Erwin Rommel: The Desert Fox
Posted on 3rd July 2021
By January 1942, the war in the Western Desert was not going well for the Allies, so much so that the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill chastened by failure felt compelled to address the House of Commons thus:
We have a very skilful and daring opponent against us, and may I say across the havoc of war, a very great General – what else matters than beating him?
It is unusual for an enemy to be praised in the midst of a conflict but then Erwin Rommel was that rarity in war, a hero to both sides – but why?
As a soldier of audacity and daring he would fight as he put it a ‘war without hate’ who in a conflict of unparalleled brutality toward combatant and civilian alike victory on the battlefield remained his one and only priority.
Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel was born in the town of Heidenheim in southern Germany on 15 November 1891, the son of a schoolteacher who though he had served in the army, compulsory at the time, was not a military man; but in a Germany, which had only existed as a unified nation since 1871 and remained very much an extension of Prussia, a place that Voltaire had described as an army with a state, the military enjoyed an elevated status and so becoming a soldier was considered a good career move.
In 1909, aged 18, he enlisted in the 124th Infantry Regiment soon after enrolling For Officer Cadet Training School in Danzig. Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in January 1912, the young Rommel was excited to be a soldier and like many others greeted the declaration of war in August 1914 with enthusiasm. Here was the opportunity to put what he had learned into action, and of course it would all be over by Christmas.
The early months of the war on the Western Front was one of mobility and manoeuvre where the opportunity to display initiative remained and Rommel, a Platoon Commander, took full advantage undertaking a series of daring flanking attacks which penetrating far beyond the enemy front-line brought him considerable success. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and awarded the Iron Cross Second Class for his belligerence and courage in seeking out and attacking the enemy, something that would soon become his standard modus operandi often bewildering both enemy and ally alike.
In September 1914, the German plan to bring France quickly to heel was thwarted on the River Marne and the Western Front quickly descended into stagnant trench warfare and Rommel, much to his relief, was transferred East where joining the Alpenkorps he continued to impress his superiors in the campaign against Rumania but it was to be in Italy on the Isonzo Front that he was to make his name.
On 24 October 1917, a combined German/Austro-Hungarian Force launched a massive assault on the Italian 2nd Army in and around the small town of Caporetto. The Italians who had been relentlessly attacking the Austro-Hungarian positions on the River Isonzo for more than two years were taken completely by surprise, and though the flanks of their army held firm against the Austrians the centre of the line where the Germans spearheaded the attack simply collapsed.
Utilising recently developed infiltration tactics that saw specially trained Storm-trooper Units armed with grenades and flame throwers advance ahead of the main army the confusion they sowed was absolute and huge gaps in the line soon appeared as Italian resistance melted away.
Even without these new tactics the mere sight of Germans on the horizon was often enough to cause the Italians to panic, desert their posts and surrender in droves. This was warfare to Rommel’s liking and as the Italian centre crumbled, he took full advantage. In a little over two days of fighting near Mount Matajur his company of just 150 men captured more than 9,000 Italians and 81 guns for the loss of just 6 men killed and 30 wounded; again, when he assaulted the town of Langarone he took a further 10,000 Italians prisoners with barely a shot being fired. But such was the speed of the German advance (15 miles on the first day alone) they soon outstripped their lines of supply and communication and were further hampered by the vast amounts of materiel and prisoners taken, more 275,000 men in just a few weeks.
Reinforced by 11 French and British Divisions hastily despatched from the Western Front some 120,000 men in total, the Italians after a long and humiliating retreat finally regrouped and established a new line on the River Piave, a mere 15 miles north of Venice.
The assault at Caporetto would eventually peter out but regardless of its failure to knock Italy out of the war, Rommel, an ambitious career soldier was delighted with his personal contribution as also were his superiors who awarded him the Pour le Merite for his actions at Matajur. He was also promoted to Captain and transferred to the General Staff.
But his experiences at Caporetto left him with a life-long disdain for Italian soldiery, their willingness to surrender without a fight and then unashamedly fraternise with their captors left him bewildered, even embarrassed. In the Desert War to come his barely disguised contempt for the Italians who were now his ally would have serious consequences as he became over-reliant on the scant manpower and resources of the Afrika Korps.
Rommel, who had earlier married 17-year-old Lucia Maria Mollin while on leave in Danzig despite having already fathered a child by another woman, remained in the much reduced German Army at the end of the war. Here he shared with many of his fellow Officers his bemusement that a conflict in which he had experienced only victory had ended in such abject defeat since when the Germany he loved had been plunged into chaos and revolution.
By October 1920, he was in Stuttgart where as a Company Commander he helped quell civil unrest acting with moderation where others had been brutal. It was not work to his liking, he had never been interested in politics and where some relished the opportunity to crush the ‘Reds’ he baulked somewhat at inflicting violence on his fellow countrymen.
Promoted to Major, in 1929 he was appointed an instructor at the Military Academy in Dresden where with more time on his hands he wrote ‘Infantry Tactics’, am account of his experiences in the Great War and of the lessons learned with his strong advocacy of the offensive, of infiltration, of rapid deployment and swift and decisive action bringing him to the attention of another former soldier Adolf Hitler who possessed his own much-thumbed copy.
The admiration was mutual, and Rommel was to display an almost child-like devotion to the person of the Fuhrer often writing in the most glowing terms to his wife Lucie of the man who had been sent by Providence to rescue Germany from the abyss: "He (Hitler) has been called by God to lead the German people up to the sun. He radiates a magnetic, hypnotic power."
When in January 1933, Hitler became Chancellor he wrote: “What a stroke of luck for Germany.” And in November 1938, following a failed assassination attempt: "It has only strengthened his will. It is a joy to see. The idea that it could have succeeded doesn’t bare thinking about."
Promoted to Colonel, Rommel was serving as Head of the Military Academy at Wiener when in October 1938, at Hitler’s personal request he was appointed to command the Fuhrer’s Escort Battalion.
To be charged with the protection of the Fuhrer, the man who had re-occupied the Rhineland, achieved Anschluss with Austria, annexed the Sudentenland and had not just expanded Germany’s borders but restored her pride, achievements some said surpassed even those of Bismarck, was a very great honour indeed – now he was able to observe the great man at close quarters.
BBut being responsible for the personal safety of the Fuhrer was to prove an impediment to ambition when in September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Deeply frustrated by his inability to participate in the campaign he was determined not to miss out on the looming conflict in the West and he used his relationship with Hitler to lobby hard for the command of a Panzer Division.
He had no experience of armoured warfare and had never commanded beyond Battalion level and many of his colleagues were angered by his manipulation of the Fuhrer to secure a command over those who were better qualified to do so, particularly when he declined the opportunity to lead an Infantry Division.
His loyalty to the Fuhrer was to be rewarded however, and in February 1940 he was given command of the 7th Armoured Division.
The now General Erwin Rommel, whose last task had been to organise the victory parade through the streets of Warsaw now had command of an army, and a formidable army it was: 218 tanks, 2 Regiments of Infantry, a Motorcycle Battalion, a Battalion of Engineers and an anti-Tank Regiment. But could he lead it effectively?
On 10 May 1940, the German Army invaded the Low Countries but as the French Army and the British Expeditionary Force advanced into Belgium to meet the perceived threat the main thrust of the German attack, circumventing the Maginot Line defences, came through the heavily forested Ardennes Region of Eastern France.
Believing the Ardennes to be impassable to mechanised transport the French had subordinated it to a secondary front and left it weakly defended and so meeting little resistance the Armoured Divisions under the overall command of General Heinz Guderian made rapid progress and in the vanguard of the attack was Erwin Rommel and 7th Panzer.
Racing ahead at such breakneck speed that they were soon across the River Meuse and advancing on Sedan it was often difficult for his superiors to determine exactly where Rommel was and the 7th Panzer soon earned the nickname the Ghost Division – it was not necessarily a compliment.
Meeting little resistance on 17 May he took 10,000 prisoners for the loss of just 36 men – it was Caporetto all over again.
But Rommel worried his superiors as much as he impressed his subordinates. They believed his determination to maintain the momentum and not wait for infantry support left him vulnerable and that without proper reconnaissance he could be heading into a trap. Indeed, his haste could have contributed to Hitler’s notorious Halt Order of 24th May that provided the invaluable breathing space the British needed to evacuate its Expeditionary Force from the beaches of Dunkirk. He wasn’t permitted to resume his advance until 5 June and the implementation of Case Red, the second phase of the conquest of France.
Although resistance on the ground stiffened any fears of greater resolve among the French High Command were soon dispelled as the Panzers continued much as before cutting a swathe through the French countryside and often advancing as much as 50 miles a day.
By 10 June, 7th Panzer had reached the coast at Dieppe from where Rommel was ordered to advance of Cherbourg which surrendered just three days before the Armistice was signed on 22 June.
Yet again Rommel had enjoyed a good war and Hitler’s favourite General had proved himself worthy of the faith placed in him but not without criticism – it was said he was impatient, often more reckless than daring, did not always see the bigger picture and displayed an ad hoc attitude to orders.
Some also considered his evident self-confidence to be little more than arrogance on his part and often ill-founded. Indeed, there would always be an element of mistrust even among those who were his admirers. But his cavalier spirit would prove propaganda gold.
On 10 June 1940 to the cheers of the thousands of his black shirted supporters gathered in the Square below Benito Mussolini, II Duce, declared war on Britain and France from the balcony of the Palazzo Venezia in Rome.
Italy had so far remained neutral in the conflict but believing German victory imminent he declared that he only needed a thousand Italian dead to be able to sit at the conference table and reap the spoils of war. He told them: "People of Italy! To arms, show your spirit, your courage, your valour!"
With much of central and western Europe already under German occupation Mussolini now eyed conquests of his own, namely the expansion of Italy’s Mediterranean and North African Empire.
Following the capitulation of France and with Britain apparently destined to do the same Mussolini hastily reinforced the Italian garrisons in Libya and Abyssinia in preparation for a two-pronged assault on British controlled Egypt.
The Italian Army in Abyssinia would soon become bogged down in an East African campaign that would result in its defeat and eventual surrender in April 1941, but regardless of events elsewhere the invasion of Egypt would go ahead. On 9 September, 250,000 Italian troops in three great columns set off across Cyrenaica for Egypt making rapid progress as the 36,000 men of the British Western Desert Force confronting them had little choice but to beat a hasty retreat.
Despite his huge numerical superiority the Italian Commander General Rodolfo Graziani, an ardent fascist who had earned the name ‘Butcher’ for his brutal suppression of rebellion in Libya doubted that his ill-equipped, half-trained, poorly motivated army could succeed and had already delayed the advance a number of weeks Yet unopposed in just four days they reached Sidi Barrani, 60 miles inside Egypt but still some 400 miles short of Cairo.
Here with his line of communications stretched and vulnerable to attack from the air he called a halt and ordered the building of numerous fortified camps where he waited allowing the British time to regroup and re-think their strategy. In November 1940, under the command of General Richard O’Connor they counter-attacked.
The Italian camps had been built too far apart to offer each other any support and in the desert terrain it was easy for the British armour to go around and attack them from the rear. This they did with startling success as what had been intended as little more than a reconnaissance in force with limited objectives turned into a full-scale offensive as out- manoeuvred and overrun the fortifications fell one-by-one with great rapidity and often little resistance in what resembled mopping up operations rather than pitched battles.
By February 1941, with the Italians in full retreat the British had re- taken Sidi Barrani, Tobruk, Beda Fomme, Benghazi, and were advancing on Tripoli.
The Italian Tenth Army had been smashed in just three months of fighting with 5,700 troops killed and 133,298 taken prisoner along with 420 tanks and 845 guns.
At the cost of fewer than 2,000 casualties it seemed as if O’Connor was on the verge of chasing the Italians from North Africa altogether but Prime Minister Winston Churchill believing the war in the desert as good was won called off the offensive withdrawing troops and mechanised units for his planned campaign in Greece – a great triumph had become an opportunity lost.
Mussolini’s dream of Mare Nostrum, a great Italian Empire dominating the Mediterranean and a military victory to compare with any of his ally Adolf Hitler’s had been shattered and as he hastily reinforced what remained of the Tenth Army he pleaded with the Fuhrer to come to his support. Hitler, unwilling to see his ally humiliated did indeed ride to his rescue and who was better equipped to fight a desert campaign than the master of mobile warfare, his favourite General, Erwin Rommel.
RRommel arrived in Tripoli on 12 February 1941, to take charge of the recently formed Panzer Armee Afrika, or Afrika Korps. He had not been the choice of the German High Command but Hitler’s alone, yet even with the Fuhrer’s endorsement it was intended that his freedom of action should be restricted and so he was made subordinate to Italian command, a decision which also went some way to restoring II Duce’s wounded pride. But this would prove less of an impediment than first thought in large part because he simply chose to ignore it.
Rommel’s Afrika Korps was by no means a large army, just two Divisions, some 45,000 men and 120 tanks, but then it was only intended that they should shore up the Italian Tenth Army and remain on the defensive.
There was little prospect of Rommel doing either and impatient as ever he was already planning for the campaign ahead ordering his tanks even as they were being unloaded onto the dockside to drive repeatedly around the block to deceive the prying eyes of British spies whilst instructing his Chief Engineer to build dozens of fake canvass tanks to fool aerial reconnaissance.
His Afrika Korps were already taking up position in the front-line even before their equipment had been fully disembarked and as ordered they made as much noise and kicked up as much dust as possible – British Intelligence reported large German formations heading east.
On 24 March, Rommel advanced into the Cyrenaican Desert totally wrong-footing the British who had not been expecting a major offensive for many months and stripped of three of their best Divisions for operations in Greece they were ill-equipped and even less prepared to meet one.
El-Agheila, Bardia, and Benghazi all quickly fell as mesmerised by the speed of the advance the British response was little less than shambolic. Desperately scrambling to avoid being surrounded and cut-off they abandoned not only vast quantities of supplies but any number of Senior Officers who were taken prisoner among them the now famous General O’Connor captured on 6 April by a Reconnaissance Group, or as German propaganda were to later claim, a Canteen Unit.
By the 11 April, when the British at last stabilised their line just beyond the Egyptian border only the port of Tobruk still held out.
Although deeply frustrated by his failure to capture Tobruk, which nonetheless remained under siege, Rommel had achieved a victory beyond even his own expectations. In a little over three weeks, he had recaptured all the ground previously lost by the Italian Tenth Army. It was a stunning success that left the British bewildered.
But Tobruk, now more than a hundred miles behind German lines and able to be re-supplied by sea posed a threat to Axis lines of communication that could not be ignored, neither could the so-called Desert Rats be dislodged, so Rommel had to commit much of his army to its continued investment which left him vulnerable elsewhere. Or, at least, it should have done.
The British Commander-in-Chief Middle East General Archibald Wavell certainly thought so and on 15 May launched Operation Brevity, a limited offensive designed to capture the strategically important Halfiya, soon to be renamed Hellfire, Pass. After some initial success German counterattacks soon recaptured all the ground lost and the offensive was cancelled after just one day.
Under pressure from the Government in London, Wavell was to try again.
Operation Battleaxe which began on 15 June was much more ambitious in its scope than its predecessor intended as it was to eject all Axis Forces from Eastern Cyrenaica thereby clearing a path to Tobruk and the relief of its garrison. Believing they had numerical superiority, Churchill, if not Wavell, was confident of success but forewarned of the offensive Rommel had deployed his armour in advance.
Not for the last time a British campaign in the Western Desert was to be blighted by poor communication and a lack of co-ordination and this time it would be early failures that would undermine later success.
In response to the offensive Rommel adopted what would soon become a familiar tactic, as the British advanced his Panzer Mark IVs would engage out of range their lightly armed Matilda and Crusader tanks which would race to close the distance. As they did so the Panzers retreated exposing the British armour to the full weight of his 88mm guns and heavy artillery whilst armoured cars and motorised Divisions moved to outflank the British position. It was a tactic that Rommel used again and again and to great effect.
British and Allied troops often under fire it seemed from all directions and hampered by poor quality radios that were often barely audible if they worked at all, were often thrown into a state of confusion not knowing whether to advance, retreat or simply remain where they were.
The fear of being outflanked and surrounded was a constant and often led to unnecessary evacuation, premature flight, and the wasteful abandonment of equipment.
After three days of fighting Operation Battleaxe was called off having achieved none of its objectives. The British had lost over a thousand men and 96 tanks more than half of those deployed all of which were left abandoned on the battlefield. The Germans, who lost only 12 tanks, retrieved those of the British that could be repaired. It was an example of the sloppiness that came to dominate British operations during the Desert War.
Churchill was bitterly disappointed by the failure of Operation Battleaxe, not only was it yet another morale sapping defeat but many of the tanks lost had been despatched from a Britain still under threat of invasion and which they could ill-afford to lose.
As a result, General Wavell was fired and replaced with General Sir Claude Auchinleck.
The soon to be Desert Fox had twice been tested and had twice prevailed – but at least Tobruk still held out.
Following the fiasco of Operation Battleaxe there was a lull in the fighting as both sides reorganised for the coming campaign. Rommel flushed with success was eager to proceed with the capture of Tobruk, but it was the British for whom re-supply was easier who struck first.
In August, Auchinleck appointed Lieutenant-General Alan Cunningham to command the recently re-designated Eighth Army and prepare for a major offensive. Operation Crusader which began on 18 November 1941 was intended to engage and destroy the Axis armour and relieve Tobruk. It was felt that Rommel would commit his forces recklessly to maintain his stranglehold on Tobruk and so as the British engaged Axis forces elsewhere on the front 7th Armoured Division would clear a path and advance on the port.
Rommel took the bait and fought with his usual verve and determination but an operation that was intended to take full advantage of the element of surprise was once again bungled and soon became a confused and protracted struggle. As the 7th Armoured Division closed in on Tobruk, Rommel attacked in force near Sidi Rezegh in what would be four days of the fiercest fighting seen anywhere during the Desert Campaign.
Making expert use of their 88mm guns the Afrika Korps took a terrible toll of the 22nd Armoured Brigade reducing it to the point where it ceased to be an effective fighting force yet despite being denuded of their armoured support the New Zealand Division and the 5th South African Brigade held their ground with the latter having to be quite literally overrun before its stubborn resistance was finally broken.
Yet again a British offensive appeared to have stalled and Cunningham displaying a loss of nerve repeatedly requested to be allowed to withdraw back to Egypt. Auchinleck, despairing at his lack of resolve replaced him with Major-General Neil Ritchie.
Flushed with his success at Sidi Razegh, and perhaps again not seeing the bigger picture, Rommel now seized the opportunity to attack the British defences before Egypt in what became known as the ‘Dash for the Wire.’
Ritchie allowed the Axis forces to pass subjecting them to artillery bombardment and constant attack by the Desert Air Force whilst severing their lines of communication and supply. Frustrated by the delaying tactics, short of ammunition, and forced to abandon precious tanks for a lack of fuel Rommel had little choice but to order a general withdrawal.
The Desert Fox had over-reached himself and his reckless pursuit of outright victory resulted in the relief of Tobruk on 27 November and a retreat all the way back to his starting point at El-Agheila the previous March. Yet despite his losses it had been an orderly withdrawal and his army remained intact.
Operation Crusader had succeeded where it had appeared destined to fail so it was a victory of sorts, and the relief of Tobruk was joyously received but the Desert Campaign remained far from over. On 21 January 1942, Rommel briefly counter-attacked recapturing Benghazi but there he halted. Both Axis and Allied forces were exhausted and depleted of supplies but they both intended to resume the offensive as soon as possible – it was Rommel who struck first.
On 26 May, he assaulted the British positions in and around the town of Gazala in a diversionary attack whilst he mobilised the bulk of his army to turn the enemy’s left flank. The British response was confused and hesitant as they counter-attacked in some places while withdrawing in others allowing the ever elusive Rommel the opportunity to isolate British formations and destroy them piecemeal.
With no armoured reserve there were times when a British counterattack appeared about to derail the German offensive but Rommel would not be deflected from his course of action and a lack of coordination and strategic purpose would see them come to nothing.
On 28 May, Rommel had to temporarily halt the offensive due to a shortage of oil and had to await supplies, but the British proved incapable of seizing back the initiative. Two days later he resumed the offensive and was soon besieging the fortress of Bir Hacheim on the far left of the Allied line whilst sending forces to probe north in the direction of Tobruk. The British fearing encirclement began to hastily withdraw.
Bir Hacheim was defended by Free French Forces many of them Foreign Legion and Colonial Troops from Equatorial Africa. Out-numbered almost ten-to-one the French were expected to surrender but in fact held out for over a week not finally abandoning their positions until 10 June.
The stout defence at Bir Hacheim had provided invaluable breathing space to Auchinleck who had replaced Ritchie and taken personal command. He now retreated 100 miles to the Railway Halt at El Alamein, a withdrawal he was able to make in some semblance of good order.
On 21 June, Tobruk which had previously withstood a nine-month siege and had become a symbol of British resistance during the dark days of the Blitz and military failure elsewhere fell in just 24 hours. Although it had remained well-garrisoned its defences had been neglected and fallen into disrepair and there had also been some confusion as to whether the port should continue to be defended at all, but a humiliating capitulation had certainly not been the intention. Despite some units managing to escape into the desert during the night some 36,000 prisoners were taken among them a third of South Africa’s entire army along with stores aplenty.
Despondency overwhelmed the Allied camp and Churchill who was in Washington for a meeting with President Roosevelt received the news with disbelief and plunged into despair had to be comforted by the President as he bemoaned the incompetence of his Commanders and the fighting spirit of his troops – these were not the men of 1914, he remarked.
The capture of Tobruk was the crowning moment of Rommel’s military career and the machinery of Joseph Goebbel’s Propaganda Ministry immediately whirred into action.
Stating that the capture of Tobruk was his personal gift to the Fuhrer the Desert Fox was flown to Germany where attending a ceremony in Berlin he was promoted and awarded his Field Marshal’s baton by Hitler in person as the cameras rolled and the images flashed around the world. The legend of the Desert Fox was born but it wasn’t just his capture of Tobruk and success in time-and-again denying the odds to thwart and defeat a superior enemy but the manner in which he conducted the campaign so removed as it was from the brutality of the Eastern Front.
Atrocities if there were any were few and prisoners generally well-treated. Indeed, Rommel insisted they should receive the same rations as he and often visited their places of internment to check on conditions. He also refused to implement Hitler’s notorious Commando Order which demanded that they be shot if captured and similarly he would not execute captured Jewish soldiers or hand them over to the SS.
He would adhere to his dictum of ‘war without hate’ and to many who fought in the Desert Campaign it was the last honourable war, if indeed there can be such a thing.
It was not just his speed of thought and deed such as adapting the 88mm anti-aircraft gun for use against enemy armour making it the most feared weapon of the Desert War and deploying his mobile forces in such a way as to constantly confuse and confound an always superior opponent but his common decency that made him a hero to both sides something which German propaganda was eager to exploit and did so unremittingly and to great success – he was the acceptable face of the Third Reich.
His victories were also a welcome distraction from the increasingly intensive bombing of German cities, the grim reality of war on the Eastern Front and the growing awareness that this was to be a prolonged struggle seemingly without end.
Churchill suspected that an admiration for Rommel had infected his own army which no longer had the sufficient will to resist him. It was not a groundless fear.
By the end of June, the Axis positions were just 66 miles from Alexandria and Rommel, so often criticised for spending too much time at the front and treating every battle as if it was being fought in his own backyard now had a strategic vision of his own. If he could breakthrough at El Alamein then surely the Suez Canal would be taken, Egypt would fall, the oil fields of the Middle East would be laid bare and he could advance to link up with German forces in the Caucasus.
But it was not a vision shared by the Fuhrer who still saw the Desert Campaign as primarily a holding operation and he would not divert forces from the Eastern Front to the Afrika Korps despite his often-vague promises to do so.
El Alamein stood at the apex of a bottleneck with the sea to the north and the Quattara Depression, a vast area of sand dunes and salt marshes impassable to motorised transport, to the south. It meant that the British defences could not be outflanked and that for Rommel to succeed he would have to force a way through.
Nonetheless, Mussolini believing victory imminent flew to Tripoli, his best uniform packed determined to share the moment and no doubt claim the credit. In the meantime, General Auchinleck issued a directive to his Senior Commanders stating that Rommel was neither a superman nor invincible, should not be thought of as such, and that this should be relayed to the men as soon as possible.
Rommel’s victory at Gazala had sent shockwaves through British Headquarters in Cairo where in an atmosphere of panic and fearing the Desert Fox’s imminent arrival confidential documents were burned and preparations made for a hasty withdrawal.
The narrowness of the front Auchinleck believed provided hi m with the opportunity to dictate the course of the battle by creating defensive boxes that would funnel the Axis armour into confined spaces where it could be destroyed. He declared that he would halt Rommel at Alamein and even turn the tide of the campaign, but it was not a view widely shared.
Rommel began his offensive on 1 July.
Yet again he was outnumbered almost 2 to 1 in both men and armour yet sensing the British were at breaking point he remained confident of victory, but the terrain was not in his favour. Under clear blue skies and in open desert his columns were particularly vulnerable to attack from the Desert Air Force which despite frantic efforts to kick up dust and make smoke bombed and strafed incessantly taking a terrible toll.
Despite repeated attempts to cut the coast road, to isolate and destroy British positions and tempt them by a series of feints to leave their defences he could make little headway and having fought his army to the point of exhaustion was forced to withdraw. Here was yet another opportunity for a British Commander to seize the initiative and claim a decisive victory but when the counterattack came it once more foundered on poor coordination and muddled thinking. Even so, Egypt had been saved the Rommel myth dented.
Auchinleck’s victory at what would become known as the First Battle of El Alamein did not sufficiently restore his reputation enough to secure his job and in August he was replaced as Commander-in-Chief by General Sir Harold Alexander whilst the recently promoted Lieutenant-General William Gott was appointed to command Eighth Army. When Gott was killed in a plane crash a few days later General Bernard Law Montgomery was hastily summoned to replace him.
Montgomery or Monty as he was soon to become known had been a Battalion Commander on the Western Front in the Great War and had played a prominent role during the retreat to Dunkirk in May 1940.
A prickly character who was often in dispute with his superiors he was nonetheless the consummate professional who may have lacked his German opponents daring but none of his self-confidence and firmly believed that given sufficient manpower and resources he could defeat Rommel, and he wasn’t shy in saying so: “Give me a fortnight and I can resist the German attack. Give me three weeks and I can defeat the Bosch. Give me a month and I will chase him out of Africa.” Indeed, such was his self-belief that even the often-despondent Churchill was impressed.
He did not fear the Desert Fox he said, but he did respect him enough to have his photograph hanging in his trailer. But he would not be rushed, and nothing would be left to chance.
First he would restore the morale of the Eighth Army and retrain its soldiers for the battle to come; and with his distinctive high-pitched, cut-glass accent and trademark headwear he was to prove no less inspirational to his troops than Rommel was to his Afrika Korps.
Rommel, eager to test this new British Commander determined to turn the Allied left flank and then push onto the Suez Canal but informed of his intentions from Ultra decrypts Montgomery withdrew five miles and took up position on the more defensible Alam Halfa Ridge. Here troops dug-in, mines were laid and he had his tanks buried up to their turrets in sand to be used as artillery only. This would be a defensive battle and Montgomery had ordered that there would be no withdrawal, and he remained no less determined that there would be no advance.
Rommel attacked on 30 August and maintained the offensive for a week but Montgomery would not be drawn and unable to dislodge the British and force a breakthrough he had little option but to withdraw to the Cauldron, a defensive position behind a dense minefield.
Despite his failure at Alam Halfa, Rommel remained confident that he had the measure of his opponent who had shown himself no less timid and cautious than his predecessors but for the first time in private he expressed doubts that he could ever achieve outright victory.
Montgomery was immediately put under pressure from both Churchill and Alexander to exploit his victory but refused to be diverted from preparations for his own planned offensive.
Leading a polyglot force of British, Australian, New Zealand, South African, Free French, Polish and Greek troops he well understood the limitations of a Citizen Army, those who had not been raised in an atmosphere of militarism and racial superiority and a fanatical devotion to one man. Nonetheless he believed a well-trained, adequately resourced, properly led army made aware of the cause they were fighting for could still prevail.
Prior to the battle Monty addressed the troops: “The battle which is now about to begin will be one of the decisive battles of history, it will be the turning point of the war. The eyes of the whole world will be upon us anxiously watching which way the battle will swing? We can give them their answer at once – it will swing our way.”
Monty had prepared well and built up his forces sufficiently to obtain a clear supremacy in manpower, armour, and in the air. He had 195,000 men under his command, 1,029 tanks, and a Desert Air Force recently reinforced by an additional 4 Squadrons of American Mitchell Bombers.
Rommel could call upon 105,000 men (55,000 of whom were Italian) and 547 tanks (fewer than half of which were Panzers) along with Luftwaffe support. Outnumbered though they may have been they were well dug-in behind reams of barbed wire and more than 500,000 land mines.
At 21.40 on 23 October 1942, 882 guns opened up on the Axis forward positions with a roar that shook the ground and lit up the dark desert sky.
Under the cover of this thunderous bombardment Operation Lightfoot began as thousands of Sappers moved forward in the gloom to clear a path through the minefields for the armour to follow.
As the greatest land battle of the Western Desert Campaign began Rommel was far away at home recuperating from exhaustion and a bout of ill-health.
On 24 October, whilst on an inspection of the front-line General Georg Stumme, in temporary charge of the Afrika Korps dropped dead of an apparent heart attack When Rommel returned the following day he was furious with Stumme’s replacement General von Thoma for not having already ordered a counter-attack.
Quickly assessing the situation Rommel found that his Italian Divisions had been particularly badly mauled, and his armour severely reduced by aerial bombardment. He could not therefore order a general offensive across the line, but he would attack where he could.
A lack of fuel would ensure that his aggressive response would meet with only limited success but the British offensive would stall nonetheless. In London Churchill despaired remarking: “Do I even possess a General who can win a battle?” Montgomery certainly believed so and was determined that the fighting should not descend into a stalemate even so maintaining the momentum was proving difficult. Even so, the odds remained firmly in his favour.
When on 28 October, two Panzer Divisions with infantry support attacked the centre and left of the Allied line they clashed with British armour resuming the offensive and a struggle ensued, that saw the Germans repulsed with heavy losses. It was fighting that Rommel could ill-afford – he wrote to his wife: “For the first time in my life I did not know what to do.”
With defeat looming Rommel contacted German Headquarters requesting permission to withdraw. The response he received left him bewildered – he was to remain where he was and fight to the last man. In disbelief, he asked for the order to be repeated. It was, and it had come direct from the Fuhrer.
The order made no military sense whatsoever yet for two days he dithered at great cost to his army as the fighting intensified. Finally on 4 November with just 35 tanks remaining and his faith in the Fuhrer severely shaken he ordered a general retreat. As the Afrika Korps withdrew it commandeered the mechanised transport of its Italian allies literally kicking from the vehicles those who tried to hitch a lift.
Although their performance had improved under his command and some units had fought very well indeed their earlier humiliations were not easily forgotten either by themselves or by the Commander of the Afrika Korps who remained largely scornful of the Italian element of his army and their overall contribution.
Armed with inferior equipment, poorly led and often denied fuel and supplies it was these troops who had borne the brunt of the attack at El Alamein who would be the ones now sacrificed – of the 35,000 Axis prisoners taken almost all were Italian. Indeed, the disciplined withdrawal of the Afrika Korps contrasted sharply with the shambles of their ally and many Italian soldiers were to complain bitterly of the lack of leadership from their own Officers many of whom simply abandoned them as their retreat descended into chaos.
Assisted by poor weather which grounded much of the Allied Air Force, a series of well-directed delaying actions, and Montgomery’s own caution the Afrika Korps was able to extricate itself intact avoiding the rout that had seemed inevitable, but the retreat was to be a long and painful one.
IInformed by Alexander that the Afrika Korps was beaten and Rommel was in full-flight Churchill ordered that Church bells be rung throughout Britain. After three years of desperate struggle for the first and only time in the war a British Army had comprehensively defeated a German one on the field of battle. On 10 November, Churchill addressed the House of Commons: “General Montgomery has gained a glorious and decisive victory . . . Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
Two days earlier, as part of the American led Operation Torch, Allied troops landed in Vichy French held Morocco and Algeria and already pursued by the British in the East Rommel was now threatened by the Americans advancing from the West.
The end appeared to be in sight but the Allied advance remained sluggish and, despite a retreat of more than 2,000 miles and the hasty abandonment of Tripoli, Rommel was still able to win the race to Tunisia and thwart the Allied attempt to sever his line of retreat – and he wasn’t finished yet.
On 19 February 1943, he turned on his pursuers halting the United States II Corps at the Battle of Sidi-Zou-Bid before luring them into the Kassarine Pass where adopting the tactics that had worked so effectively against the British earlier in the campaign he drew the American armour onto his 88mm guns and destroyed it. Only a hasty and undignified retreat prevented a rout. It was a harsh lesson in desert warfare for the tactically inept, raw and not yet battle-hardened Americans but one they learned quickly.
But without the resources to fully exploit his victory it also served as a lesson for Rommel too, that much like Napoleon Bonaparte more than a hundred years before no amount of battlefield genius can overcome overwhelming odds in a sustained campaign.
On 6 March, he turned his attention on the British but there were few tricks left in his locker that Montgomery wasn’t aware of and with the British remaining on the defensive the two day Battle of Medenine was yet another bitter struggle fought to no good purpose which the increasingly beleaguered Desert Fox could no longer afford.
In truth, Rommel knew that the Desert War was lost and repeatedly pleaded with Hitler to withdraw the Afrika Korps to mainland Italy before it was too late. Ironically, it was only now on the cusp of defeat that Hitler began to take the conflict in North Africa seriously and begin to send the reinforcements that earlier in the campaign might have proved decisive for he now saw an opportunity to turn Tunisia into a fortress that would bog down the Americans in a long and bloody siege that would both sap their enthusiasm for the fight and prevent them from intervening elsewhere.
But Rommel would have no further role to play in the Fuhrer’s latest strategic master-plan and was ordered home on 9 March to be replaced by his subordinate General Hans-Jurgen von Arnim. The Desert Fox would be spared the humiliation of defeat.
The fighting in Tunisia was to continue for a further two months but it unable to adequately supply such a large force across a Mediterranean swarming with Allied plane, surface vessels, and submarines it had become in effect little more than a giant self-imposed internment camp.
The formal surrender of all Axis Forces in North Africa was accepted on 12 May, 1943. In total, some 275,000 prisoners were taken of which 130,000 were German along with all their tanks, artillery, and war materiel. It was a defeat larger in scale than that suffered by the Sixth Army at Stalingrad and Hitler’s decision to reinforce rather than withdraw his army in North Africa was one of the great strategic blunders of the war.
But the fact that Rommel was not present at the denouement enhanced his reputation further viewed as it was through the prism of his successors defeat.
The Poison Chalice
Field-Marshal Rommel’s reputation for daring was undeniable but his ability as a Commander had been brought into question more than once. He had after all, never commanded large formations and had not served in the cauldron of the Eastern Front. He had also in the end failed to deliver victory in North Africa. Some suggested he’d had it easy and had been promoted beyond his capability. Yet he was to most Germans the ‘Desert Fox’ and their greatest living General and he returned to the country a national hero.
The fluid nature of the Desert War had provided opportunities for glory absent on other fronts and his exploits were well received. As also was his oft-repeated maxim ‘war without hate’ and the apparent humanity with which he waged it. It was something that Joseph Goebbels and his Ministry of Propaganda and Enlightenment continued to exploit to the maximum.
As such the need to protect his reputation was paramount so much so that when with defeat looming he flew to Hitler’s Headquarters at the Wolf’s Lair to plead with him to withdraw the Afrika Korps to mainland Italy it had been decided to withdraw him instead.
The Desert Fox he might be but he still wasn’t entirely trusted by the German High Command many of whom thought him rash, unpredictable and promoted ahead of those better qualified. He was also thought unsound by some within the Nazi hierarchy who aware that he had never been a member of the party also resented his personal relationship with the Fuhrer.
Upon his return he was briefly considered for Commander-in-Chief of the Army but this was dismissed on the grounds he was a maverick and he was soon to find himself spending more time with his family than he might otherwise have expected. He was then a hero without a role and there appeared little urgency on the part of his superiors to find him one.
Even so, the newsreels were rarely absent – the Desert Fox at home, the Desert Fox with the Fuhrer, the Desert Fox with Magda Goebbels and her adorable children.
On 23 July 1943, he was appointed to command the army in Greece but was replaced just two days later, and in August was appointed Commander-in Chief in Italy but Hitler not liking his proposals for its defence soon replaced him with the Luftwaffe General Albert Kesselring, a long term critic of Rommel’s who also had the Fuhrer’s ear.
It was a deeply frustrating time and he complained bitterly to friends that he was being side-lined, that he was not being kept abreast of the military situation and only learned of events from the newspapers.
In October 1943, he was visited at his home in Herlingen by his old friend Karl Strolin, the Mayor of Stuttgart, who informed him of the conditions in the Concentration Camps and the mass-killings of Jews. Like many others he refused to believe that such rumours could be true but with time on his hands it left him with much to ponder – were such unspeakable atrocities truly being committed in the name of the German Army? Could the Fuhrer possibly be aware of such things, perhaps even condone them?
With the war turning against Germany in the East and Allied intervention in the West imminent Rommel’s absence from command was becoming increasingly difficult to sustain. This changed early in 1944, when he was given responsibility for overseeing the coastal fortifications of Western France, the place where any Allied Invasion Armada would be expected to land.
Portrayed as the Third Reich’s first line of defence and known as the Atlantic Wall, he soon discoverer it was no such thing.
Shocked by the neglect he found he threw himself into his new role with all the vigour and enthusiasm to be expected of Germany’s greatest General, though it was remarked by those who knew him well that he was a changed man. Not that the public would have guessed from the newsreels that relayed his frequent tours of inspection as the Desert Fox brimming with confidence and carrying his trademark Field Marshals baton became a familiar sight on German cinema screens.
Propaganda aside there was in truth much work to be done as he mined the beaches, ordered the construction of artillery emplacements, anti-tank traps, hundreds of concrete pill-boxes and built concealed underwater obstacles.
But the Allies had gone to great lengths to mislead the German High Command into the location of the planned invasion convincing them that it would be the Pas-de-Calais, the shortest route across the Channel from England which was where much of the reconstruction work was concentrated – they would in fact come ashore further south, at Normandy.
Rommel was also at loggerheads with his immediate superior Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt over how best any defence should be conducted. He believed that the invasion must be resisted at the point of contact on the beaches before the Allies could gain a foothold, and that the Panzer Divisions should be brought forward and prepared for an immediate counter-attack. Von Rundstedt disagreed ordering the German Armour held in reserve for a defence in-depth.
At the same time as Rommel contemplated how best to resist the expected invasion when it came others were already seeking to end the war with the Western Powers by other means.
That there were those within the Officer Corps unhappy with Hitler’s conduct of the war was no secret, that some were seeking to remove him from power certainly was. But who could be trusted and who could not was difficult and dangerous to ascertain, who might refuse to participate in the plot but also not betray them even more so.
Rommel’s personal relationship with Hitler made his support uncertain, but then he was also known to have had his differences with the Fuhrer. Slowly he would be drawn into the plot but he would not countenance Hitler’ murder. He must be brought before a Court of Law and stand trial for his crimes just like any other man. It was a clear indication of his political naivety.
He was to be disavowed of any such notion when he was subjected to one of the Fuhrer’s increasingly familiar paranoid, table-thumping tirades that saw him physically removed from his presence. It wasn’t the first time that following a disagreement he had been ordered to leave but on previous occasions he had been invited back – but not this time.
Even now, Rommel was inclined to excuse the Fuhrer’s behaviour on the grounds that he was a man under great stress but in private with his confidence in Hitler already shaken by his sacrifice of the Afrika Korps and the Sixth Army at Stalingrad he began to believe he was at the end of his tether, that he might even be losing his mind.
In private meetings he sounded out others regarding Hitler’s removal including Field-Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt who despite his personal disdain for the ‘Bohemian Corporal’ remained uncommitted and refused to hear the details of any plot. But then all German Officers had sworn an oath under God to serve not the State or the Constitution but the person of the Fuhrer Adolf Hitler. It was an oath not easily broken moreover it was a treasonable to do so and punishable by death.
The ‘July Plotters’, particularly those of the Kreisau Circle were mostly serving Officers of the old Prussian Aristocracy and retired or side-lined Senior Officers of the Wehrmacht and as an outsider Rommel was not entirely trusted but he was the one man who all felt the people might willingly follow should Hitler be assassinated. Even so, any role for him in a post-Nazi regime remained vague. In the meantime, he had a war to fight.
On 6 June 1944, the Allies came ashore at Normandy. In the days preceding the weather had been so inclement that the Germans had ruled out any immediate prospect of invasion and Rommel had returned home to be with his wife on her birthday. He returned at once only to find that the Atlantic Wall had proven unequal to the task and except for at Omaha Beach where the Americans had almost met with failure the Allies had faced mostly token resistance and by nightfall with the beachheads secured 155,000 men with armoured support were already moving inland. They would be quickly reinforced.
Rommel again argued for the implementation of his plan to strike the Allies hard whilst they remained vulnerable. In a final heated exchange with Hitler at Margival in France on 17 June, the Fuhrer relented a little and released three Panzer Divisions to his command but without the total freedom to use them as he wished. It was in any case, too late.
The war in the West soon bogged down into a close-quarter infantry struggle that would not have been unfamiliar to veterans of the Great War just as Field Marshal von Rundstedt had predicted it would.
This was not the war of manoeuvre in which the Desert Fox excelled and denied the opportunity to use his Panzer’s as he wished due both to Allied air superiority and Hitler’s constant interference, he became increasingly despondent. In such a struggle overwhelming Allied manpower and resources must inevitably prevail. He thought the war lost and more than once wrote to the Fuhrer declaring the army close to disintegration and pleading with him to bring the war in the West to an end – he received no reply.
On the evening of 17 July, not far from the ironically named town of St Foy de Montgomerie, Rommel’s staff car was strafed from the air by a marauding Spitfire and forced from the road; thrown from the car he sustained a fractured skull and shrapnel wounds to his body and face. In truth, he was lucky to be alive and after spending some time in hospital he was sent home to recuperate.
Three days later on a visit to Hitler’s Wolf’s Lair Headquarters in East Prussia, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg placed his briefcase containing a bomb beneath the desk where Hitler was standing. In such a windowless and confined space, the impact of the explosion should have been devastating, that it wasn’t sealed the conspirator’s fate.
Although some were killed and others severely injured by a quirk of fate Hitler emerged badly shaken, his clothes torn but otherwise unscathed. Operation Valkyrie, the plot to assassinate the Fuhrer had failed and over the following days those responsible would be hunted down, arrested and killed.
Rommel was not at first suspected of being involved in the plot but would soon be implicated by others among them General Carl-Heinrich von Stulpnagel who in custody repeatedly mumbled his name whilst delirious following a failed suicide attempt and Carl Goerdeler, the man nominated to replace Hitler as Chancellor who had drawn up a list of possible Presidents of the new regime one of whom was Erwin Rommel.
It was Martin Bormann, the so-called ‘Brown Eminence’ who as Hitler’s personal secretary jealously guarded access to the Fuhrer who first brought Rommel’s involvement to his attention.
On scant evidence, Hitler was at first disinclined to believe him but with little support for Rommel from other quarters in particular Joseph Goebbels the man who had done more than any other to create the legend of the Desert Fox but had now abandoned him in fear of also becoming a victim of Bormann’s malicious intent, he was eventually persuaded. Even so, he refused to believe that Rommel had been actively involved in the attempt to assassinate him but was willing to accept that he had been aware of the plot and had done nothing to prevent it, and as such he was as guilty as those who had carried it out.
Recuperating at home with his family Rommel was unaware that he was already being tried in absentia by the Court of Military Honour (upon which sat both Gerd von Rundstedt and Erich von Manstein) established to determine the guilt of serving Officers in the plot and whether they should face justice in the Peoples Court.
The prospect of the legendary Desert Fox being brought before the Peoples Court and its vituperative Chief Justice Roland Freisler was not only unpalatable to the Regime and the German High Command but the damage it might do to public morale was difficult to gauge. It needed to be avoided if possible.
On 14 October, as his house in Herlingen was being surrounded by a unit of SS a car drew up occupied by General Wilhelm Burgdorf and General Ernst Maisel along with a wreath with a message of condolence attached signed, Adolf Hitler.
Burgdorf and Meisel, both of whom had been harsh critics of Rommel in the past, curtly but respectfully informed him that his complicity in the July Plot had already been proved and that he would face trial in the Peoples Court. The Fuhrer however, cognisant of his devoted service to the Third Reich was willing to allow the Field Marshal the option available to an Officer and a gentleman, that is, to take his own life.
Rommel’s first instinct, as one might expect from a man whose career had been made from taking the fight to the enemy was to defend himself against his accusers. But it wasn’t that simple. Were he convicted, as was certain then his family would be considered no less guilty than he and would suffer accordingly. Their property would be confiscated, and they would face likely detention in a Concentration Camp. Also, his staff guilty by association would be executed alongside him.
If he were to commit suicide and pre-empt the need for a trial then he would be accorded a State Funeral with full military honours. His rank, status, reputation, and pension would be assured and the safety of his family guaranteed on the word of the Fuhrer. Regardless of the desire to clear his name the choice were obvious.
His son Manfred, then serving in an anti-aircraft battery (his father had earlier refused his request to enrol in the Waffen SS) described events:
“At about twelve o’clock a dark-green car with a Berlin number plate stopped in front of our garden gate.
The only men in the house apart from my father, were his aide Captain Aldinger , a badly wounded war veteran, and myself.
Two generals, Burgdorf, a powerful florid man, and Maisel, small and slender, alighted from the car and entered the house. They were respectful and courteous and asked my father’s permission to speak to him alone. Aldinger and I left the room.
“So they are not going to arrest him,” I thought with relief, as I went upstairs to find myself a book.
A few minutes later I heard my father come upstairs and go into my mother’s room. Anxious to know what was afoot, I got up and followed him. He was standing in the middle of the room, his face pale. “Come outside with me,” he said in a tight voice. We went into my room.
“I have just had to tell your mother that I shall be dead in a quarter of an hour. To die by the hand of one’s own people is hard but the house is surrounded and Hitler is charging me with high treason.
In view of my services in Africa I am to have the chance of dying by poison. The two generals have brought it with them. It’s fatal in three seconds. If I accept, none of the usual steps will be taken against my family. They will also leave my staff alone.”
“Do you believe it?” I interrupted. “Yes,” he replied. “I believe it. It is very much in their interest to see that the affair does not come out into the open. By the way, I have been charged to put you under a promise of the strictest silence. If a single word of this comes out, they will no longer feel themselves bound by the agreement.”
I tried again:
“Can’t we defend ourselves? He cut me off short.
“There’s no point,” he said.
“It’s better for one to die than for all of us to be killed in a shooting affray. Anyway, we’ve practically no ammunition.”
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, official statements declared, had died from complications resulting from injuries sustained while on active service. His State Funeral which followed soon after, the centre-piece of which was a wreath sent by the Fuhrer, was filmed for propaganda purposes.
It was to be his final contribution to the regime he had served so loyally but latterly come to despair of and even hate.
Winston Churchill, the man who had so often been at the sharp end of the Desert Fox’s cunning was to pay his own and sincerely held tribute:
A splendid military gambler his ardour and daring inflicted grievous disasters upon us but he deserves the salute which I made him in the House of Commons in January 1942, when I said of him:
""We have a very daring and skillful opponent against us , and may I say across the havoc of war, a great General.He also deserves our respect because, although a loyal German soldier, he came to hate Hitler and all his works, and took part in the conspiracy to rescue Germany by displacing the maniac and tyrant. For this he paid the forfeit of his life.”
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"Mwanzoni mwa mwaka wa 1942, vita vya Jangwa la Magharibi vilikuwa vikiendelea vibaya kwa Waingereza, hata Waziri Mkuu wa Uingereza Winston Churchill, akihuzunishwa na kushindwa, alilazimika kusema hivi katika Bunge la Commons: ""Tuna mpinzani mwenye ustadi na ujasiri dhidi yetu, na naweza kusema, licha ya uharibifu wa vita, Jenerali mkubwa sana - ni nini kingine kinachohusika kuliko kumpiga?""" Ni jambo lisilo la kawaida kwa adui kuabudiwa katikati ya mgogoro lakini kisha Erwin Rommel alikuwa kwamba nadra katika vita, shujaa kwa pande zote mbili <unk> lakini kwa nini? Kama askari mwenye ujasiri na ujasiri, angeweza kupigana, kama alivyoeleza, 'vita bila chuki' katika vita vya ukatili usio na kifani dhidi ya wapiganaji na raia, ushindi katika uwanja wa vita ulibaki kuwa kipaumbele chake pekee. Erwin Eugen Rommel alizaliwa katika mji wa Heidenheim, Ujerumani Kusini, Novemba 15, 1891, mwana wa mwalimu wa shule ambaye ingawa alikuwa ametumikia katika jeshi, lazima wakati huo, hakuwa mtu wa kijeshi; lakini katika Ujerumani, ambayo ilikuwa tu kuwepo kama taifa la umoja tangu 1871 na bado ilikuwa ni upanuzi wa Prussia, mahali ambapo Voltaire alikuwa ameelezea kama jeshi na serikali, jeshi lilifurahia hadhi ya juu na hivyo kuwa askari ilionwa kama hatua nzuri ya kazi. Mwaka 1909 alipokuwa na umri wa miaka 18 alijiunga na kikosi cha 124th Infantry Regiment baada ya kujiandikisha katika shule ya mafunzo ya askari-jeshi huko Danzig. Alipopewa cheo cha Luteni wa Pili mnamo Januari 1912, Rommel alikuwa na shauku ya kuwa askari na kama wengine wengi alikaribisha tangazo la vita mnamo Agosti 1914 kwa shauku. Sasa alikuwa na nafasi ya kutumia mambo aliyojifunza, na bila shaka yote yangekwisha kufikia Krismasi. Miezi ya kwanza ya vita katika upande wa Magharibi ilikuwa moja ya mwendo na maneuver ambapo nafasi ya kuonyesha mpango alibaki na Rommel, Platoon Kamanda, alichukua faida kamili ya kufanya mfululizo wa ushujaa flanking mashambulizi ambayo kupenya mbali zaidi ya adui mstari wa mbele alimletea mafanikio makubwa. Alipandishwa cheo na kuwa Luteni wa Kwanza na kupewa tuzo ya Iron Cross ya darasa la pili kwa ujasiri wake katika kutafuta na kushambulia adui, jambo ambalo hivi karibuni lingekuwa njia yake ya kawaida ya kufanya kazi mara nyingi ikishangaza adui na mshirika sawa. Mnamo Septemba 1914, mpango wa Ujerumani wa kuleta Ufaransa haraka kwa kisigino ulizuiwa kwenye Mto Marne na Mstari wa Magharibi ulishuka haraka katika vita vya matundu na Rommel, kwa msaada wake, alihamishwa Mashariki ambapo alijiunga na Alpenkorps aliendelea kuvutia wakuu wake katika kampeni dhidi ya Romania, lakini ilikuwa ni katika Italia kwenye Mstari wa Isonzo kwamba alikuwa na jina lake. Mnamo Oktoba 24, 1917, jeshi la Ujerumani na Austria-Hungary lilishambulia jeshi la Italia la pili katika mji mdogo wa Caporetto. Waitaliano ambao walikuwa wamekuwa wakishambulia kwa bidii nafasi za Austria-Hungary kwenye Mto Isonzo kwa zaidi ya miaka miwili walishangazwa kabisa, na ingawa pande za jeshi lao ziliendelea kushikilia nguvu dhidi ya Waustria, kituo cha mstari ambapo Wajerumani waliongoza shambulio hilo kiliporomoka. Kutumia mbinu za kuingilia zilizotengenezwa hivi karibuni, ambazo ziliona vitengo vya askari wa dhoruba waliozoezwa maalum, wenye silaha za makombora na wavuvi wa moto, wakisonga mbele ya jeshi kuu, machafuko waliyokuwa wametokeza yalikuwa ya kweli na mapengo makubwa katika mstari huo yalianza kuonekana haraka wakati upinzani wa Italia ulipoyeyuka. Hata bila mbinu hizo mpya, mara nyingi kuona tu Wajerumani kwenye upeo wa macho kulitosha kuwafanya Waitaliano waogope, waondoke kwenye vituo vyao, na kujisalimisha kwa wingi. Hii ilikuwa vita kwa kupenda Rommel na kama kituo cha Italia crumbled, yeye alichukua faida kamili. Katika siku mbili tu za mapigano karibu na Mlima Matajur, jeshi lake la watu 150 tu lilimkamata Waitaliano zaidi ya 9,000 na bunduki 81 kwa hasara ya watu 6 waliouawa na 30 waliojeruhiwa; tena, aliposhambulia mji wa Langarone alichukua Waitaliano 10,000 zaidi wafungwa na risasi moja tu ilipigwa. Lakini kwa sababu ya mwendo wa haraka wa Ujerumani (maili 15 siku ya kwanza pekee) walipunguza haraka mistari yao ya usambazaji na mawasiliano na walipigwa na kiasi kikubwa cha vifaa na wafungwa waliochukuliwa, zaidi ya watu 275,000 katika wiki chache tu. Baada ya kuimarishwa na vikosi 11 vya Ufaransa na Uingereza vilivyotumwa haraka kutoka upande wa Magharibi, Italia, baada ya kurudi nyuma kwa muda mrefu na kwa aibu, hatimaye ilikusanyika tena na kuanzisha mstari mpya kwenye Mto Piave, maili 15 tu kaskazini mwa Venice. "Mashambulizi ya Caporetto yaliishia kuisha lakini licha ya kushindwa kwake kuondoa Italia nje ya vita, Rommel, askari wa kazi mwenye tamaa, alifurahi na mchango wake binafsi kama vile wakuu wake ambao walimpa tuzo ya ""Pour le Mérite"" kwa vitendo vyake huko Matajur." Pia alipandishwa cheo na kuwa Kapteni na kuhamishwa kwenye Jeshi Kuu. Lakini uzoefu wake huko Caporetto ulimfanya awe na dharau ya maisha yote kwa askari wa Italia, utayari wao wa kujisalimisha bila kupigana na kisha bila aibu kuungana na wafungwa wao ulimfanya awe na mshangao, hata aibu. Katika vita vya jangwani, dharau yake kwa Waitaliano, ambao sasa walikuwa washirika wake, ingekuwa na matokeo mabaya, kwani alikuwa amejitegemea sana nguvu za watu na rasilimali za Afrika Korps. Rommel, ambaye hapo awali alikuwa ameolewa na Lucia Maria Mollin mwenye umri wa miaka 17 wakati wa likizo huko Danzig licha ya kuwa tayari alikuwa baba wa mtoto na mwanamke mwingine, alibaki katika Jeshi la Ujerumani lililopunguzwa sana mwishoni mwa vita. Hapa alishirikiana na maafisa wenzake wengi kushangaa kwake kwamba mgogoro ambao alikuwa amepata ushindi tu ulikuwa umemalizika katika kushindwa kwa hali mbaya kama hiyo tangu Ujerumani aliyoipenda ilipozama katika machafuko na mapinduzi. Kufikia Oktoba 1920, alikuwa Stuttgart ambapo kama Kamanda wa Kampuni alisaidia kutuliza ghasia za kiraia kwa kutenda kwa kiasi ambapo wengine walikuwa wakali. Haikuwa kazi ya kupendeza, hakuwa amewahi kupendezwa na siasa na ambapo wengine walifurahia fursa ya kuwapiga 'Reds' alikataa kwa kiasi fulani kuleta vurugu kwa wananchi wenzake. Baada ya kupandishwa cheo na kuwa Meja, mwaka 1929 aliteuliwa kuwa mwalimu katika Chuo cha Kijeshi cha Dresden, ambapo akiwa na muda zaidi aliandika kitabu chake 'Infantry Tactics' (Mkakati wa Wanajeshi wa Jeshi la Majini), ambacho kilikuwa na maelezo ya mambo aliyojionea katika Vita Kuu ya Kwanza ya Dunia na masomo aliyojifunza kutokana na utetezi wake mkubwa wa mashambulizi, kuingilia, kupelekwa kwa haraka na hatua za kuamua. "Hatimaye, Rommel alionyesha uaminifu wa karibu wa mtoto kwa mtu wa Fuhrer, mara nyingi akiandika kwa maneno ya kupendeza zaidi kwa mke wake Lucie, ""Mtu ambaye alikuwa ametumwa na Providence kuokoa Ujerumani kutoka kwa abyss: Yeye (Hitler) ameitwa na Mungu kuongoza watu wa Ujerumani hadi jua.""" Yeye hutoa nguvu ya kuvutia, ya kuamsha fikira". "Hitler aliandika hivi alipokuwa Kansela: ""Hiyo ni bahati nzuri kwa Ujerumani"" na ""Hilo limemtia nguvu tu.""" Ni jambo lenye kufurahisha kuona. Wazo la kwamba lingekuwa limefanikiwa haliwezekani kufikiria." Baada ya kupandishwa cheo kuwa Kanali, Rommel alikuwa akitumikia kama Mkuu wa Chuo cha Kijeshi huko Wiener wakati Oktoba 1938, kwa ombi la kibinafsi la Hitler, aliteuliwa kuongoza Kikosi cha Ulinzi cha Fuhrer. "Kuwa na jukumu la kumlinda Fuhrer, mtu ambaye alikuwa ameshika tena Rhineland, amepata Anschluss na Austria, amejumuisha Sudetenland na hakuwa amepanua tu mipaka ya Ujerumani lakini alirudisha kiburi chake, mafanikio ambayo wengine walisema hata yalipita yale ya Bismarck, ilikuwa heshima kubwa sana kwa kweli. ""Sasa aliweza kumtazama mtu huyo mkubwa kwa karibu." "Hata hivyo, ""kuchukua jukumu la usalama wa kibinafsi wa Fuhrer"" ilikuwa ni kuthibitisha kizuizi kwa tamaa wakati Septemba 1939, Ujerumani ilivamia Poland." Alipokuwa amekasirika sana kwa kutoweza kushiriki katika kampeni hiyo, alikuwa ameamua kutokosa mapigano yaliyokuwa yakitokea Magharibi, na alitumia uhusiano wake na Hitler kufanya kazi kwa bidii ili kupata amri ya mgawanyiko wa Panzer. Hakuwa na uzoefu wa vita vya kivita na hakuwa amewahi kuamuru zaidi ya ngazi ya kikosi na wenzake wengi walikasirika na udanganyifu wake wa Fuhrer kupata amri juu ya wale ambao walikuwa na sifa bora ya kufanya hivyo, haswa wakati alikataa fursa ya kuongoza mgawanyiko wa jeshi. Uaminifu wake kwa Fuhrer ulipatikana na kupewa amri ya kuongoza kikosi cha 7 cha silaha. "Jenerali Erwin Rommel, ambaye kazi yake ya mwisho ilikuwa kuandaa maandamano ya ushindi kupitia barabara za Warsaw, sasa alikuwa na amri ya jeshi, na jeshi kubwa: ""218 tanki, 2 regiments ya wapiganaji wa miguu, moja ya pikipiki, moja ya wahandisi na moja ya kupambana na mizinga.""" Lakini je, angeweza kuongoza kwa matokeo? Mnamo Mei 10, 1940, Jeshi la Ujerumani lilivamia nchi za chini, lakini wakati Jeshi la Ufaransa na Jeshi la Uhamisho la Uingereza lilipopiga mbio kwenda Ubelgiji kukabiliana na tishio lililotambuliwa, msukumo mkuu wa shambulio la Ujerumani, kuzunguka ulinzi wa Mstari wa Maginot, ulikuja kupitia eneo lenye misitu ya Ardennes ya Mashariki mwa Ufaransa. Kwa kuwa Ardennes ilikuwa imefungwa kwa magari ya magari, Ufaransa iliiweka chini ya ulinzi wa pili na kuiacha ikiwa imezuiwa kidogo, hivyo kukutana na upinzani mdogo, Vikosi vya Armored chini ya amri ya jumla ya Jenerali Heinz Guderian vilifanya maendeleo ya haraka na katika mstari wa mbele wa shambulio hilo Erwin Rommel na 7th Panzer. "Walipoendelea kusonga mbele kwa kasi ya kutisha sana hivi kwamba walipokuwa wamevuka Mto Meuse na kusonga mbele kwenye Sedan mara nyingi ilikuwa vigumu kwa wakuu wake kuamua hasa mahali ambapo Rommel alikuwa na Panzer ya 7 ilipata jina la utani ""Division ya Ghost.""" Alipokuwa akipambana na upinzani mdogo, Mei 17, alichukua wafungwa 10,000 kwa kupoteza watu 36 tu - ilikuwa Caporetto tena. Lakini Rommel aliwaogopesha wakuu wake kadiri alivyovutia watumishi wake. Waliamini kwamba azimio lake la kudumisha kasi na kutoingojea msaada wa wanajeshi walinzi lilimfanya awe dhaifu na kwamba bila upelelezi sahihi angeweza kuingia katika mtego. "Hata hivyo, Hitler alitoa amri ya ""Halt"" ya Mei 24 ambayo ilitoa nafasi ya kupumua kwa Uingereza ili kuondoa vikosi vyao vya safari kutoka pwani ya Dunkirk." Hakuidhinishwa kuendelea na maendeleo yake hadi Juni 5 na utekelezaji wa Kesi Nyekundu, awamu ya pili ya ushindi wa Ufaransa. Ingawa upinzani kwenye ardhi uliongezeka, hofu yoyote ya azimio kubwa kati ya amri ya juu ya Ufaransa iliondolewa hivi karibuni kama Panzers iliendelea zaidi kama kabla ya kukata swathe kupitia mashambani ya Ufaransa na mara nyingi kusonga mbele kama maili 50 kwa siku. Mnamo Juni 10, Panzer 7 ilikuwa imefika pwani ya Dieppe, ambapo Rommel aliamriwa kusonga mbele ya Cherbourg, ambayo ilijisalimisha siku tatu tu kabla ya mkataba wa kusitisha vita kusainiwa Juni 22. Kwa mara nyingine tena Rommel alikuwa amefurahia vita vyema na Jenerali mpendwa wa Hitler alikuwa amejithibitisha kuwa anastahili imani iliyowekwa ndani yake lakini sio bila ukosoaji - ilisemwa alikuwa asiye na subira, mara nyingi alikuwa asiye na busara kuliko ujasiri, hakuona picha kubwa na alionyesha mtazamo wa ad hoc kwa amri. Pia, wengine waliona kwamba alikuwa na kiburi na mara nyingi hakuwa na msingi wa kuwa na uhakika. Kwa kweli, sikuzote kungekuwa na hali ya kutokuwa na imani hata miongoni mwa wale waliokuwa waabudu wake. Lakini roho yake ya kujivunia ingethibitika kuwa dhahabu ya propaganda. Mnamo Juni 10, 1940, kwa kelele za maelfu ya wafuasi wake wenye mashati meusi waliokusanyika katika uwanja wa chini ya Benito Mussolini, Duce II alitangaza vita dhidi ya Uingereza na Ufaransa kutoka balcony ya Palazzo Venezia huko Roma. Italia hadi sasa ilikuwa imebaki na msimamo wa kutokuwamo katika vita hivyo lakini kwa kuamini ushindi wa Ujerumani ulikuwa karibu alitangaza kwamba alihitaji tu maiti elfu moja za Waitaliano ili aweze kuketi kwenye meza ya mkutano na kuvuna nyara za vita. Aliwaambia hivi: "Watu wa Italia! Kwa silaha, onyesha roho yako, ujasiri wako, ujasiri wako!" Wakati sehemu kubwa ya Ulaya ya kati na magharibi tayari ilikuwa chini ya uvamizi wa Ujerumani, Mussolini sasa alikuwa na macho ya ushindi wake mwenyewe, yaani upanuzi wa Italia ya Mediterania na Milki ya Afrika Kaskazini. Baada ya Ufaransa kujisalimisha, na kwa kuwa Uingereza ilionekana kuwa imekusudiwa kufanya vivyo hivyo, Mussolini aliimarisha vikosi vya Italia katika Libya na Abyssinia kwa haraka, kwa ajili ya maandalizi ya shambulio la pande mbili dhidi ya Misri iliyodhibitiwa na Uingereza. Majeshi ya Italia katika Abyssinia yalianza kampeni ya Afrika Mashariki ambayo ilisababisha kushindwa na kuanguka kwa jeshi hilo mnamo Aprili 1941, lakini bila kujali matukio mengine, uvamizi wa Misri ungeendelea. Septemba 9, askari wa Italia 250,000 katika safu tatu kubwa walianza safari kupitia Cyrenaica kuelekea Misri, wakifanya maendeleo ya haraka wakati wanaume 36,000 wa Jeshi la Jangwa la Magharibi la Uingereza walipokuwa wakikabiliana nao hawakuwa na chaguo ila kurudi nyuma haraka. "Licha ya kuwa na idadi kubwa, kamanda mkuu wa Italia, Rodolfo Graziani, ambaye alikuwa amepata jina la ""Mchinjaji"" kwa kukandamiza kwa ukali uasi nchini Libya, alishuku kwamba jeshi lake lililokuwa na vifaa visivyofaa, halikufundishwa vizuri, na halikuwa na nia nzuri, na alikuwa tayari amechelewesha maendeleo kwa wiki kadhaa. ""Hata hivyo, bila upinzani, katika siku nne tu walifika Sidi Barani, maili 60 ndani ya Misri, lakini bado maili 400 mbali na Cairo." Hapa, akiwa na njia zake za mawasiliano zikiwa zimepunguzwa na kuwa hatarini kwa mashambulizi ya angani, aliamuru kuimarishwa kwa kambi nyingi zilizojengwa kwa ngome ambapo alingoja, akiruhusu wakati wa Waingereza kuungana tena na kufikiria upya mkakati wao. Mnamo Novemba 1940, chini ya uongozi wa Jenerali Richard O'Connor, walishambulia. Kambi za Waitaliano zilikuwa zimejengwa mbali sana na kila mmoja wao na kwa sababu ya eneo la jangwa, ilikuwa rahisi kwa silaha za Uingereza kuzunguka na kuishambulia kutoka nyuma. Hii walifanya kwa mafanikio ya kushangaza kama kile kilichokuwa kimekusudiwa kuwa kidogo zaidi ya upelelezi katika nguvu na malengo mdogo iligeuka kuwa mashambulizi ya kiwango kamili kama out-maneuvered na kuzidi ngome akaanguka moja kwa moja kwa kasi kubwa na mara nyingi upinzani mdogo katika kile kilichofanana na upelelezi operesheni badala ya mapigano. Mwaka 1941 Italia ilishindwa na Uingereza, na kwa hiyo Uingereza ilishinda mji wa Sidi Barani, mji wa Tobruk, mji wa Badr, mji wa Benghazi, na mji wa Tripoli. Jeshi la kumi la Italia lilikuwa limepigwa kwa mapigo katika miezi mitatu tu ya mapigano, na askari 5,700 waliuawa na 133,298 waliokamatwa pamoja na mizinga 420 na bunduki 845. Kwa gharama ya majeruhi chini ya 2,000 ilionekana kama O'Connor alikuwa karibu kuwafukuza Waitaliano kutoka Afrika Kaskazini kabisa lakini Waziri Mkuu Winston Churchill akiamini vita katika jangwa kama nzuri zilikuwa zimeshindwa, aliita mashambulizi ya kuondoa majeshi na vitengo vya mitambo kwa kampeni yake iliyopangwa nchini Ugiriki. Ndoto ya Mussolini ya Mare Nostrum, milki kubwa ya Italia inayotawala Mediterania na ushindi wa kijeshi wa kulinganisha na yeyote wa mshirika wake Adolf Hitler, ilikuwa imevunjika na alipokuwa akiongeza haraka kile kilichobaki cha Jeshi la Kumi, alimwomba Fuhrer aje kumsaidia. Hitler, ambaye hakutaka kuona mshirika wake akinyenyekezwa, kwa kweli alisafiri kumsaidia na ambaye alikuwa na vifaa bora vya kupigana katika kampeni ya jangwa kuliko bwana wa vita vya simu, Jenerali wake mpendwa, Erwin Rommel. Rumel aliwasili Tripoli Februari 12, 1941 ili kuchukua madaraka ya Panzer Afrika, au Afrika Korps. Hata hivyo, hata baada ya kuidhinishwa na Fuhrer, uhuru wake wa kutenda ulipaswa kupunguzwa na hivyo akawekwa chini ya amri ya Italia, uamuzi ambao pia ulisaidia kurudisha kiburi cha Duce wa Pili kilichokuwa kimeharibiwa. Lakini hilo lingekuwa kizuizi kidogo kuliko vile alifikiri mwanzoni kwa sababu alichagua kupuuza jambo hilo. Afrika Korps ya Rommel ilikuwa na idadi ndogo ya askari, ilikuwa na majeshi mawili tu, watu 45,000 na mizinga 120, lakini wakati huo ilikuwa tu nia ya kuimarisha Jeshi la Kumi la Italia na kubaki katika ulinzi. Rommel alikuwa na matumaini madogo ya kufanya lolote, na kwa kutokuwa na subira kama wakati mwingine alikuwa tayari akipanga kampeni ya mbele, akitoa amri kwa mizinga yake, hata wakati walikuwa wakifungwa kwenye bandari, kuendesha mara kwa mara kuzunguka block ili kudanganya macho ya wapelelezi wa Uingereza, wakati akimwambia Mhandisi Mkuu wake kujenga mizinga kadhaa bandia ya canvass ili kudanganya upelelezi wa angani. Afrika Korps yake ilikuwa tayari ikichukua nafasi katika mstari wa mbele hata kabla ya vifaa vyao kutua kabisa na kama ilivyopangwa walifanya kelele nyingi na kupiga vumbi nyingi iwezekanavyo. Mnamo 24 Machi, Rommel aliingia katika jangwa la Cyrenaica, akipinga kabisa Uingereza, ambayo haikuwa inatarajia mashambulizi makubwa kwa miezi mingi, na kuondolewa kwa makundi yao matatu bora kwa shughuli za Ugiriki, walikuwa na vifaa vibaya na hata chini ya tayari kukutana na moja. El-Ageila, Bardia na Benghazi zote zilishindwa kwa haraka kwa sababu ya kasi ya uvamizi huo, na majibu ya Waingereza yalikuwa ya kutisha. Kwa kukimbilia kuepuka kuzungukwa na kukatwa, waliacha sio tu idadi kubwa ya vifaa, lakini idadi yoyote ya maafisa wakuu waliochukuliwa mateka, miongoni mwao Jenerali O'Connor, ambaye sasa ni maarufu, aliyekamatwa Aprili 6 na Kikundi cha Ugunduzi, au kama propaganda ya Ujerumani ilidai baadaye, Kitengo cha Canteen. Mnamo Aprili 11, wakati Waingereza walipoimarisha mstari wao karibu na mpaka wa Misri, bandari ya Tobruk tu ndiyo iliyokuwa imedumu. Ingawa Rommel alikuwa amevunjika moyo sana kwa kushindwa kwake kukamata Tobruk, ambayo bado ilikuwa chini ya kuzingirwa, alikuwa amepata ushindi zaidi ya matarajio yake mwenyewe. Katika muda wa majuma matatu tu, alikuwa ameshinda tena maeneo yote yaliyokuwa yamepotea hapo awali na Jeshi la Kumi la Italia. Ilikuwa mafanikio ya kushangaza ambayo yaliwafanya Waingereza washangae. Lakini Tobruk, ambayo sasa ilikuwa zaidi ya maili mia moja nyuma ya mistari ya Ujerumani na kuweza kuandaliwa tena kwa bahari, ilileta tishio kwa mistari ya mawasiliano ya Axis ambayo haingeweza kupuuzwa, wala wale wanaoitwa Desert Rats hawangeweza kuondolewa, kwa hivyo Rommel alilazimika kujitolea sehemu kubwa ya jeshi lake kwa uwekezaji wake uliendelea ambao ulimfanya awe dhaifu mahali pengine. Au, angalau, ingepaswa kuwa hivyo. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""Mkuu wa jeshi la Uingereza Mashariki ya Kati, Jenerali Archibald Wavell, alianzisha operesheni ya Breviary mnamo Mei 15, mashambulizi ya kupigana yaliyokusudiwa kukamata Halfiya, ambayo baadaye ilibadilishwa jina kuwa Hellfire Pass." Baada ya mafanikio ya awali, mashambulizi ya Ujerumani yalichukua tena ardhi yote iliyopotea na shambulio hilo lilifutwa baada ya siku moja tu. Chini ya mkazo kutoka kwa Serikali ya London, Wavell alipaswa kujaribu tena. Operesheni ya Battle Axe ilianza Juni 15 na ilikuwa na lengo kubwa zaidi kuliko lile la awali, kwani ilikuwa ni kuondoa vikosi vyote vya Axis kutoka Cyrenaica Mashariki, na hivyo kuondoa njia ya Tobruk na kuondoa kikosi chake. Kwa kuwa Churchill aliamini kwamba walikuwa na idadi kubwa, ingawa Wavell hakuwa na uhakika, alikuwa na uhakika wa mafanikio, lakini akiwa ameonywa mapema kuhusu mashambulizi hayo, Rommel alikuwa ameweka silaha zake mapema. Haikuwa mara ya mwisho kampeni ya Uingereza katika Jangwa la Magharibi kuharibiwa na mawasiliano duni na ukosefu wa uratibu na wakati huu itakuwa kushindwa mapema ambayo ingedhoofisha mafanikio ya baadaye. Kwa mujibu wa taarifa ya shirika la habari la Reuters, wakati wa mashambulizi hayo, Rommel alitumia mbinu ya Panzer Mark IV ambayo ilifanya wapiganaji wa Uingereza wachache wa aina ya Matilda na Crusader wavamie eneo hilo. Panzers waliondoka, wakifunua silaha za Uingereza kwa uzito kamili wa bunduki zake za 88mm na makombora mazito, wakati magari ya kivita na mgawanyiko wa magari ulihamia kuzunguka nafasi ya Uingereza. Ilikuwa mbinu ambayo Rommel alitumia tena na tena na kwa matokeo makubwa. Wanajeshi wa Uingereza na Waislamu walipokuwa chini ya moto kutoka pande zote na kuingiliwa na redio za hali ya chini ambazo mara nyingi hazikusikika, mara nyingi waliangushwa katika hali ya kuchanganyikiwa bila kujua kama wanapaswa kusonga mbele, kurudi nyuma au kubaki mahali walipo. Hofu ya kuzingirwa na kuzungukwa ilikuwa ya daima na mara nyingi ilisababisha uhamisho usio wa lazima, kukimbia mapema, na kuachwa kwa kutumia vifaa. Baada ya siku tatu za mapigano, operesheni ya Battleaxe ilifutwa baada ya kushindwa kufikia malengo yake. Waingereza walikuwa wamepoteza zaidi ya watu elfu moja na mizinga 96 - zaidi ya nusu ya wale waliotumika - yote ambayo yaliachwa yakiwa yameachwa kwenye uwanja wa vita. Wajerumani walipoteza mizinga 12 tu, lakini walichukua mizinga ya Uingereza ambayo ingeweza kurekebishwa. Ilikuwa mfano wa ukosefu wa uangalifu uliokuja kutawala shughuli za Uingereza wakati wa Vita vya Jangwa. Churchill alivunjika moyo sana na kushindwa kwa operesheni ya Battle Axe, sio tu ilikuwa ni kushindwa kwa morale nyingine, lakini mizinga mingi iliyopotea ilikuwa imetumwa kutoka Uingereza ambayo bado ilikuwa chini ya tishio la uvamizi na ambayo hawakuweza kupoteza. Matokeo yakawa kwamba Jenerali Wavell alifutwa kazi na kubadilishwa na Jenerali Sir Claude Auchinleck. The hivi karibuni kuwa Desert Fox alikuwa mara mbili majaribio na mara mbili alikuwa alishinda <unk> lakini angalau Tobruk bado kushikilia nje. Kufuatia kushindwa kwa Operesheni ya Battleaxe kulikuwa na utulivu katika mapigano wakati pande zote mbili zilipopangwa upya kwa kampeni inayokuja. Rommel alikuwa na hamu ya kuendelea na kuuteka mji wa Tobruk, lakini ilikuwa ni Waingereza ambao walipata upatikanaji wa vifaa rahisi zaidi. Mnamo Agosti, Auchinleck alimteua Luteni Jenerali Alan Cunningham kuamuru Jeshi la Nane lililokuwa limebadilishwa hivi karibuni na kujitayarisha kwa mashambulizi makubwa. Operesheni ya Crusader ilianza Novemba 18, 1941, na lengo lake lilikuwa kuharibu silaha za majeshi ya Axis na kuondoa Tobruk. Rommel alidai kuwa alishindwa kuimarisha ulinzi wake dhidi ya Tobruk na kwamba jeshi la Uingereza lilipokuwa likishambulia eneo hilo, kikosi cha 7 cha kivita kilikuwa kimepiga hatua ya kuimarisha ulinzi wake. Rommel alichukua mtego na kupigana kwa nguvu na azimio lake la kawaida lakini operesheni ambayo ilikusudiwa kuchukua faida kamili ya kipengele cha mshangao ilishindwa tena na hivi karibuni ikawa mapambano ya kuchanganyikiwa na ya muda mrefu. Wakati Kikosi cha 7 cha Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi la Jeshi. Kwa kutumia silaha zao za 88mm, Afrika Korps ilishinda vikosi vya 22nd Armoured Brigade, na hivyo kuifanya kuwa kikosi cha kivita cha kuweza kujihami, lakini licha ya kuondolewa kwa silaha hizo, New Zealand Division na 5th South African Brigade ziliendelea na vita, na vikosi hivyo vilipigwa vita. Hata hivyo, tena mashambulizi ya Uingereza yalionekana kuwa yamekoma na Cunningham akionyesha kupoteza moyo aliomba mara kwa mara kuruhusiwa kurudi Misri. Auchinleck, akiwa amekata tamaa kwa ukosefu wake wa azimio alimchukua nafasi ya Meja-Jenerali Neil Ritchie. "Alipokuwa akishangazwa na mafanikio yake huko Sidi Rezaq, na labda tena bila kuona picha kubwa, Rommel sasa alitumia fursa ya kushambulia ulinzi wa Uingereza kabla ya Misri katika kile kilichojulikana kama ""Dash for the Wire,"" Ritchie aliruhusu vikosi vya Axis kupita, na kuwaweka chini ya mashambulizi ya makombora na mashambulizi ya mara kwa mara na Jeshi la Anga la Jangwa." Kwa sababu ya kukata tamaa na mbinu za kuchelewesha, kukosa risasi, na kulazimika kuacha mizinga ya thamani kwa sababu ya ukosefu wa mafuta, Rommel hakuwa na chaguo ila kuamuru kuondolewa kwa jumla. "Mshambuliaji huyo alishindwa na ""kufikia ushindi wa moja kwa moja"" na alishinda mji wa Tobruk tarehe 27 Novemba na kurudi kwenye eneo lake la mwanzo huko El-Aghila mwezi Machi." Hata hivyo, licha ya hasara zake, jeshi lake lilikuwa limetoka kwa utaratibu na jeshi lake halikuwa limeharibiwa. "Operesheni ya ""Crusader"" ilifanikiwa pale ilipoonekana kuwa imepangwa kushindwa, kwa hivyo ilikuwa ushindi wa aina, na misaada ya Tobruk ilipokelewa kwa furaha, lakini kampeni ya Jangwa ilibaki mbali na kumaliza." Mnamo Januari 21, 1942, Rommel alishambulia Benghazi kwa muda mfupi, lakini alisimama. Vikosi vya Axis na Allied vilikuwa vimechoka na vimechoka na vifaa lakini wote wawili walikuwa na nia ya kuanza tena mashambulizi haraka iwezekanavyo - ilikuwa Rommel ambaye alishambulia kwanza. Mnamo 26 Mei, alishambulia nafasi za Uingereza ndani na karibu na mji wa Gazala katika shambulio la kugeuza wakati alipohamasisha sehemu kubwa ya jeshi lake kugeuza upande wa kushoto wa adui. Majibu ya Waingereza yalikuwa ya kuchanganyikiwa na ya kusita wakati walipokuwa wakishambulia katika sehemu fulani huku wakijiondoa katika nyingine wakimruhusu Rommel ambaye alikuwa anajikosa daima fursa ya kutenganisha vikosi vya Waingereza na kuviangamiza vipande vipande. Bila silaha za kivita, kulikuwa na nyakati ambapo mashambulizi ya Uingereza yalionekana karibu kuharibu mashambulizi ya Ujerumani, lakini Rommel hakupoteza mwelekeo wake wa vitendo na ukosefu wa uratibu na kusudi la kimkakati ulifanya mashambulizi hayo yasitokee. Mnamo Mei 28, Rommel alilazimika kusimamisha mashambulizi kwa muda kwa sababu ya upungufu wa mafuta na kusubiri vifaa, lakini Waingereza walithibitika kuwa hawawezi kuchukua mpango huo. Baada ya siku mbili, aliendelea na mashambulizi na hivi karibuni alikuwa akizingira ngome ya Bir Hacheim upande wa kushoto wa mstari wa Muungano wakati akipeleka vikosi kupima kaskazini kuelekea Tobruk. Waingereza waliogopa kuzungukwa na wakaanza kujiondoa haraka. Bir Hacheim ililindwa na Vikosi vya Ufaransa Huru wengi wao walikuwa Jeshi la Kigeni na Vikosi vya kikoloni kutoka Afrika ya Ikweta. Kwa sababu ya idadi yao iliyokuwa chini ya kumi kwa moja, Wafaransa walitarajiwa kujisalimisha lakini kwa kweli waliendelea kwa zaidi ya wiki moja na hatimaye hawakuacha nafasi zao hadi Juni 10. Ulinzi mkubwa katika Bir Hacheim ulikuwa umetoa nafasi ya kupumua yenye thamani kwa Auchinleck ambaye alikuwa amemchukua nafasi ya Ritchie na kuchukua amri ya kibinafsi. Alirudi nyuma kilomita 100 hadi kituo cha reli cha El Alamein, na kuondoa jeshi lake kwa utaratibu. Jiji la Tobruk, ambalo lilikuwa limedumu kwa miezi tisa likiwa limezungukwa na vita vya Blitz, lilipigwa na jeshi la Uingereza katika muda wa saa 24 tu. Ingawa ilikuwa imebaki imefungwa vizuri, ulinzi wake ulikuwa umepuuzwa na kuharibika, na kulikuwa na mvurugo ikiwa bandari inapaswa kuendelea kutetezwa, lakini kwa hakika haikuwa nia ya kujisalimisha kwa aibu. Ingawa baadhi ya vikosi vilikufaulu kutoroka usiku huo, wafungwa 36,000 walichukuliwa, miongoni mwao theluthi moja ya jeshi lote la Afrika Kusini pamoja na vifaa vingi. Churchill, ambaye alikuwa Washington kwa mkutano na Rais Roosevelt, alipokea habari hiyo kwa kutoamini na kuzama katika kukata tamaa, na alikuwa na kufarijiwa na Rais wakati alipolalamika juu ya kutokuwa na uwezo wa Kamanda wake na roho ya kupigana ya askari wake. Kutekwa kwa Tobruk kulikuwa wakati wa upeo wa kazi ya kijeshi ya Rommel na mashine ya Wizara ya Uenezaji wa Joseph Goebbel mara moja ilianza kufanya kazi. "Akieleza kwamba kukamatwa kwa mji wa Tobruk ilikuwa zawadi yake binafsi kwa Fuhrer, ""Mbwa mwitu wa Jangwa"" alipelekwa Ujerumani ambapo alihudhuria sherehe huko Berlin alipandishwa cheo na kupewa cheo cha Field Marshal na Hitler mwenyewe wakati kamera zilipokuwa zikizunguka na picha zilipiga dunia nzima." Hadithi ya Desert Fox ilizaliwa lakini haikuwa tu kukamata kwake Tobruk na mafanikio katika wakati na tena kukataa uwezekano wa kukataza na kushinda adui bora lakini njia ambayo aliongoza kampeni hiyo iliondolewa kama ilivyokuwa kutoka kwa ukatili wa Mstari wa Mashariki. Ukatili, ikiwa ulikuwepo, ulikuwa wachache na wafungwa kwa ujumla walitendewa vizuri. Kwa kweli, Rommel alisisitiza kwamba wapate chakula kama yeye na mara nyingi alitembelea mahali pao pa kufungwa ili kuchunguza hali. Pia alikataa kutekeleza amri ya Hitler ya kuwaua askari wa kikomando, ambayo ilidai kwamba askari hao wapigwe risasi wakikamatwa, na vilevile hakutaka kuwaua askari Wayahudi waliokamatwa au kuwapa askari wa kikomando. "Alikuwa akishikilia kauli yake ya ""vita bila chuki"" na kwa wengi waliopigana katika kampeni ya jangwa ilikuwa ni vita ya mwisho ya heshima, kama kweli kuna kitu kama hicho." Si tu kasi yake ya mawazo na matendo kama vile kurekebisha 88mm kupambana na ndege bunduki kwa ajili ya matumizi dhidi ya silaha adui, na kuifanya silaha ya kutisha zaidi ya vita ya jangwa, na kupeleka vikosi yake ya simu kwa njia ya daima kuchanganyikiwa na kuchanganyikiwa mpinzani daima bora, lakini heshima yake ya kawaida kwamba alifanya yake shujaa kwa pande zote mbili, kitu ambacho propaganda ya Ujerumani alikuwa na hamu ya kutumia na alifanya hivyo unremittingly na kwa mafanikio makubwa. Ushindi wake pia ulikuwa ni kivutio cha kufurahisha kutoka kwa mabomu ya miji ya Ujerumani, ukweli mbaya wa vita katika Mstari wa Mashariki na ufahamu unaoongezeka kwamba hii ilikuwa ni mapambano ya muda mrefu na ya kuonekana bila mwisho. Churchill alishuku kwamba upendezi kwa Rommel ulikuwa umepata jeshi lake ambalo halikuwa na nia ya kutosha kumshinda. Haikuwa hofu isiyo na msingi. Kufikia mwisho wa Juni, nafasi za Axis zilikuwa maili 66 tu kutoka Alexandria na Rommel, mara nyingi kukosolewa kwa kutumia muda mwingi sana mbele na kutibu kila vita kama kama ilikuwa ikipigana katika bustani yake mwenyewe, sasa alikuwa na maono ya kimkakati yake mwenyewe. "Ikiwa angeweza kuvunja El Alamein, basi kwa hakika Mfereji wa Suez ungechukuliwa, Misri ingeanguka, mashamba ya mafuta ya Mashariki ya Kati yangefunikwa, na angeweza kusonga mbele kuungana na vikosi vya Ujerumani katika Caucasus. """ Lakini hilo halikuwa wazo lililoshirikiwa na Fuhrer ambaye bado aliona kampeni ya Jangwa kama operesheni ya kushikilia na hakutaka kugeuza vikosi kutoka pande za mashariki kwenda Afrika Korps licha ya ahadi zake za mara nyingi zisizo wazi za kufanya hivyo. El-Amin ilikuwa katika sehemu ya kaskazini ya bahari na kusini ya Quattara Depression, eneo kubwa la vilima vya mchanga na mabwawa ya chumvi ambayo hayakuweza kupita kwa usafiri wa magari. Kwa hiyo, kwa sababu ya kuwa na uwezo wa kuimarisha ulinzi wa Uingereza, Rommel alilazimika kuvunja ngome hiyo. Hata hivyo, Mussolini, akiamini ushindi ulikuwa karibu, alisafiri kwenda Tripoli, akiwa amevaa sare yake bora, akiwa ameazimia kushiriki wakati huo na bila shaka kudai sifa. Wakati huo huo, Jenerali Auchinleck alitoa maagizo kwa Wakuu wake wakisema kwamba Rommel hakuwa superman wala asiyeweza kushindwa, haipaswi kuonwa kama hivyo, na kwamba hii inapaswa kupitishwa kwa wanaume haraka iwezekanavyo. Ushindi wa Rommel huko Gazala ulisababisha msukosuko katika makao makuu ya Uingereza huko Cairo, ambapo katika hali ya hofu na kuogopa kuwasili kwa Desert Fox, hati za siri zilichomwa na maandalizi yalifanywa kwa ajili ya kujiondoa haraka. Auchinleck aliamini kwamba upungufu wa eneo la mbele ulimpa nafasi ya kuamua mwendo wa vita kwa kuunda masanduku ya ulinzi ambayo yangeweza kuingiza silaha za Axis katika nafasi ndogo ambapo zingeweza kuharibiwa. Alitangaza kwamba angemzuia Rommel huko Alamein na hata kugeuza mwelekeo wa kampeni, lakini haikuwa maoni yaliyoshirikiwa sana. Rommel alianza mashambulizi yake Julai 1. Hata hivyo, alishindwa kwa idadi ya watu na silaha kwa asilimia mbili, lakini kwa kuwa aliona kwamba Waingereza walikuwa karibu kuvunjika, aliendelea kuwa na uhakika wa ushindi, lakini hali haikuwa nzuri. Chini ya anga la bluu wazi na katika jangwa wazi, safu zake zilikuwa hasa hatari kwa mashambulizi kutoka kwa Jeshi la Anga la Jangwa ambalo licha ya juhudi za kukimbilia kutupa vumbi na kutengeneza moshi, lilipigwa mabomu na kupigwa risasi bila kukoma, na kuchukua gharama kubwa. Licha ya majaribio ya mara kwa mara ya kukata barabara ya pwani, kutenganisha na kuharibu nafasi za Uingereza na kuwashawishi kwa mfululizo wa ujanja kuacha ulinzi wao, hakuweza kufanya maendeleo kidogo na baada ya kupigana na jeshi lake hadi hatua ya uchovu alilazimika kujiondoa. Hii ilikuwa fursa nyingine kwa Kamanda wa Uingereza kuchukua hatua na kudai ushindi wa kuamua lakini wakati shambulio la kulipiza kisasi lilipokuja, mara nyingine tena lilishindwa kwa sababu ya uratibu mbaya na kufikiri kwa kuchanganyikiwa. Hata hivyo, Misri ilikuwa imeokolewa hadithi ya Rommel iliharibiwa. Ushindi wa Auchinleck katika vita vya kwanza vya El Alamein haukumrudisha hadhi yake na mnamo Agosti alibadilishwa kama Kamanda Mkuu na Jenerali Sir Harold Alexander wakati Luteni Jenerali William Gott aliteuliwa kuwa kamanda wa Jeshi la Nane. Gott alipouawa katika ajali ya ndege siku chache baadaye, Jenerali Bernard Law Montgomery aliitwa haraka kuchukua nafasi yake. Montgomery, ambaye baadaye alijulikana kama Monty, alikuwa kamanda wa kikosi cha jeshi katika vita vya Magharibi na alikuwa na jukumu muhimu katika vita vya Dunkirk. "Alikuwa na tabia ya kukata tamaa, ambaye mara nyingi alikuwa katika mzozo na wakuu wake, hata hivyo alikuwa mtaalamu kamili ambaye anaweza kuwa amekosa wapinzani wake wa Ujerumani, lakini hakuna mtu wa kujiamini kwake na aliamini kabisa kwamba kwa nguvu za kutosha na rasilimali angeweza kumshinda Rommel, na hakuwa na haya katika kusema hivyo: ""Nipe wiki mbili na ninaweza kupinga shambulio la Ujerumani.""" Nipe wiki tatu na naweza kumshinda Bosch. Nipe mwezi mmoja na nitamfukuza nje ya Afrika. <unk> Kwa kweli, imani yake mwenyewe ilikuwa hivyo kwamba hata Churchill ambaye mara nyingi alikuwa na huzuni alivutiwa. "Hakuwa na hofu ya Desert Fox, lakini alimheshimu kutosha kuwa na picha yake kunyongwa katika trela yake. """ Lakini hangekimbilia, na hakungeacha chochote kikiwa cha bahati mbaya. Kwanza angerejesha morale ya Jeshi la Nane na kuwazoeza askari wake kwa ajili ya vita vilivyokuja; na kwa sauti yake ya kipekee ya juu, na mavazi ya kichwa ya alama ya biashara, angethibitisha kuwa msukumo kwa askari wake kama vile Rommel alivyokuwa kwa Afrika Korps yake. Rommel, akiwa na hamu ya kumjaribu Kamanda huyo mpya wa Uingereza, aliamua kugeuza upande wa kushoto wa Allied na kisha kushinikiza kwenye Mfereji wa Suez, lakini aliiarifu nia yake kutoka Ultra, Montgomery alirudi kilomita tano na kuchukua nafasi kwenye mteremko wa Alam Halfa. Hapa majeshi yalichimbwa, mabomu ya ardhini yaliwekwa na alikuwa na mizinga yake imezikwa hadi kwenye minara yao katika mchanga ili itumiwe kama makombora tu. "Mgomo huo ulikuwa wa ulinzi na Montgomery alikuwa ameamuru kwamba hakutakuwa na kurudi nyuma, na alibaki ""hakuna zaidi ya kuamua kwamba hakutakuwa na maendeleo.""" Rommel alianzisha mashambulizi ya kwanza mnamo Agosti 30 na kuendelea kushambulia kwa wiki moja, lakini Montgomery hakuweza kuondoa Waingereza na kulazimisha uvumbuzi, na alikuwa na chaguo dogo ila kujiondoa kwenye Cauldron, nafasi ya ulinzi nyuma ya uwanja wa mabomu. Licha ya kushindwa kwake katika vita vya Alam Halfa, Rommel aliendelea kuwa na uhakika kwamba alikuwa na kipimo cha mpinzani wake ambaye alikuwa amejionyesha kuwa mwenye hofu na tahadhari kuliko watangulizi wake, lakini kwa mara ya kwanza kwa faragha alielezea mashaka kwamba angeweza kufikia ushindi kamili. Montgomery alishtakiwa na Churchill na Alexander kutumia ushindi wake lakini alikataa kugeuzwa kutoka kwa maandalizi ya shambulio lake mwenyewe. Akiwa kiongozi wa kikosi cha wanajeshi wa Kiingereza, Australia, New Zealand, Afrika Kusini, Ufaransa, Poland na Ugiriki, alielewa vizuri mapungufu ya Jeshi la Raia, wale ambao hawakuelezwa katika hali ya kijeshi na ubora wa rangi na kujitolea kwa mtu mmoja. Hata hivyo, aliamini kwamba jeshi lililokuwa limefundishwa vizuri, lenye rasilimali za kutosha, na lililoongozwa vizuri, na ambalo lilikuwa na ufahamu wa sababu waliyokuwa wakipigana, bado lingeweza kushinda. "Mwanzoni mwa vita, Monty aliwaambia askari: ""Vita ambavyo sasa vinakaribia kuanza vitakuwa moja ya vita muhimu zaidi katika historia, vitakuwa hatua ya kugeuza vita." Macho ya ulimwengu wote yatakuwa juu yetu kwa wasiwasi kuangalia ni njia gani vita itabadilika? "Tunaweza kuwapa jibu lao mara moja - itabidi itupigie njia yetu. ""Monty alikuwa amejitayarisha vizuri na kujenga vikosi vyake vya kutosha kupata utawala wazi katika nguvu za watu, silaha, na angani." Alikuwa na watu 195,000 chini ya amri yake, mizinga 1,029 na Jeshi la Anga la Jangwa ambalo hivi karibuni liliongezwa na vikosi vya ziada vya mabomu vya Mitchell vya Marekani. Rommel aliweza kuajiri watu 105,000 (watu 55,000 kati yao walikuwa Waitaliano) na mizinga 547 (chini ya nusu ya ambayo ilikuwa Panzers) pamoja na msaada wa Luftwaffe. Ingawa walikuwa wengi kuliko wengine, walikuwa wamejificha nyuma ya waya wenye miiba na mabomu ya ardhini zaidi ya 500,000! Wakati wa saa 21.40 asubuhi tarehe 23 Oktoba 1942, makombora 882 yalifunguliwa kwenye maeneo ya mbele ya majeshi ya Axis kwa mlio uliotetemesha ardhi na kuangaza anga jeusi la jangwa. Chini ya ulinzi wa shambulio hili la kimbunga, operesheni ya Lightfoot ilianza wakati maelfu ya wapiganaji wa kivita walipoendelea mbele katika giza ili kuondoa njia kupitia mashamba ya mabomu kwa ajili ya silaha za kivita kufuata. Wakati vita vikubwa vya nchi kavu vya kampeni ya Jangwa la Magharibi vilipoanza, Rommel alikuwa mbali nyumbani akipona kutokana na uchovu na ugonjwa. Wakati wa ziara ya kwanza ya jeshi la Afrika, wakati wa ziara ya kwanza ya jeshi la Afrika, Georg Stummel, aliyekuwa akisimamia Afrika Korps, alikufa kutokana na mshtuko wa moyo, na wakati Rommel aliporudi siku iliyofuata, alikuwa amekasirika sana na Stummel kwa sababu ya kuwa ametoa amri ya kushambulia. Kwa kuchunguza hali hiyo haraka, Rommel aligundua kwamba Vikosi vyake vya Italia vilikuwa vimeharibiwa sana, na silaha zake zilikuwa zimepunguzwa sana na mabomu ya angani. Kwa hiyo hangeweza kuamuru mashambulizi ya jumla ng'ambo ya mstari, lakini angeshambulia mahali alipoweza. Ukosefu wa mafuta ungehakikisha kwamba majibu yake ya kigaidi yangekutana na mafanikio machache tu lakini shambulio la Uingereza lingekoma hata hivyo. "Churchill alishangaa na kusema, ""Je, nina jenerali anayeweza kushinda vita?"" Montgomery aliamini hivyo na aliamua kwamba mapigano hayapaswi kuingia katika hali ya kukosa mafanikio hata hivyo kudumisha kasi ilikuwa vigumu." Hata hivyo, hali ilikuwa nzuri sana kwake. Wakati Oktoba 28, majeshi mawili ya Panzer na msaada wa jeshi la miguu yalipiga katikati na kushoto ya mstari wa Muungano, waligongana na silaha za Uingereza, wakarudi kwenye mashambulizi na mapigano yalifuata, ambayo yaliona Wajerumani wakipigwa nyuma na hasara kubwa. "Katika barua yake kwa mke wake, Rommel aliandika hivi: ""Kwa mara ya kwanza maishani mwangu sikujua la kufanya."" ""Kwa kushindwa, Rommel aliwasiliana na makao makuu ya Ujerumani akiomba ruhusa ya kujiondoa." Jibu alilopokea lilimfanya awe na mshangao - alipaswa kubaki mahali alipokuwa na kupigana hadi mtu wa mwisho. Kwa kutoamini, aliomba agizo hilo lirudiwe. Ilikuwa, na ilikuwa imetoka moja kwa moja kutoka kwa Fuhrer. Amri hiyo haikuwa na maana yoyote ya kijeshi, lakini kwa siku mbili alisita kwa gharama kubwa kwa jeshi lake wakati mapigano yalipokuwa yakiongezeka. Hatimaye, Novemba 4, akiwa na mizinga 35 tu iliyobaki na imani yake katika Fuhrer ikitikisika sana, aliamuru marudio ya jumla. Wakati Afrika Korps ilipokuwa ikiondoka, ilichukua magari ya usafiri ya washirika wake wa Italia na kuwafukuza wale waliojaribu kupata lifti. Ingawa utendaji wao ulikuwa umeboresha chini ya amri yake na baadhi ya vitengo vilikuwa vimepigana vizuri sana, kwa kweli unyenyekevu wao wa awali haukusahauliwa kwa urahisi na wao wenyewe au na Kamanda wa Afrika Korps ambaye alibaki kwa kiasi kikubwa kwa udharau wa kitengo cha Italia cha jeshi lake na mchango wao kwa ujumla. Wakiwa na vifaa vya hali ya chini, wakiongozwa vibaya na mara nyingi wakikataliwa mafuta na vifaa, ni vikosi hivi ambavyo vilikuwa vimebeba mzigo mkubwa wa shambulio la El Alamein ambavyo sasa vingechinjwa - kati ya wafungwa 35,000 wa Axis waliochukuliwa, karibu wote walikuwa Waitaliano. Kwa kweli, kuondolewa kwa Afrika Korps kwa utaratibu kulitofautiana sana na hali mbaya ya washirika wao na askari wengi wa Italia walilalamika kwa uchungu juu ya ukosefu wa uongozi kutoka kwa maafisa wao wenyewe ambao wengi wao waliwaacha tu wakati wa kurudi kwao. Kwa msaada wa hali mbaya ya hewa ambayo ilifanya sehemu kubwa ya Jeshi la Anga la Muungano, mfululizo wa vitendo vya kuchelewesha vilivyoelekezwa vizuri, na tahadhari ya Montgomery mwenyewe, Afrika Korps iliweza kujiondoa bila kuharibiwa, ikiepuka mapigano ambayo yalionekana kuwa ya lazima, lakini kurudi nyuma ilikuwa ni ndefu na chungu. Baada ya kuarifiwa na Alexander kwamba Afrika Korps ilikuwa imeshindwa na Rommel alikuwa katika ndege kamili, Churchill aliamuru kwamba kengele za kanisa zisikike kote Uingereza. Baada ya miaka mitatu ya mapambano makali, kwa mara ya kwanza na ya pekee katika vita, jeshi la Uingereza lilikuwa limeshinda kikamilifu jeshi la Ujerumani katika uwanja wa vita. "Wakati wa mkutano wa Bunge la Commons, Churchill alisema: ""Jenerali Montgomery amepata ushindi wa utukufu na wa kuamua." . . Sasa hii si mwisho. Huo si hata mwanzo wa mwisho. "Kama sehemu ya operesheni ya ""Torch"" iliyoongozwa na Marekani, majeshi ya Muungano yalitua katika maeneo ya Ufaransa ya Vichy, Morocco na Algeria, na tayari yalifuatwa na Waingereza mashariki, Rommel sasa alikuwa akishtakiwa na Wamarekani waliokuwa wakisonga mbele kutoka Magharibi." Mwisho ulionekana kuwa unaonekana lakini maendeleo ya Muungano yalibaki polepole na, licha ya kurudi nyuma kwa zaidi ya maili 2,000 na kuacha haraka Tripoli, Rommel bado aliweza kushinda mbio ya Tunisia na kuzuia jaribio la Muungano kuvunja mstari wake wa kurudi nyuma. Mnamo Februari 19, 1943, aliwaua wanaomfuata, akisimamisha Jeshi la Marekani la Pili katika vita vya Sidi-Zoubid kabla ya kuwavuta kwenye Mfereji wa Kassarine, ambapo kwa kutumia mbinu zilizokuwa zimekuwa zikifanya kazi kwa ufanisi dhidi ya Waingereza mapema katika kampeni, aliweka silaha za Marekani kwenye bunduki zake za 88mm na kuiharibu. Ni kurudi nyuma kwa haraka na bila heshima tu ndiko kulikuzuia kushindwa. Huo ulikuwa ni somo gumu katika vita vya jangwani kwa Wamarekani wasio na ujuzi wa kijeshi, wasio na uzoefu wa vita, lakini walijifunza upesi. Lakini bila rasilimali za kutumia ushindi wake kikamilifu, pia ilitumika kama somo kwa Rommel pia, kwamba kama Napoleon Bonaparte zaidi ya miaka mia moja kabla ya kiasi cha genius uwanja wa vita inaweza kushinda uwezekano mkubwa katika kampeni endelevu. Mnamo Machi 6, aligeuza umakini wake kwa Waingereza lakini kulikuwa na ujanja wachache uliobaki katika locker yake ambayo Montgomery hakujua na kwa Waingereza waliobaki katika ulinzi, vita vya siku mbili vya Medenine vilikuwa mapambano mengine makali yaliyopigana bila kusudi zuri ambalo Fox ya Jangwa, ambayo ilikuwa ikizidi kuzingirwa, haingeweza tena. Kwa kweli, Rommel alijua kwamba Vita vya Jangwa vilikuwa vimepotezwa na mara kwa mara alimsihi Hitler kuondoa Afrika Korps kwenye bara la Italia kabla haijawa kuchelewa mno. "Kwa kushangaza, ilikuwa ni wakati huu tu, karibu na kushindwa, kwamba Hitler alianza kuchukua mzozo katika Afrika Kaskazini kwa uzito na kuanza kutuma msaada ambao mapema katika kampeni hiyo ungeweza kuthibitika kuwa muhimu, kwa sababu sasa aliona fursa ya kugeuza Tunisia kuwa ngome ambayo ingewashikilia Wamarekani katika kuzingirwa kwa muda mrefu na kwa damu ambayo ingepunguza shauku yao ya kupigana na kuwazuia kuingilia mahali pengine. """ Lakini Rommel hakuwa na jukumu la ziada la kucheza katika mpango wa mwisho wa mkakati wa Fuhrer na aliamriwa kurudi nyumbani mnamo Machi 9 na kubadilishwa na Jenerali Hans-Jürgen von Arnim. Mbweha wa Jangwa angeokolewa na aibu ya kushindwa. Mapigano ya Tunisia yaliendelea kwa miezi miwili, lakini kwa kuwa hawakuweza kuandaa kwa kutosha jeshi kubwa kama hilo katika eneo la Mediterania lililojaa ndege, meli za juu na nyambizi za Muungano, kwa kweli lilikuwa ni kambi kubwa ya kujitenga yenyewe. Kujiuzulu rasmi kwa majeshi ya Axis katika Afrika Kaskazini kulikubaliwa Mei 12, 1943. Kwa jumla, wafungwa 275,000 walichukuliwa, kati ya hao 130,000 walikuwa Wajerumani pamoja na mizinga yao yote, makombora, na vifaa vya vita. Ushindi huo ulikuwa mkubwa kuliko ule uliopigwa na Jeshi la Sita huko Stalingrad na uamuzi wa Hitler wa kuimarisha badala ya kuondoa jeshi lake katika Afrika Kaskazini ulikuwa moja ya makosa makubwa ya kimkakati ya vita. Lakini ukweli kwamba Rommel hakuwapo wakati wa mwisho wa vita uliongeza sifa yake zaidi, kama ilivyokuwa kupitia prism ya kushindwa kwa mrithi wake. Sifa ya Field-Marshal Rommel kwa ujasiri haikuwa ya kukataliwa lakini uwezo wake kama Kamanda ulikuwa umewekwa katika swali zaidi ya mara moja. Baada ya yote, hakuwa amewahi kuamuru vikosi vikubwa na hakuwa ametumikia katika mto wa Mashariki. Pia mwishowe alishindwa kuleta ushindi katika Afrika Kaskazini. Wengine walisema kwamba alikuwa na maisha rahisi na alikuwa ameongezwa cheo zaidi ya uwezo wake. Hata hivyo alikuwa kwa Wajerumani wengi 'Desert Fox' na Mkuu wao mkubwa aliye hai na alirudi nchini kama shujaa wa kitaifa. Hali ya vita ya jangwani ilikuwa imempa nafasi za utukufu ambazo hazikuwapo kwenye pande nyingine na matendo yake yalipokelewa vizuri. Kama vile pia ilivyokuwa kauli yake ya mara kwa mara ya "vita bila chuki" na ubinadamu wa dhahiri ambao aliipiga. Ilikuwa kitu ambacho Joseph Goebbels na Wizara yake ya Uenezaji na Uelewevu waliendelea kutumia kwa kiwango cha juu. Kwa hivyo, haja ya kulinda sifa yake ilikuwa muhimu sana hivi kwamba wakati kushindwa kulipoingia, alisafiri kwenda makao makuu ya Hitler huko Wolf's Lair kumsihi kuondoa Afrika Korps kwenda bara la Italia. "Alikuwa ""Mbwa mwitu wa jangwa"" lakini bado hakutumainiwa kabisa na Kamanda Mkuu wa Ujerumani, ambao wengi walidhani alikuwa mkali, asiyeweza kutabiriwa na kupandishwa cheo mbele ya wale wenye sifa bora." Pia alifikiriwa kuwa asiye na akili na baadhi ya viongozi wa Nazi ambao walijua kwamba hakuwa amewahi kuwa mwanachama wa chama hicho na pia walichukia uhusiano wake wa kibinafsi na Fuhrer. Baada ya kurudi, alifikiriwa kwa muda mfupi kuwa Kamanda Mkuu wa Jeshi, lakini hii ilikataliwa kwa sababu alikuwa maverick na hivi karibuni alijikuta akitumia muda zaidi na familia yake kuliko angeweza kutarajia. Wakati huo alikuwa shujaa bila jukumu na kulikuwa na kuonekana haraka kidogo kwa upande wa wakuu wake kumtafutia moja. Hata hivyo, newsreels walikuwa mara chache kutokuwepo <unk> Desert Fox nyumbani, Desert Fox na Fuhrer, Desert Fox na Magda Goebbels na watoto wake adorable. "Mwezi Julai 23, 1943, aliteuliwa kuwa kamanda wa jeshi la Ugiriki, lakini alibadilishwa siku mbili tu baadaye, na Agosti aliteuliwa kuwa Kamanda Mkuu wa Italia, lakini Hitler hakupenda mapendekezo yake ya ulinzi, hivi karibuni alimchukua na Luftwaffe Jenerali Albert Kesselring, mkosoaji wa muda mrefu wa Rommel, ambaye pia alikuwa na sikio la Fuhrer. """ Ilikuwa ni wakati wa kukatisha tamaa sana na alilalamika kwa uchungu kwa marafiki kwamba alikuwa akipigwa kando, kwamba hakuwa akifuatilia hali ya kijeshi na alijifunza tu juu ya matukio kutoka kwa magazeti. Katika Oktoba 1943, alipata ziara nyumbani kwake Herlingen na rafiki yake wa zamani Karl Strolin, Meya wa Stuttgart, ambaye alimjulisha hali katika kambi za mateso na mauaji ya Wayahudi. Kama wengine wengi alikataa kuamini kwamba uvumi kama huo unaweza kuwa kweli lakini kwa wakati mikononi mwake ilimwacha na mengi ya kutafakari <unk> je, ukatili kama huo usioelezeka kweli ulifanywa kwa jina la Jeshi la Ujerumani? Je, inawezekana kwamba Fuhrer anajua mambo kama hayo, labda hata anayakataa? Kwa kuwa vita vilikuwa vikipinga Ujerumani Mashariki na kuingilia kati kwa Muungano Magharibi, kukosekana kwa Rommel kutoka kwa uongozi kulikuwa na ugumu wa kuendelea. Mwaka 1944 alipopewa jukumu la kusimamia ngome za pwani za Ufaransa Magharibi, mahali ambapo meli za kivita za Muungano zilitarajiwa kutua. Alionyesha kama mstari wa kwanza wa ulinzi wa Reich ya Tatu na kujulikana kama Ukuta wa Atlantiki, hivi karibuni aligundua haikuwa jambo kama hilo. Akiwa ameshangazwa na kutupwa alikojikuta, alijitupa katika jukumu lake jipya kwa nguvu na shauku yote inayotarajiwa kutoka kwa Jenerali mkuu wa Ujerumani, ingawa ilibainishwa na wale waliomjua vizuri kuwa alikuwa mtu aliyebadilika. "Hata hivyo, kwa kuwa watu wengi hawakuweza kugundua hilo kutokana na habari zilizokuwa zikiwasilisha safari zake za mara kwa mara za ukaguzi, ""Mbwa-Mwitu wa Jangwa"" akiwa na uhakika na akiwa na alama yake ya biashara ya ""Masherati wa Shamba"" akawa picha ya kawaida kwenye sinema za Ujerumani." Kwa kweli, kulikuwa na kazi nyingi ya kufanya, kama vile kuchimba mabomu ya ardhini kwenye fuo za bahari, kuagiza ujenzi wa vituo vya makombora, mitego ya kupambana na mizinga, mamia ya masanduku ya saruji na kujenga vizuizi vya chini ya maji. Lakini Muungano walikuwa wamefanya kila wawezalo kuwadanganya Majeshi ya Juu ya Ujerumani katika eneo la uvamizi uliopangwa kuwafanya waamini kuwa itakuwa Pas-de-Calais, njia fupi zaidi ya kuvuka Channel kutoka Uingereza ambayo ilikuwa ambapo kazi nyingi za ujenzi zilikuwa zimezingatia. Rommel pia alikuwa na ugomvi na mkuu wake wa karibu, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, juu ya jinsi bora ya ulinzi wowote unapaswa kufanywa. Aliamini kwamba uvamizi huo ulipaswa kupingwa katika sehemu ya mawasiliano kwenye fukwe kabla ya Washirika kupata msingi, na kwamba Idara za Panzer zilipaswa kuletwa mbele na kutayarishwa kwa shambulio la mara moja. Von Rundstedt hakukubaliana na kuagiza silaha za Ujerumani zihifadhiwe kwa ajili ya ulinzi wa kina. Wakati huohuo, wakati Rommel alipokuwa akifikiria jinsi ya kukabiliana na uvamizi huo, wengine walikuwa tayari wakitafuta njia nyingine za kumaliza vita na mataifa ya Magharibi. """Kwamba kulikuwa na wale ndani ya Jeshi la Maofisa wasiofurahishwa na mwenendo wa vita wa Hitler haikuwa siri, kwamba wengine walikuwa wakitafuta kumwondoa madarakani hakika ilikuwa." Lakini ni nani awezaye kuaminiwa na nani asiyeweza, ilikuwa vigumu na hatari kuamua, ni nani angeweza kukataa kushiriki katika njama, lakini pia asiwadharau hata zaidi. Uhusiano wa kibinafsi wa Rommel na Hitler ulifanya msaada wake usio na uhakika, lakini kisha pia alijulikana kuwa na tofauti zake na Fuhrer. Polepole angeingizwa katika njama hiyo lakini hangeunga mkono mauaji ya Hitler. Lazima apelekwe mbele ya Mahakama ya Sheria na kuhukumiwa kwa uhalifu wake kama mtu mwingine yeyote. Ilikuwa ishara iliyo wazi ya upumbavu wake wa kisiasa. "Alikuwa na kukataa wazo lolote kama hilo wakati alipokuwa chini ya moja ya Fuhrer ""kiongezeka ya kawaida paranoid, meza-thumping tirades kwamba aliona yeye kimwili kuondolewa kutoka uwepo wake. """ Haikuwa mara ya kwanza kwamba kufuatia kutoelewana alikuwa ameamriwa kuondoka lakini katika hafla za awali alikuwa amealikwa nyuma lakini si wakati huu. Hata hivyo, Rommel alikuwa na mwelekeo wa kuhalalisha tabia ya Fuhrer kwa sababu alikuwa mtu chini ya mkazo mkubwa, lakini kwa faragha, kwa imani yake katika Hitler tayari kutikiswa na sadaka yake ya Afrika Korps na Jeshi la Sita katika Stalingrad, alianza kuamini alikuwa mwisho wa kamba yake, kwamba anaweza hata kuwa kupoteza akili yake. Katika mikutano ya faragha alitoa sauti kwa wengine kuhusu kuondolewa kwa Hitler ikiwa ni pamoja na Field-Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt ambaye licha ya dharau yake ya kibinafsi kwa <unk>Bohemian Corporal<unk> alibaki asiyejitolea na alikataa kusikia maelezo ya njama yoyote. Lakini wakati huo maofisa wote wa Ujerumani walikuwa wameapa kiapo chini ya Mungu kutumikia si Serikali au Katiba bali mtu wa Fuhrer Adolf Hitler. Kwa kuwa kiapo hicho hakikuvunjwa kwa urahisi, na hata hivyo, kufanya hivyo kulikuwa ni uhaini na kulipa adhabu ya kifo. "Wanajeshi wa Julai, hasa wale wa ""Mzunguko wa Kreisau,"" walikuwa hasa maafisa wa zamani wa Prussia na maafisa wa juu wa Wehrmacht waliostaafu au waliopigwa marufuku, na kama mgeni, Rommel hakuwa na uaminifu kabisa, lakini alikuwa mtu mmoja ambaye wote walihisi watu wangeweza kufuata kwa hiari ikiwa Hitler angeuawa." Hata hivyo, jukumu lolote aliloweza kuwa nalo katika utawala wa baada ya utawala wa Nazi halikueleweka waziwazi. Wakati huohuo, alikuwa na vita vya kupigana. Mnamo Juni 6, 1944, majeshi ya Muungano yaliwasili Normandy. Katika siku zilizotangulia hali ya hewa ilikuwa mbaya sana hivi kwamba Wajerumani walikuwa wamepuuza uwezekano wowote wa uvamizi wa haraka na Rommel alikuwa amerudi nyumbani kuwa na mkewe siku ya kuzaliwa kwake. Alipokuwa akirudi mara moja, aliona kwamba ukuta wa Atlantiki haukuwa sawa na kazi hiyo, na isipokuwa katika Omaha Beach, ambapo Wamarekani walikuwa karibu kukosa, washirika walikuwa wamekabiliwa na upinzani wa ishara, na usiku, na vichwa vya bahari vilivyohifadhiwa, watu 155.000 walikuwa tayari wakisafiri ndani ya nchi. Wangekuwa na nguvu haraka. Rommel tena alisisitiza utekelezaji wa mpango wake wa kushambulia kwa nguvu Washirika wakati walipokuwa bado dhaifu. Katika mazungumzo ya mwisho ya moto na Hitler huko Margival, Ufaransa, Juni 17, Fuhrer aliruhusu kidogo na kutolewa tatu Panzer Divisions kwa amri yake lakini bila uhuru kamili wa kutumia kama alitaka. Kwa vyovyote vile, ilikuwa kuchelewa mno. Vita vya Magharibi vilizidi kuwa vita vya karibu vya wanajeshi wa miguu, ambavyo vilikuwa vya kawaida kwa maveterani wa Vita Kuu ya Kwanza ya Ulimwengu, kama vile Field Marshal von Rundstedt alivyotabiri. Vita vya Uhamisho vilikuwa ni vita vya kuingilia kati, ambapo Desert Fox ilishinda na kukataliwa fursa ya kutumia Panzer yake kama alivyopenda, kwa sababu ya ubora wa anga wa Muungano na kuingilia kati kwa Hitler, akawa na huzuni zaidi. Katika mapambano kama hayo nguvu nyingi za kijeshi na rasilimali za Muungano lazima zishinde. Alifikiri vita vilikuwa vimeshindwa na mara nyingi alimwandikia Fuhrer akitangaza jeshi kuwa karibu kuvunjika na kumsihi amalize vita magharibi - hakupata jibu. Jioni ya Julai 17, karibu na mji wa St. Foy de Montgomerie, gari la wafanyakazi wa Rommel lilipigwa risasi kutoka angani na Spitfire na kulazimishwa kutoka barabarani; alipopigwa kutoka kwenye gari, alipata fuvu la fuvu la kichwa na majeraha ya shrapnel kwenye mwili na uso wake. Kwa kweli, alikuwa na bahati ya kuwa hai na baada ya kukaa hospitalini kwa muda fulani alipelekwa nyumbani ili apone. Siku tatu baadaye, wakati wa ziara yake katika makao makuu ya Hitler huko Prussia Mashariki, Kanali Claus von Stauffenberg aliweka sanduku lake lenye bomu chini ya dawati ambapo Hitler alikuwa amesimama. Katika nafasi isiyo na madirisha na iliyofungwa, athari ya mlipuko huo inapaswa kuwa mbaya sana, hivi kwamba hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye hatimaye. Ingawa baadhi ya watu waliuawa na wengine wakajeruhiwa vibaya kwa sababu ya bahati mbaya, Hitler alitoka akiwa ametetemeka sana, mavazi yake yakiwa yamevunjika-vunjika lakini bila kuharibiwa. Operesheni ya Valkyrie, njama ya kumuua Fuhrer ilikuwa imeshindwa na katika siku zifuatazo wale waliohusika wangevamiwa, kukamatwa na kuuawa. "Kama ilivyotangulia, Rommel hakutarajiwa kuhusika katika njama hiyo, lakini hivi karibuni alishutumiwa na wengine, miongoni mwao Jenerali Carl Heinrich von Stulpnagel, ambaye alipokuwa kizuizini mara kwa mara alilalamika jina lake wakati wa kukosa fahamu baada ya jaribio la kujiua, na Carl Goerdeler, mtu aliyeteuliwa kuchukua nafasi ya Hitler kama Kansela ambaye alikuwa amefanya orodha ya rais wa serikali mpya, mmoja wao alikuwa Erwin Rommel.""" Martin Bormann, anayeitwa "Brown Eminence" ambaye kama katibu wa kibinafsi wa Hitler alilinda kwa wivu upatikanaji wa Fuhrer ambaye kwanza alileta ushiriki wa Rommel kwa uangalifu wake. Hitler alikataa kumwamini, lakini kwa msaada mdogo kwa Rommel kutoka kwa watu wengine, hasa Joseph Goebbels, mtu ambaye alikuwa amefanya zaidi kuliko mwingine yeyote kuunda hadithi ya Desert Fox, lakini sasa alikuwa amemwacha kwa hofu ya pia kuwa mhasiriwa wa nia mbaya ya Bormann. Hata hivyo, alikataa kuamini kwamba Rommel alikuwa amehusika kikamilifu katika jaribio la kumuua, lakini alikuwa tayari kukubali kwamba alikuwa na ufahamu wa njama hiyo na hakuwa amefanya chochote ili kuzuia, na kama vile alikuwa na hatia kama wale waliofanya. Rommel alikuwa akijaribu kuokoa maisha yake nyumbani na familia yake, bila kujua kwamba alikuwa tayari akijaribiwa kwa kutokuwepo na Mahakama ya Heshima ya Kijeshi (ambayo ilikuwa na Gerd von Rundstedt na Erich von Massenbach) ili kuamua hatia ya maafisa wa huduma katika njama hiyo na kama wanapaswa kukabiliwa na haki katika Mahakama ya Watu. Uwezekano wa kumleta mbweha wa jangwani mbele ya Mahakama ya Watu na Jaji Mkuu Roland Freisler haukuwa tu usiofaa kwa utawala na amri ya juu ya Ujerumani, lakini uharibifu ambao inaweza kufanya kwa maadili ya umma ulikuwa vigumu kupima. Ilibidi iepukwe ikiwezekana. Mnamo Oktoba 14, wakati nyumba yake huko Herlingen ilipozungukwa na kikosi cha SS, gari lililokuwa na Jenerali Wilhelm Burgdorf na Jenerali Ernst Maisel lilimzunguka pamoja na taji la sherehe na ujumbe wa huruma ulioambatanishwa na Adolf Hitler. Burgdorf na Meisel, ambao wote wawili walikuwa wakosoaji wakali wa Rommel katika siku za nyuma, kwa ufupi lakini kwa heshima walimwambia kwamba ushiriki wake katika njama ya Julai tayari ulikuwa umethibitishwa na kwamba angekabiliwa na kesi katika Mahakama ya Watu. Hata hivyo, Fuhrer, akijua huduma yake ya kujitolea kwa Reich ya Tatu, alikuwa tayari kumruhusu Field Marshal chaguo linapatikana kwa afisa na gentleman, yaani, kuchukua maisha yake mwenyewe. Mtazamo wa kwanza wa Rommel, kama mtu angeweza kutarajia kutoka kwa mtu ambaye kazi yake ilikuwa imetengenezwa kutoka kwa kuchukua mapigano kwa adui ilikuwa kujilinda dhidi ya washtakiwa wake. Lakini haikuwa rahisi hivyo. Kama angehukumiwa, kama ilivyokuwa hakika, basi familia yake ingehesabiwa kuwa na hatia sawa na yeye na ingeteseka ipasavyo. Mali zao zingechukuliwa, na huenda wangekamatwa katika Kambi ya Kuzuia Wafungwa. Pia, wafanyakazi wake waliohusika kwa kushirikiana naye wangekufa pamoja naye. Kama angejiua na kuepuka kuhukumiwa, angepatiwa mazishi ya serikali na heshima kamili za kijeshi. Cheo chake, hadhi, sifa, na pensheni ingehakikishwa na usalama wa familia yake ungehakikishwa kwa neno la Fuhrer. Bila kujali tamaa ya kusafisha jina lake uchaguzi ulikuwa dhahiri. Mwanawe Manfred, ambaye wakati huo alikuwa akitumikia katika kikosi cha kupambana na ndege (baba yake alikuwa amemkataa mapema ombi lake la kujiunga na Waffen SS) alielezea matukio: "Karibu saa kumi na mbili gari la rangi ya kijani kibichi lenye nambari ya Berlin lilisimama mbele ya lango la bustani yetu. Wanaume pekee katika nyumba mbali na baba yangu, walikuwa msaidizi wake Kapteni Aldinger, mstaafu wa vita aliyejeruhiwa vibaya, na mimi mwenyewe. Majenerali wawili, Burgdorf, mtu mwenye nguvu na mwenye umbo la maua, na Maisel, mdogo na mwembamba, walitoka kwenye gari na kuingia ndani ya nyumba. Walikuwa wenye kuheshimu na wenye adabu na kumwomba baba yangu ruhusa ya kuzungumza naye peke yake. Mimi na Aldinger tuliondoka chumbani. "Kwa hiyo hawatamkamata", nikafikiri kwa furaha, nilipokuwa nikipanda juu ili kupata kitabu. Dakika chache baadaye nilimsikia baba yangu akipanda na kuingia chumbani mwa mama yangu. Nikiwa na hamu ya kujua kilichokuwa kikimwagika, niliinuka na kumfuata. Alikuwa amesimama katikati ya chumba, uso wake ukiwa mweupe. "Njoo nje pamoja nami", alisema kwa sauti ngumu. Tuliingia chumbani mwangu. <unk>Nilikuwa na kuwaambia mama yako kwamba nitakuwa amekufa katika robo ya saa. Kufa kwa mkono wa watu wa mtu mwenyewe ni vigumu lakini nyumba imezungukwa na Hitler ananipiga mashtaka ya uhaini mkubwa. Kwa kuzingatia huduma zangu katika Afrika mimi ni kuwa na nafasi ya kufa kwa sumu. Majenerali hao wawili wameleta hiyo pamoja nao. Ni hatari katika sekunde tatu. Ikiwa nitaruhusu, hakuna hatua yoyote ya kawaida itakayochukuliwa dhidi ya familia yangu. Pia wataacha wafanyakazi wangu peke yao. <unk> <unk> Je, unaamini? <unk> Mimi kuvuruga. "Ndiyo", akajibu. <unk>Ninaamini hivyo. Ni kwa manufaa yao sana kuona kwamba jambo hilo halijulikani. Kwa njia, nimekuwa kushtakiwa kuweka wewe chini ya ahadi ya ukimya kali. Ikiwa neno moja la hili litatokea, hawatahisi tena kuwa wamefungwa na makubaliano. <unk> Nilijaribu tena: <unk>Hatuwezi kujilinda? Alinipiga kwa ufupi. "Hakuna maana", akasema. Ni afadhali mtu mmoja afe kuliko sisi sote kuuawa katika mapigano ya risasi. Kwa vyovyote vile, hatuna risasi. Marshal Erwin Rommel, taarifa rasmi zilitangaza, alikuwa amekufa kutokana na matatizo yanayotokana na majeraha yaliyopatikana wakati wa huduma ya kazi. Mazishi yake ya serikali ambayo yalifuata muda mfupi baadaye, sehemu ya katikati ambayo ilikuwa taji lililotumwa na Fuhrer, ilirekodiwa kwa madhumuni ya propaganda. Ilikuwa ni mchango wake wa mwisho kwa utawala ambao alikuwa amemtumikia kwa uaminifu lakini baadaye akaanza kukata tamaa na hata kuchukia. "Winston Churchill, ambaye mara nyingi alikuwa katika mwisho mkali wa ujanja wa Desert Fox, alikuwa na kulipa heshima yake mwenyewe na kwa dhati: ""Mshindani wa kijeshi mzuri, shauku yake na ujasiri wake ulituathiri vibaya, lakini anastahili salamu niliyomfanya katika Bunge la Commons mnamo Januari 1942, wakati nilimwambia: ""Tuna mpinzani mwenye ujasiri na ustadi dhidi yetu, na na naweza kusema, katika uharibifu wa vita, Jenerali Mkuu." Kwa hili alilipa hasara ya maisha yake. <unk> Shiriki chapisho hili: