Hitler's Third Reich and World War II in the News is a daily edited review of WWII articles - including German WW2 militaria - providing thought-provoking collection of hand-picked WW2 information.

WW2 category: Desert Fox Erwin Rommel :: Latest WWII news reviews. See also 'WW2 Tanks', 'Panzers, Crews & Armored Units', 'Most decorated soldiers: WWII medals, Iron Cross', 'Werhmacht', 'German Generals'.

Erwin Rommel's diary explores the reasons of Nazi Germany's defeat in the desert     guardian.co.uk :: 2009-09-09
Why Britain won: by Erwin Rommel, commander of the Afrika Korps --- We had lost the decisive battle of the African campaign. It was decisive because our defeat had resulted in the loss of a large part of our infantry and motorised forces. The astonishing thing was that the authorities, German and Italian, looked for the fault not in the failure of supplies, not in our air inferiority... but in the command and troops. Looking back, I am conscious of only one mistake: that I did not circumvent the "victory or death" order 24 hours earlier. The first essential condition for any army to be able to stand in battle is parity ... in the air. [The Rommel Papers: Buy from Amazon: US, UK, CA, DE]

Rudolf Schneider served in personal protection and reconnaissance force for Erwin Rommel     independent.co.uk :: 2009-06-17
Iron Cross winner Rudolf Schneider joined the Wehrmacht in 1941 and was rapidly drafted into Adolf Hitler's North African forces after serving in Iraq, where his knowledge of Allied weaponry was noticed by his commanders. Soon he was drafted into the Kampf Staffel Khiel, a 386-strong unit which travelled with General Erwin Rommel. Despite his close ties with the Nazi high command and Hitler's admiration, Rommel wasn't ardent nazi: "When the propaganda photos were taken... they would drape Swastika flags over the vehicles. When the cameramen went away, Rommel would order the Swastikas to be taken away. He didn't like Nazi insignia... He said, `I am a German soldier´."

Erwin Rommel: A Mythical Figure - A Special Exhibition at the Haus der Geschichte     artdaily.com :: 2008-12-18
A universally familiar figure, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, probably the best-known German soldier of World War II, is easily identifiable by his leather coat, dust goggles and Knight's Cross. His reputation is legendary: not just German, but also American and British veterans of the North African battlefields idolize him to this day. Rommel, the "Desert Fox", continues to be the patron of many German Army barracks and a cult figure of war movies. With its "Rommel - A Mythical Figure" exhibition, the Haus der Geschichte (History Museum of) Baden-Württemberg presents the first major event ever on Erwin Rommel: numerous Rommel family items, photos, and films.

Charley Fox, Spitfire pilot who who wounded Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, dies     canada.com :: 2008-10-21
The Canadian Spitfire pilot often credited with wounding the Nazi Germany's most hyped commander, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, in a strafing attack in the weeks after D-Day, has died at 88. It took years before Fox was cited for the attack on Rommel - because there were claims by the Americans that they did it, plus a South African pilot is thought to have executed the attack. "As soon as we got airborne ... we started heading toward Caen... looking for targets of opportunity - anything that was moving. It was the other side of Caen, and I saw this staff car coming along between a line of trees on a main road..." Fox recalled.

[Fiction] Killing Rommel by Steven Pressfield     kirkusreviews :: 2008-02-12 :: Fiction and What-If Alternate History books
Based on real-life events, "Killing Rommel" concerns the daring British and Commonwealth soldiers who faced German General Erwin Rommel's desert forces, which in 1942 dominated Northern Africa west of Egypt. The story is narrated by R. Lawrence "Chap" Chapman, a minor player in the dramatic African action of World War II. As a very young British officer, he was tasked to the Long Range Desert Group (LDRG), a glamorous posting in an outfit prizing resourcefulness and improvisation, qualities necessary to surviving LDRG's extreme dangerous assignments. The story is so rich in details that it is hard to read without maps at the elbow.

Heil Rommel: New documentary taints image of Desert Fox Rommel     spiegel :: 2007-05-24 :: Desert Fox Erwin Rommel
The legend of military genius Erwin Rommel, the German Field Marshal lives on. If Erwin Rommel, lauded as a master military tactician even by his enemies, had managed to fight his way through North Africa, he would have sealed the fate of thousands who had fled from the Nazi terror. A new documentary on Germany's ZDF tv channel seeks to correct Rommel's image as a gentleman warrior whose campaigns in North Africa weren't connected with the murderous wars Nazi Germany unleashed in Europe. Adolf Hitler was celebrated in large parts of the Arab world, and some likened him to the Prophet. The Desert Fox was almost as popular: "Heil Rommel" was a common greeting.

Pilot Charley Fox recalls how he wounded the Desert Fox     chathamthisweek :: 2006-04-26
This is the story of how a quiet, unassuming Canadian air force pilot named Charley Fox wounded Germany’s greatest field marshal, the Desert Fox. Fox, who flew over Normandy three times during D-Day, told his story. The Guelph native, who is 86, was “looking for targets” on July 17, 1944 in Normandy, when he spotted a car carrying Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and a number of his aides. Fox described how he fired from his Spitfire and struck the car carrying one of Nazi Germany’s top military men.

Rommel: The End Of A Legend by Ralf Georg Reuth     --- :: 2006-02-19
The legend of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox, is threefold: he was a simple soldier who did his duty and knew nothing of Nazism; he was a commander of superlative talent in North Africa in 1941-2; he was a leader of resistance to Hitler who gave his life after the failure of the July 1944 plot. Reuth shows that all of these assumptions are false. Rommel was a officer whose ambitions were in perfect harmony with the aims of the Nazis. He colluded in the marketing of his persona by Goebbels, whose newsreels built him up like a movie star. He was mindlessly loyal to the Reich and Führer.

Rommel's journal entries from 1940 Blitzkrieg     eyewitnesstohistory :: 2005-04-10 :: Nazi Blitzkrieg
General Erwin Rommel led the 7th Panzer Division as it crashed through the Belgian defenses into France, skirting the Maginot Line and then smashing it from behind. This was a new kind of warfare integrating tanks, air power, artillery, and motorized infantry into a steel juggernaut emphasizing speedy movement and maximization of battlefield opportunities. Rommel kept a journal of his experiences. In this excerpt, he describes the action on May 14 as he leads a tank attack against French forces near the Muese River on the Belgian border: "Rothenburg now drove off through a hollow to the left with the five tanks which were to accompany the infantry..."

Rommel's defeat - His son Manfred Rommel recounts D-Day     bbc :: 2004-06-01 :: Desert Fox Erwin Rommel
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was Hitler's man in charge of repelling the Allied invasion on D-Day. Here his son Manfred Rommel recounts how the landings caused divisions in the German command, and led to the downfall of both the German forces and his father. On 6 June I was at our home, because my father was coming to spend the night on his way to visit Hitler at Berchtesgaden, and it was my mother's 50th birthday. But at 0800 he received a call from his chief of staff announcing that the landing had begun. He took his car and traveled back to his headquarters in France - it was too dangerous for him to fly as the Allies had huge air superiority.

The Forced Suicide of Field Marshall Rommel, 1944     eyewitnesstohistory :: 2004-04-10
For a time, Erwin Rommel was Hitler's favorite general. Gaining prominence in 1940 as a commander of a panzer division that smashed the French defenses, Rommel went on to command the Afrika Korps where his ability to inspire his troops and make the best of limited resources, prompted Hitler to elevate him to the rank of Field Marshall. In 1943, Hitler placed Rommel in command of fortifying the "Atlantic Wall" along the coast of France - defenses intended to repel the inevitable invasion of Europe by the Allies. By the beginning of 1943, Rommel's faith in Germany's ability to win the war was crumbling, as was his estimation of Hitler.

Stopping Rommel's Panzer divisions - Brigadier Sir Rainald Lewthwaite     telegraph.co.uk :: 2003-06-17
Brigadier Sir Rainald Lewthwaite had a distinguished career with the Scots Guards. At the start of March 1943, the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards formed part of a slender line of troops which had been hurried forward to face a counter-attack by Rommel's Panzer divisions at Medenine. The battalion position extended for 2,000 yards with the ground rising for about 300 yards in front. There had been no time to lay a minefield. The aim of Rommel's Panzer divisions was the high ground behind the battalion position, dominating the Medenine plain. If they took it, the 8th Army's position would be indefensible; if they failed, the days of the Afrika Corps might be numbered.

Operation Flipper - Killing or capturing Rommel     combinedops :: 2003-04-10
Operation Flipper - The story of the raid on Rommel's headquarters in the Libyan desert. The small raiding party achieved total surprise but due to poor intelligence there never was a chance of killing or capturing the General - he was in Rome at the time and in any event had never stayed in the property. A small party left Alexandria on the evening of the 10th of November 1941 in the submarines Torbay and Talisman. On board the former were Lt. Col. Geoffrey Keyes, two officers and 22 men and on the latter were Laycock, two officers and 24 men.

Erwin Rommel letters reveal secret second family - And a daughter: Gertrud Pan     freerepublic :: 2001-07-11
Erwin Rommel, the German tank commander known as the Desert Fox, had a secret child by a teenage girlfriend. The girl's mother committed suicide when Rommel later married another woman. Until now the field marshal has been seen as an upright soldier with a conventional life, happily married to his wife Lucie with a son, Manfred. The existence of his second family has emerged in a collection of 150 letters and photos, kept for decades by his illegitimate daughter Gertrud Pan. "There were hints from some fellow officers and an army nurse, and I put it to the museum curator in Rommel's home town, who confirmed the family's existence," said Sallyann Kleibel.

The Real Rommel - Bio of Panzer commander "Desert Fox"     channel4 :: 2001-04-10
Erwin Rommel, the "Desert Fox", was a German war hero whose exploits during the WWII are the stuff of legend. He appears to have been the archetypal "good German", an apolitical soldier and cunning military genius. But he had a secret love affair that almost ruined his career – and he was more political than his fans would like to believe. In 1937, Rommel published The Infantry Attacks, a book based on his war experiences. It appealed to Hitler, and Rommel was put in charge of his bodyguard. In February 1941, after the successful campaign against France, Rommel was sent to northern Africa, and led the Afrika Korps.

See also:
'WW2 Tanks'
'Panzers, Crews & Armored Units'
'Most decorated soldiers: WWII medals, Iron Cross'
'Werhmacht'
'German Generals'.

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