Book Report On The Desert Fox General

Book Report On The Desert Fox (General Rommel) Essay, Research Paper

The Desert Fox

General Erwin Rommel, The Desert Fox, Field Marshall, Hero, Traitor, Enemy, Father, Husband, Instructor. Though he held many titles in his life and was thought of in many different lights, he was and shall be remembered as, a true soldier, a man who men followed fearlessly and enemies dreaded facing. A soldier who remembered and adhered to the chivalrous side of war. A man who was committed to Germany and her people to the end. During peacetime or war, he was always a soldier, the type who had a single-track mind. His death may have been one of the greatest tragedies of the final months of Hitler’s desperate attempt to remain in control.

The rise of Rommel to a Field-Marshall from a family of schoolmasters was an uncommon occurrence in a country where the military had a strong history of tradition and the Prussian Officer Class. He began his education in a somewhat slow fashion, uninterested in schoolwork and not exhibiting the intellectual talent of his father and grandfather, both of whom excelled in mathematics and were highly regarded in German society. It was not until his teens did he seem to “wake up” and begin showing some of the intelligence in his family background. He intended to become an engineer and work at the Zeppelin works with his good friend, Keitel(no relation to the Field-Marshall that would become one of his most bitter enemies). His father refused permission and at this time he decided to join the army.

On July 19, 1910, Erwin Rommel joined the 124th Infantry Regiment as an officer cadet, was a sergeant by the end of December, and was posted to the Kriegsschule or War Academy by March of 1911. It was here that he met Lucie Maria Mollin, the woman who would eventually become his wife. Rommel spent the next three years moving through the ranks, finishing the Kriegsschule, spending time with a Field Artillery regiment in Ulm, and ultimately returning to his unit in March 1914 at which time they were sent to fight in WWI. It was here that Rommel first showed his ability to move boldly and take the element of surprise and exploit it to its highest. He also showed his unwillingness to succumb to fatigue, illness, or injury. It was because of these factors that he was rewarded with the Iron Cross, Class I and was posted as Oberleutnant ( 1st Lieutenant) and then to the Wurttembergische Gebirgsbataillion. During leave on November 27, 1915, Rommel slipped off to Danzig and married Lucie Maria Mollin.

It was in this first war that Rommel’s Fingerspitzengefuhl, a sort of sixth sense, first appeared. It was reported later many times and by almost all who served with him. He seemed to have an uncanny sense of approaching danger and an ability to extricate himself and his soldiers from it before it befell them. Here he also showed his ability with his men that allowed them to trust him so completely and follow him wherever he asked them to go. It was stated many times by many people that he was a soldiers general, a man who knew how to talk to and deal with his troops. He was always fair with them and never asked them to do more than he would do. It came as a great shock to Rommel as well as almost all other German officers when the war was abruptly halted and the Germans surrendered.

Between the two wars Rommel went back to a basically normal middle class life. He first took a position training unruly and defiant “red ” naval ratings into soldiers, which he did in such a speedy and complete fashion that some were drafted into the police force and the rest chose to stay with Rommel. He then returned to his old 124th, now 13th Infantry Regiment due to reduction and stayed with them for the next nine years. His only son, Manfred, was born on Christmas Eve in 1928, and he was posted as an instructor to the Infantry School at Dresden on October 1st, 1929, and remained there for exactly four years. It was here that he wrote Infanterie Greift An (Infantry Attacks), a book of excellent military infantry tactics that caught the eye of Hitler himself. Now a major, he was given command of the 3rd Battalion of Infantry Regiment 17 following his position at Dresden. As Hitler was coming to power, Rommel was introduced sporadically to members of Hitler’s staff as well as Hitler himself. His first impression of Himmler was of dis-like, but he at first trusted and liked both Dr. Goebbels and Hitler. He was often used as one of Hitler’s guards during the beginning stages of the war but was not privy to Hitler’s tantrums and tirades so he held on to his first impression of Hitler for quite some time. But Rommel longed for a fighting command and was eventually close enough to Hitler to request one. Hitler accepted it and Rommel was sent to France. The events of the 7th Panzer Division, the “Ghost Division”, were recorded in exact detail by Captain Aldinger, Rommel’s Ordonnanzoffizier. Here Rommel again showed his ability to take an initial success and squeeze out of it all that he could. His “Ghost Division” fought there way through France with a speed and ability that amazed all. During this time, Rommel often went out to look at things for himself and in so doing nearly got himself killed on many occasions. By early June they had reached the coast of France and by June 19th French naval and military officers had surrendered. In their march through France, Rommel’s m