiple times in both world wars, his notoriety was partly the result of his having the luck to survive long enough to become prominent.
In addition, Rommel was also the possessor of a great deal of moral courage.German historian Hans-Adolf Jacobson commented: "Rommel was one of the few generals who had the strength to refuse to carry out one of Hitlers orders."He could be difficult on his subordinate commanders and superiors. He expected a great deal of himself and much the same for them. He had little patience for junior officers who did not do their jobs properly.
He was not open to objections to his plans, and he did not tolerate incompetence. In one instance in February 1940 only three weeks after assuming command of the 7th Panzer Division, Rommel determined one of his battalion commanders was performing below par and had the man relieved of command and sent on his way in 90 minutes.
Friedrich von Mellenthin, who was a key aide on Rommels staff during the Africa campaign, wrote that Rommel was willing to take chances, sometimes gambling an entire battle on a decision made at the point of contact. Rommel first displayed this type of initiative during the First World War as a junior officer in Belgium and later in the mountains of northern Italy. There he found a sudden, bold, decisive move could reap large dividends.
This was reinforced by Rommels experiences at the head of the 7th Panzer Division during the invasion of France in 1940, where it was clear that his presence at the forefront of the battle was instrumental in creating successful outcomes. But at times in North Africa his absence from a position of communication made command of the battles of the Afrika Korps very difficult. Rommels counterattack during Operation Crusader is one such instance.
It should be noted though, that throughout the desert war Rommel was acting from a position of relative weakness. To succeed he had to accept risks that commanders like Montgomery were never forced to take.
General Fritz Bayerlein, Rommels chief of staff through much of the campaign, noted that risks taken were made only after carefully weighing the potential dangers and rewards.
Aggressive subordinate commanders, such as Hans von Luck, praised his leadership from the front. Though Mellenthin was in agreement on forward command of armoured units, a broadly held principle of the Panzerwaffe, he believed that losing contact with headquarters led to disinvolvement of his staff officers and created difficulty in maintaining an overview of the tactical situation.
Long absences from contact with headquarters meant that at times subordinate commanders had to make decisions without first consulting Rommel. Even when Rommel was present at headquarters, his impatient personality made it difficult for his subordinates—and sometimes his superiors—to work with him.
Medals and Decorations
Württembergische Goldene Verdienstmedaille on 25 February 1915 Military Merit Order Fourth Class with Swords (Bavaria) Military Merit Order Second Class (Bavaria) Friedrich Order with Swords First Class (Württemberg) Military Merit Order on 8 April 1915 (Württemberg) Military Merit Cross 3rd class (Austria-Hungary) Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class on 30 September 1914 1st Class on 22 March 1915 Pour le Mérite on 10 December 1917 (Prussia) Wound Badge (1918) in Silver in 1918 Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 in 1934 Sudetenland Medal Memel Medal Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th to 1st class Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class on 17 May 1940 1st Class on 21 May 1940 Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds Knights Cross on 27 May 1940 as Generalmajor and commander of the 7. Panzer-Division 10th Oak Leaves on 20 March 1941 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 7. Panzer-Division 6th Swords on 20 January 1942 as General der Panzertruppe and commander of the Panzergruppe Afrika 6th Diamonds on 11 March 1943 as Generalfeldmarschall and commander in chief of the Heeresgruppe Afrika Wound Badge in Gold on 7 August 1944 Panzer Badge in Silver Silver Medal of Military Valor (Medaglia dArgento al Valor Militare) on 22 April 1941 (Italy) Knight of the Colonial Order of the Star of Italy on 28 April 1942 Grand Officer of the Italian Military Order of Savoy Mid-1942 Romanian Order of Michael the Brave 3rd and 2nd Class on 12 July 1944 Mentioned twice on the Wehrmachtbericht (26 June 1942 and 10 September 1943)
Death
Late in the war, Rommel was linked to the conspiracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Because Rommel was a national hero, Hitler desired to eliminate him quietly. He forced Rommel to commit suicide with a cyanide pill, in return for assurances that Rommels family would not be persecuted following his death. He was given a state funeral, and it was announced that Rommel had succumbed to his injuries from an earlier strafing of his staff car in Normandy.
