Erwin Rommel (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), known as The Desert Fox was a military officer who had served in the Imperial German Army, the Reichswehr and the German Army of the 1935–1945 period. While his record in World War I was also notable and has recently gained new attention, he is particularly known for his actions in World War II, especially for his role in the campaign in Africa. David Mitchelhill-Green writes that Rommel was "a legend — on both sides — during his own lifetime. Today he remains the most well-known German general of the Second World War." The book West Point History of World War II notes that "Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was the most famous and well-regarded German general during World War II [...]." Kaushik Roy opines that initially, historians hyped up Rommel and the German army, but today, new criticisms have arisen, creating a many-sided picture. Roy writes that the pendulum should not be swung too far, stressing that Rommel was not an ordinary general and he was able to run rings around the Allied forces for two years despite having never enjoyed material superiority in Africa, but gradually the combat effectiveness of the Allies was raised through material superiority as well as innovative doctrines and tactics.
World War II
Poland 1939
Rommel was promoted to Generalmajor on 23 August 1939 and assigned as commander of the Führerbegleitbatallion, tasked with guarding Hitler and his field headquarters during the invasion of Poland, which began on 1 September. According to Remy, Rommel's private letters at this time show that he did not understand Hitler's true nature and intentions, as he quickly went from predicting a swift peaceful settlement of tensions to approving Hitler's reaction ("bombs will be retaliated with bombs") to the Gleiwitz incident (a false flag operation staged by Hitler and used as a pretext for the invasion). Hitler took a personal interest in the campaign, often moving close to the front in the Führersonderzug (headquarters train).
France 1940 Promotion to armoured division commander
Rommel, seeking a panzer command after the invasion of Poland, pressed for leadership of one of Germany's ten panzer divisions, drawing on his World War I record of using surprise and manoeuvre—tactics well suited to armored units. Although initially rejected by the army personnel office, which offered him a mountain division instead, he ultimately secured the post with backing from Hitler, Wilhelm List, and likely Heinz Guderian. The 7th Panzer Division, recently reorganized with 218 tanks and supporting infantry, motorcycle, engineer, and anti-tank units, began intensive maneuver training under Rommel after he assumed command on 10 February 1940.
Invasion of the Netherlands, Belgium and France
The invasion began on 10 May 1940. By the third day Rommel and the advance elements of his division, together with a detachment of the 5th Panzer Division, had reached the Meuse, where they found the bridges had already been destroyed (Guderian and Georg-Hans Reinhardt reached the river on the same day). Rommel was active in the forward areas, directing the efforts to make a crossing, which were initially unsuccessful because of suppressive fire by the French on the other side of the river. Rommel brought up tanks and flak units to provide counter-fire and had nearby houses set on fire to create a smokescreen. He sent infantry across in rubber boats, appropriated the bridging tackle of the 5th Panzer Division, personally grabbed a light machine gun to fight off a French counterattack supported by tanks, and went into the water himself, encouraging the sappers and helping lash together the pontoons. By 16 May Rommel reached Avesnes, and contravening orders, he pressed on to Cateau. That night, the French II Army Corps was shattered and on 17 May, Rommel's forces took 10,000 prisoners, losing 36 men in the process. He was surprised to find out only his vanguard had followed his tempestuous surge. The High Command and Hitler had been extremely nervous about his disappearance, although they awarded him the Knight's Cross. Rommel's (and Guderian's) successes and the new possibilities offered by the new tank arm were welcomed by a small number of generals, but worried and paralysed the rest.
On 20 May, Rommel reached Arras. General Hermann Hoth received orders that the town should be bypassed and its British garrison thus isolated. He ordered the 5th Panzer Division to move to the west and the 7th Panzer Division to the east, flanked by the SS Division Totenkopf. The following day, the British launched a counterattack in the Battle of Arras. It failed and the British withdrew.
On 24 May, Generaloberst (Colonel General) Gerd von Rundstedt and Generaloberst Günther von Kluge issued a halt order, which Hitler approved. The reason for this decision is still a matter of debate. The halt order was lifted on 26 May. 7th Panzer continued its advance, reaching Lille on 27 May. The Siege of Lille continued until 31 May, when the French garrison of 40,000 men surrendered. Rommel was summoned to Berlin to meet with Hitler. He was the only divisional commander present at the planning session for Fall Rot (Case Red), the second phase of the invasion of France. By this time the Dunkirk evacuation was complete; over 338,000 Allied troops had been evacuated across the Channel, though they had to leave behind all their heavy equipment and vehicles.
Drive for the Channel
Rommel, resuming his advance on 5 June, drove for the River Seine to secure the bridges near Rouen. Advancing in two days, the division reached Rouen to find it defended by three French tanks which managed to destroy a number of German tanks before being taken out. The German force, enraged by this resistance, forbade fire brigades access to the burning district of the old Norman capital, and as a result, most of the historic quarter was reduced to ashes."Three German Invasions of France: The Summers Campaigns of 1830, 1914, 1940" Douglas Fermer p. 210, Pen & Sword 2013 According to David Fraser, Rommel instructed the German artillery to bombard the city as a "fire demonstration".Knight's Cross: A Life of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel by David Fraser, 1993, p. 198, David Fraser. "Rommel planned to send a force to a crossroads a few miles east of Rouen from which a powerful fire demonstration could be opened towards Rouen itself". According to one witness report, the smoke from burning Rouen was intense enough that it reached Paris.Half Past when: An American with the Fighting French, Hassoldt Davis, p. 40, J. B. Lippincott Company, 1944 "On the tenth and eleventh of June the docks of Rouen were burned and an enormous cloud of black smoke settled over Paris. Rumour had it that the smoke was to hide the movements of the evacuees and to blind the German advance, but in our hearts we knew the truth, simply and terribly that Rouen was burning." Daniel Allen Butler states that the bridges to the city were already destroyed. After the fall of the city, both black civilians and colonial troops were summarily executed on 9 June by unknown German units.Les Tirailleurs sénégalais; Les soldats noirs entre légendes et réalités 1939–1945 by Julien Fargetta, Tallandier 2012 Lyon ne constitue pas un cas unique puisque, à l'issue de la chute de Rouen, le 9 juin 1940, des exécutions de civils de couleur sont mentionnées, "Lyon is not a unique case since, after the fall of Rouen, on June 9, 1940, executions of colored civilians are mentioned".Rouen sous l'occupation: 1940–1944, Patrick Coiffier, p. 6, Bertout, 2004 Tous les hommes de couleur sont regroupés [...] Ils seront tous conduits sur les hauteurs, dans une propriété située au n° 11 rue de Bihorel où ils seront massacrés à la mitrailleuse. "All the men of color are grouped together [...] They will all be taken to the heights, to a property located at 11 rue de Bihorel where they will be massacred with a machine gun."Paroles de résistance – p. 75, Jean Pierre Brulé, ditions de la Veytizou, 2003 A Rouen, dès le 9 juin 1940, les premiers détachements Allemands entrés dans la ville s'emparèrent de civils d'origine africaine et, dans le parc d'une propriété où ils avaient installé un PC, 11 rue de Bihorel, ils les abattirent à la... "In Rouen, from June 9, 1940, the first German detachments to enter the city seized civilians of African origin and, in the park of a property [...], 11 rue de Bihorel, they shot them down". The number of black civilians and prisoners killed is estimated at 100.Histoire de la Normandie et questions diverses, Volume 2 Comité des Travaux Historiques et Scientifiques 1984, p. 373 Les exécutions de prisonniers, comme celle d'une centaine de nord – africains, rue Bihorel à Rouen, et "The executions of prisoners, like that of a hundred North Africans, rue Bihorel in Rouen" According to Butler and Showalter, Rouen fell to the 5th Panzer Division, while Rommel advanced from the Seine towards the Channel. On 10 June, Rommel reached the coast near Dieppe, sending Hoth the message "Bin an der Küste" ("Am on the coast"). On 17 June, 7th Panzer was ordered to advance on Cherbourg, where additional British evacuations were under way. The division advanced in 24 hours, and after two days of shelling, the French garrison surrendered on 19 June. The speed and surprise that it was consistently able to achieve, to the point at which both the enemy and the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH; German "High Command of the Army") at times lost track of its whereabouts, earned the 7th Panzers the nickname Gespensterdivision ("ghost division").
After the armistice with the French was signed on 22 June, the division was placed in reserve, being sent first to the Somme and then to Bordeaux to re-equip and prepare for Unternehmen Seelöwe (Operation Sea Lion), the planned invasion of Britain. This invasion was later cancelled, as Germany was not able to acquire the air superiority needed for a successful outcome, while the Kriegsmarine was massively outnumbered by the Royal Navy.
North Africa 1941–1943
On 6 February 1941, Rommel was appointed commander of the new Afrika Korps (Deutsches Afrika Korps; DAK), consisting of the 5th Light Division (later renamed 21st Panzer Division) and of the 15th Panzer Division. He was promoted to Generalleutnant three days later and flew to Tripoli on 12 February. The DAK had been sent to Libya in Operation Sonnenblume to support Italian troops who had been roundly defeated by British Commonwealth forces in Operation Compass. His efforts in the Western Desert Campaign earned Rommel the nickname the "Desert Fox" from journalists on both sides of the war. Allied troops in Africa were commanded by General Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief, Middle East Command.
First Axis offensive Rommel and his troops were technically subordinate to Italian commander-in-chief General Italo Gariboldi. Disagreeing with the orders of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW, German armed forces high command) to assume a defensive posture along the front line at Sirte, Rommel resorted to subterfuge and insubordination to take the war to the British. According to Remy, the General Staff tried to slow him down but Hitler encouraged him to advance—an expression of the conflict that had existed between Hitler and the army leadership since the invasion of Poland. He decided to launch a limited offensive on 24 March with the 5th Light Division, supported by two Italian divisions. This thrust was not anticipated by the British, who had Ultra intelligence showing that Rommel had orders to remain on the defensive until at least May when the 15th Panzer Division were due to arrive.