Erwin Rommel was a German military commander who became one of the most famous generals of World War II. He was born on November 15th, 1891 in Heidenheim, Germany, and he later rose to the rank of field marshal in the German army. Rommel is best known for his leadership in North Africa, where he earned the nickname ‘Desert Fox’. Obviously, he served in the regime of Adolf Hitler, and his career cannot be separated from the wider history of Nazi Germany and its wars of aggression. Therefore, Rommel remains one of the most debated military figures of the Second World War.
ERWIN ROMMEL – EARLY LIFE
Erwin Rommel was born as Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel on November 15th, 1891. He grew up in the German Empire and came from a middle-class family. As a young man, he chose a military career and entered the army before the start of World War I. This early decision shaped the rest of his life, since nearly all of his major achievements and controversies came through military service that would make up the rest of his life. Regardless, Rommel joined the Württemberg Infantry Regiment No. 124 in 1910, trained as an officer cadet, and received his commission as a lieutenant in January of 1912. This was important because it placed him in the officer corps just before Europe descended into global war during the events of World War I.
ERWIN ROMMEL – WORLD WAR I
World War I was the first great test of Rommel’s military ability. The war began in 1914, following the assassination of Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand. The German Empire was on the side of the Central Powers and faced off against the Allied Powers. For his part, Rommel fought on several fronts of the war and gained a reputation for bold leadership and aggressive tactics. For instance, he served in fighting in France, Romania, and especially Italy, where he became known for fast-moving attacks and personal bravery under fire. These experiences were important because they helped shape the style of command that later made him famous in World War II.
Rommel performed especially well during the fighting on the Italian Front in 1917, and he received the prestigious Pour le Mérite on December 18th, 1917. That award identified him as a highly successful officer in the German army. This resulted in Rommel emerging from World War I with a strong military reputation, which gave him a foundation for later advancement in the Interwar Period years.
ERWIN ROMMEL – INTERWAR PERIOD
After World War I, Rommel remained in the German military during the years of the Weimar Republic. Unlike many former officers who drifted into radical politics, he stayed focused mainly on his army career. For instance, he served in the Reichswehr, the smaller German army allowed after the Treaty of Versailles. During these Interwar years, Rommel also wrote about military tactics. His book ‘Infanterie greift an’ (‘Infantry Attacks’) was published in 1937 and helped build his reputation as a talented military thinker since it included ideas for different infantry maneuvers and attack strategies.
Rommel’s career advanced rapidly after Adolf Hitler rose to power in January of 1933 and Germany began rearming following its refusal to meet the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Although Rommel was not one of the most ideological Nazi leaders, he benefited from Hitler’s military expansion and gained important commands in the growing German army. In fact, he developed a favorable relationship with Hitler during the 1930s, which helped his rise inside the system. This led to his significance during World War II, which he is most famous for.
ERWIN ROMMEL – WORLD WAR II
As mentioned above, Rommel became widely known during World War II. For example, in May of 1940, during the Battle of France, he commanded the 7th Panzer Division and gained attention for fast, bold armored advances. For instance, his division moved so quickly that it sometimes became difficult even for the German high command to track its position. This helped establish Rommel’s image as an aggressive and highly mobile commander. This type of quick movement was an important aspect of Nazi German military strategy in World War II, and was referred to as ‘blitzkrieg’ tactics. Simply put, this means ‘Lightning War’ and was the key military strategy of the Nazi regime during the major battles and operations of World War II.
Regardless, Rommel is most well known for his actions in North Africa during World War II. For instance, in February of 1941, Rommel was sent to Libya to command Nazi German forces that became known as the ‘Afrika Korps’. There he fought against British and Commonwealth forces in the desert war, and his campaigns included major battles around Tobruk, Gazala and El Alamein. It was during this theater of war that he became known as the ‘Desert Fox’, which was a nickname tied directly to his skill in desert warfare and surprise maneuver.
Rommel’s victories in 1941 and 1942 made him one of Nazi Germany’s most celebrated commanders. In June of 1942, after the Battle of Gazala and the capture of Tobruk on June 21st, 1942, Hitler promoted him to the rank of field marshal. This was the peak of Rommel’s military career and showed how valuable his successes in North Africa had become to Nazi German morale and propaganda.
However, Rommel’s fortunes changed later in 1942. At the Second Battle of El Alamein, fought from October 23rd, 1942 to November 11th, 1942, British forces under Bernard Montgomery defeated the Axis army in North Africa. This resulted in a major turning point in the African campaign, because Rommel and the German-Italian forces were pushed into retreat and never recovered their earlier position.
After the loss of North Africa in May of 1943, Rommel later received command responsibilities in western Europe. By 1944, he was involved in the defense of the French coast against the expected Allied invasion. In this role, he argued that Nazi Germany needed to defeat the invasion forces directly on the beaches, since he believed Allied air power would make a longer inland defense far more difficult.
When the Normandy Invasion began on June 6th, 1944, Rommel was one of the senior German commanders responsible for trying to stop the Allied advance in France. However, Nazi Germany failed to push the invaders back into the sea, and the Allied foothold in Normandy steadily expanded. This was important because the events of June of 1944 showed the limits of German defense in the west and marked the beginning of the final collapse of Nazi control in France and eventually the rest of Europe.
ERWIN ROMMEL – DEATH
As the balance of power turned against Nazi Germany, Rommel grew increasingly critical of Hitler’s leadership. In fact, after a failed plot against Hitler on July 20th, 1944, Rommel was accused by the regime of being connected to the anti-Hitler conspiracy. Historians debate the full extent of his involvement, but it is clear that Hitler no longer trusted him. As a result, on October 14th, 1944, Rommel was forced to commit suicide by taking cyanide. In return, the Nazi regime promised that his family would be protected and that he would receive a public funeral with the official explanation that he had died from wounds suffered earlier in the war.
ERWIN ROMMEL – SIGNIFICANCE
Erwin Rommel is remembered mainly for his battlefield leadership, especially in North Africa, where he became one of the most famous Nazi German generals of World War II. His reputation was based on speed, bold decision-making and the ability to inspire soldiers under difficult conditions. For that reason, his name became closely linked with the African campaign and with Nazi German armored warfare more broadly.
At the same time, Rommel remains a complicated historical figure. He was a gifted commander, but he also served a fascist dictatorship that launched aggressive wars across Europe and North Africa.
