Erwin Rommel: The ‘Desert Fox’ who defied Hitler
Erwin Rommel remains one of World War II's most admired commanders – even by his enemies. Here's why the 'Desert Fox' earned such an enduring reputation.
Image: Erwin Rommel in 1917 | Public Domain
Over the course of World War II, many Axis commanders struck fear in the hearts of the Allied powers. However, to express admiration for them would have been considered heresy – except when it came to one man, the German field marshal Erwin Rommel.
Rommel was an almost constant thorn in the side of the Allies. He was active across several of the war’s most pivotal theatres, from France to North Africa. He was even one of Adolf Hitler’s favourite generals. So, how did Rommel earn respect even from his enemies?
Much of Rommel’s prestigious image can be attributed to his stubborn resilience and tactical brilliance in North Africa. That campaign is among those explored in Sky HISTORY's World War II with Tom Hanks – and it is what made Rommel something of a rock star among Second World War commanders.
Erwin Rommel’s early life
Rommel was born on 15th November 1891 in the southern German settlement of Heidenheim an der Brenz. The young Rommel had a keen interest in engineering, but his father pushed him to join the military.
So, that’s what he did in 1910, becoming an officer cadet for the 124th Württemberg Infantry Regiment. By 1912, he was a lieutenant. World War I, which broke out in 1914, gave Rommel the ideal opportunity to show what would become hallmarks of his fighting style.
These included skilfully combining rapid advances with clever stealth to take the enemy by surprise. This strategy worked especially well against the Italians, who were duped into perceiving Rommel’s forces as much larger than they actually were. Such efforts led him to be awarded the Pour le Mérite before the war was out.
Rommel forms a strong bond with Hitler
During the interwar period, Rommel stayed in the German army despite the Treaty of Versailles limiting its size to 100,000 men. Rommel often crossed paths with Adolf Hitler. After the latter became German chancellor in 1933, the two men became firm friends, with Rommel later handed command of Hitler’s escort battalion.
In 1939, Rommel became a major general and guarded Hitler’s field headquarters during Germany’s invasion of Poland, which kickstarted World War II. The following year, Hitler gave Rommel command of the 7th Panzer Division for the German invasion of France. In this campaign, Rommel broke from military command orthodoxy by leading his men from the front.
This would become yet another trademark of his military philosophy, as would his (occasionally reckless) tendency to take the initiative on the field. Often, this would mean defying official orders from men who were technically his superiors. This had the benefit of flummoxing his British adversaries listening in on these orders decrypted at Bletchley Park.
Erwin Rommel’s rising star as the ‘Desert Fox’
In February 1941, Erwin Rommel was made commander of Germany’s ‘Afrika Korps’ and tasked with supporting Italian troops against British forces in North Africa. Rommel took a much more offensive role there than German authorities had originally intended, pushing the British back significantly in his initial campaign and later capturing Tobruk in June 1942.
Rommel’s prowess on the sandy battlefields of North Africa led the Allies and Axis alike to dub him the ‘Desert Fox’. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, doubtless happy to find a convenient excuse for British struggles in North Africa, called Rommel a ‘great general’. Rommel, who was not without vanity, embraced the attention – and Hitler promoted him to field marshal.
Erwin Rommel’s tragic decline
Rommel’s winning streak in North Africa slowed to a stalemate at the First Battle of El Alamein in July 1942. Now in charge of the German-Italian ‘Panzer Army Africa’, Rommel was defeated outright at the Second Battle of El Alamein in November 1942. This coincided with the start of Operation Torch, where US forces landed on the continent to assist the British.
With these tough campaigns having taken their toll on Rommel’s health, he returned to Germany in the spring of 1943. Rommel was later sent to France to strengthen the ‘Atlantic Wall’, a string of fortifications supposedly intended to foil any Allied attempt at invasion. In the event, he arrived too late to prevent D-Day.
Rommel grew convinced that Germany could no longer win the war, but Hitler would not hear of it. After the Führer narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on 20th July 1944, Rommel was alleged to have known about the conspiracy, though the precise extent of his involvement remains debated. Nazi authorities coerced Rommel into committing suicide on 14th October 1944, but claimed publicly that he had died of complications resulting from war injury.
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