Erwin Rommel: A Life From Beginning to End

by Hourly History

He was known as the "Desert Fox," and outfox his enemies he often did, leaving whole armies confounded and demoralized in his wake, and yet the one adversary that Erwin Rommel could not outfox was his own government. On that rather unlucky day of October 14th, 1944, when the S.S. came knocking on Rommel's door, even his legendary heroism couldn't save him from the monstrous regime for which he had once fought so hard.

Inside you will read about...
✓ Building the Next War
✓ Rommel's Return to War
✓ The Desert Fox
✓ Against All Odds
✓ Near Death Experience
✓ Mislaid Plans
✓ Rommel Takes the Fall
And much more!

After being implicated in a last minute plot to kill Hitler in the final phases of World War Two, Rommel was given a choice. He could either face charges of treason or commit suicide. He was then duly assured that in the advent of his suicide, all charges would be dropped, covered up, never mentioned again. He was then promised a hero's burial with full military honors and even a pension for his wife. Rommel was then literally driven to his suicide when members of the S.S. transported him to a secluded area, where he swallowed a cyanide capsule - a gruesome and twisted end to a man that was supposed to be his nation's greatest hero. What caused a nation to canonize and cannibalize one of its best champions simultaneously? What were the events that led up to the strange paradox that was Erwin Rommel's life?

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, World War II

40 pages, Paperback

Published February 21, 2017

About the author

At Hourly History, we focus on publishing history books that are concise, straightforward and take no longer than one hour to read.

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Reviews

[Shadin Pranto · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Don’t fight a battle if you don’t gain anything by winning.” —Erwin Rommel

দ্বিতীয় মহাযুদ্ধের ইতিহাসে সবচেয়ে আলোচিত সমরনায়কদের একজন রোমেল। বিজয়ী সব সময় ইতিহাস লেখে। সেই ফরমায়েশি ইতিহাসে বিজিত বাহিনীর গৌরব ও সাফল্য স্থান পায় না। এক্ষেত্রে রোমেল খুশনসিব। মিত্রশক্তির পক্ষের লোকদের ইতিহাসেও তিনি যথেষ্ট গুরুত্ব পেয়েছেন। আফ্রিকা ও ফরাসিদেশে তার অসামান্য রণনৈপুণ্য একমাত্র কারণ নয়। একইসঙ্গে হিটলারকে হত্যাচেষ্টা ও পরিণামে আত্মহত্যার নামে রোমেলের হত্যাকাণ্ডই হয়তো তাকে বিজয়ীর লেখা ইতিহাসের পাতায় অমর করে রেখেছে।

মাত্র বিয়াল্লিশ পাতায় রোমেলের ঘটনাবহুল জীবন নিয়ে আলোচনা করা অসম্ভব। তবুও চেষ্টা করা হয়েছে তার জীবনের প্রধান ঘটনাগুলোকে নিয়ে পাঠককে কিছুটা হলেও ধারণা দেওয়ার। রোমেলের হত্যাকাণ্ডকে বেশ সহজভাবেই পাঠক হিসেবে আমি বুঝতে পেরেছি।

রোমেলকে নিয়ে আগ্রহী পাঠক একেবারেই 'হাতেখড়ি' হিসেবে বইটা পড়তে পারেন।

[Paul Berg · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great man. So many achievements, yet such an awful downfall. Died at the hand of a dictator and such a young age.

[F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exciting mini-biography with facts, fun and fascinating tidbits of history. Now I know why the 3rd Reich was called that. It seems the movie, The Desert Fox, was fairly accurate.

[Young Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good read, but this edition's got too many errors to be revised and edited.

There are tons of useful "en-/ in-form’ation" in this reading.

(2017-Kindle Edition, p. 1)
This stripping of the military sent those in the profession into a state of complete shock and dismay. The younger generation of officers, such as Erwin Rommel, had a distinct feeling that they had somehow been betrayed or possibly even tricked into such a disastrous surrender. Many considered that if they had kept on fighting on into 1919 that the outcome would have been somehow different. This common sentiment of betrayal that Rommel and many of his fellow officers shared at the closing of World War One would one day be exploited to its fullest extent by yet another veteran of the conflict, Rommel’s future commander-in-chief, Adolf Hitler.
>> Adolf Hitler was known to be super patriotic as an enlisted man in the forefront of the Great War even though he wasn’t even a German citizen yet. He must have felt really betrayed after all his heroic actions during the war, and that’s why Hitler would never surrender until he killed himself.

(2017-Ed., p. 4)
Not wishing to create a bloodbath by marching on the city, Rommel instead opened up a channel with the city’s council and found a way to retake it through diplomacy rather than force. Such actions won Rommel much admiration, and he was viewed as a voice of moderation in the midst of the chaos and upheaval that often surrounded him in the wrecked social and political systems of post-war Germany. Despite his restraint, Rommel could see the very real threats that Germany was facing both inside and out. Like many of his contemporaries, he feared a communist takeover more than anything else. World War One, after all, had been the catalyst that helped the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin convert Russia into a communist state, and many of his Bolsheviks were indeed eyeing Germany as the next capitalist domino to fall in the post-war wreckage.
>> General Rommel was a real German patr'iot who would not harm his fellow countrymen. He really cared about his country and the people in it.

(Ibid., p. 6)
“Sweat saves blood; blood saves lives, but brains save both.” —Erwin Rommel

(Ibid., p. 9)
“In a man-to-man fight, the winner is he who has one more round in his magazine.” —Erwin Rommel
>> Supplies: The man was a professional.

(Ibid., p. 13)
As crafty as ever, when General Gariboldi asked Rommel what the message was all about, Rommel, knowing that Garibaldi didn’t know the German language, lied about its contents, and told Gariboldi that the message from General Halder gave him permission to take charge and do as he pleased. Amazingly, General Gariboldi believed this outrageous lie and immediately acquiesced to General Erwin Rommel. Now firmly in control, Rommel would then go on to lead an attack on the British garrison in the Libyan port city of Tobruk. Being a port with open access to the Mediterranean, Tobruk was of vital strategic importance to the British, allowing them to bring in endless supplies and reinforcements through the port. Rommel wanted to have this advantage for himself, knowing that he could greatly increase the ability of his supply lines to keep up with the demands of his army.
>> The man was, indeed, a pragmatic professional.

(Ibid., p. 13)
...British forces had been relying upon intelligence reports that indicated Rommel was ordered to remain in place until early May, making the British truly believe that no attack would occur for a few more months.
>> Human psychology...sigh...they must have really wanted to believe that.

(Ibid., p. 15)
...At this point in the war effort, Rommel was absolutely certain that the best course of action would be to drive a series of tank divisions right into the heart of Egypt and take them all the way to Alexandria before seizing the Suez Canal...Rommel believed that such decisive blows to British holdings in the region would break the back of the Allied effort...
>> To seize the shortest water passage between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans to link up the vital supply chains for the two then-Axis Powers of Germany and Japan. If they had made this, they could've won the war.

(Ibid., pp. 15-16)
The first major battle of El Alamein commenced on July 1st, 1942. At the outset of the conflict Field Marshal Rommel had a fighting force of over 100 tanks, but despite the size of his armored division, the Allies dominated the air, and under relentless bombing runs, Rommel’s tanks found themselves in constant peril as slow moving targets trapped in the desert. Rommel would vainly continue his advance over the next few days, but the domination of Allied airpower continually beat his divisions back.
>> This is the crucial importance of air superiority. If the German Forces seized the Suez Canal with superior air domination, the Allied Forces never had chance to rebuild their military power for their war efforts. The Allied Forces could pull it off, however, thanks to the German failure of seizing the Suez Canal.

The very air superiority saved the Allies. For us today, it might not even expensive if UAVs and drones are in effective uses.

(Ibid., p. 19)
Upon his return to the African front, the battle seemed to have already been lost before he had arrived. Rommel was horrified by the condition of his armored divisions. Everyone seemed to be perpetually running out of fuel on a continual basis. As much as he looked for them, the new oil boats Hitler had told him about were nowhere to be seen, and the regular oil tankers weren’t doing much better. Thanks to British intelligence, the Allies knew about every new Axis shipment in advance, and due to their dogged interception and bombardment, only a small percentage was actually getting through to Rommel’s divisions. Making the situation even worse, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was virtually hoarding all the supplies the Italians had, stockpiling them in Tripoli and refusing to send them to Rommel.
>> And it was another reason the Axis Powers had to start and lose the war: Energy resources.

(Ibid., p. 19)
...by November 3rd, 1942, Rommel’s Afrika Korps began their retreat. This retreat was then challenged by Adolf Hitler himself when he sent a direct order for them to “fight to the last man.”
>> Instead of finding ways to reinforce and resupply his forces? So, Hitler and his kiss-ass Nazi leaders were amateurs after all, jist like the Japanese leaders during the war, tut-tut-tut.

(Ibid., p. 20)
Rommel would eventually refuse this order. However, deciding it better to salvage as much of what was left of his men in a tactical retreat. With only about 80 German tanks left in the face of six hundred pursuing British tanks it was not an easy task to achieve, and by all accounts, the British should have been able to outflank and encircle his retreating force. On November 6th, fate would intervene on Rommel’s behalf when a heavy downpour of rain suddenly struck, turning the previously dry desert into vast tracts of mud, greatly slowing down the British advance. After a struggle, Rommel was finally able to make it all the way to Tunisia where he was able to regroup. His arrival coincided with the first deployment of U.S. troops in nearby Morocco. Soon after, Rommel would engage in his first battle with American soldiers, managing to deliver a decisive defeat even with a much smaller army...
>> So, it was the power of global hegemon of the time, the British Empire, before the rising power on its side, America, arrived in the scene to join the British-led Allied Forces.

(Ibid., p. 21)
In fact, on the actual day of the Allied invasion on June 6th, 1944 Rommel wasn't even in the country, leaving Fortress France behind in order to celebrate his wife's birthday. Birthday celebrations would have to be put on hold, however, as Field Marshal Rommel was sent scrambling back to the Western Front for the fight of his life.
>> It is clear why General Eugene "Yushin" Kim and Admiral Sunshin "Yeohae" Lee won the hi-stor’y while General Rommel failed: Saving their countries above anything else, even their own families.

(Ibid., p. 26)
"The battle is fought and decided by the quartermasters, long before the shooting begins." —Erwin Rommel
>> This "professional" leader was defeated due to his family matters too...sigh...so sad.

(Ibid., p. 23)
Fortunately for the Allies, however, VI production had stalled, and it was deemed not worth the effort...
>> First of all, VI looks like the Roman numeral 6. Better be like "V-1." And about the German V-series ballistic missiles, the Wehrmacht first launched the V-1s against London on June 13th, 1944, one week after (and prompted by) Operation Overlord, the Allied landings in France. At times more than one hundred V-1s a day were fired at south-east England, 9,521 in total, decreasing in number as sites were overrun until October 1944, when the last V-1 site in range of Britain was overrun by the Allied Forces. After this, the Germans directed V-1s at the port of Antwerp and at other targets in Belgium, launching another 2,448 V-1s. The attacks stopped only a month before the war in Europe ended, when the last launch site in the Low Countries was overrun on March 29th, 1945 (Source: Click here).

(Ibid., pp. 36-37)
For them, Rommel is not entirely good or bad. He was simply a pragmatic soldier, trying to make the best of whatever situation he was placed in. This view would certainly fit his profile during his glory days in North Africa as the crafty Desert Fox, in the harsh sands of the Sahara with nothing but limited resources and his own cunning to get him through the day.
>> To be honest, who isn't? This is why the man is not called a her'o, either. And only like .1 per-cent of us deserve to be truly considered so.

(Ibid., p. 37)
...For those that knew Rommel personally, they held him as a man of the highest honor, and one who would only do what he felt was right for his family and his country...
>> Still a good man he really was, I mean, as an individual like a father and a husband. But that is NOT a good leader.

It started clean, yet, there were more and more errors found as moving through the pages.

Especially the writer used relative pronoun "that" too often making the reading quite "annoying."

For instance, you can say,
"The boy thought that it was his mom he loved the most."
(or)
"The boy thought it was his mom that he loved the most."

Yet, the writer would insist with "double-that" like,
"The boy thought that it was his mom that he loved the most."

One or two like that would be okay. But you'd start thinking that the book should've been revised & edited before its publication if you found those like in every other page.

I read the 2017-Edition, so I hope all these errors have been thoroughly revised and edited by now.

All these errors are the reason for minus-1 star, and the book loses one more because it is missing the very important early course of German Invasion of France.

German Army had annexed the Low Countries (Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands) when it crossed the border into France outflanking the country's long-prepared "Ligne Maginot."

The book is not talking at all about how Rommel and his tank units fought to outflank the Allied Forces waiting for the Germans at the French border.

Plus, it almost doesn't mention at all what was going on between the British-French Declaration of War on Germany in the early-September 1939 and the German Invasion of the Western Front in May 10th, 1940.

Think about the people in the Low Countries and France in these 8-long months living their daily life as if nothing would happen to that. It is just like us today headed for an-other global conflict of powershift as the United States declines fast.

[Thom Swennes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johannes Erwin Eugene Rommel was born in the southern German town of Heidenheim situated about twenty-eight miles from the city of Ulm on November 15, 1891. He joined the army in 1910 and took his officer training in Danzig. During World War I he served in France and in the Romanian and Italian Campaigns, being awarded the Iron Cross (second class) in 1915. He married Lucie Maria Mollin the following year. Like many contemporaries, he felt betrayed when the war ended in a humiliating defeat in 1918.
As a captain, he remained in the army, slowly rising in rank, reaching the rank of major general on August 23, 1939. Rommel participated in the Polish invasion and later, as a tank commander, the Blitzkrieg invasion of France. His talent commanding a tank division caught the attention of friends and foes alike; laying the groundwork for his moment of supreme glory as the Desert Fox of North Africa.
After the German eventual defeat at El Alamein, Rommel was recalled back home on March 9, 1943. When Mussolini was overthrown, Rommel was sent to Italy to secure the area once held by Germany’s former ally. This done, he was sent to western France to oversee the defenses along the English Channel.
Erwin Rommel was a soldier in the Old Prussian tradition. His particular talents in tank strategy and tactics made him a formidable foe. As a soldier, he had little interest in politics and was never a Nazi party member. He was admired by both friends and foes during his lifetime and his strategies and tactics have been studied and emulated in war colleges throughout the world.
This is a short biography of a great and honorable warrior. The fact that he fought for a leader with questionable ideology cannot be completely overlooked but it can be forgiven. Rommel, like countless others in his generation, was swept up in and eventually away in history. This short book serves as food for thought and possibly inspiration to delve further into the life and accomplishments of the Desert Fox.

[Royce Ratterman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel was a German general and military theorist popularly known as WWII's Desert Fox. Rommel served as field marshal in the armed forces (Wehrmacht) of Germany's National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party) during World War II, as well as serving in the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic, and the army of Imperial Germany. World War I had seen Rommel being a highly decorated officer, including him being awarded the 'Pour le Mérite' for his actions on the Italian Front. Rommel was forced to commit suicide for his 'alleged' connection with the plot against Hitler in July 1944.

Another taste-test teaser biography from Hourly History. Taken with a grain of salt, as the saying goes, the reader may seek other more in-depth works with original source document references for further research and study. These concise biographies can help the reader to decide if they wish to pursue the topics which they are reading with more lengthy works.

- Erwin Rommel Quotes from this work:

“Don’t fight a battle if you don’t gain anything by winning.”

“Sweat saves blood; blood saves lives, but brains save both.”

“In a man-to-man fight, the winner is he who has one more round in his magazine.”

“A risk is a chance you take; if it fails you can recover. A gamble is a chance taken; if it fails, recovery is impossible.”

“In the absence of orders, go find something and kill it.”

“The battle is fought and decided by the quartermasters, long before the shooting begins.”

“No plan survives contact with the enemy.”

“There is one unalterable difference between a soldier and a civilian; the civilian never does more than he is paid to do.”

“I shall not go to Berlin. I would never get there alive.”

- Other works that may be of interest:

-The Rommel Papers by Erwin Rommel
-The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek (1944)
-The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt (1949)
-Schindler's Ark by Keneally Thomas

[Jerry Jares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erwin Rommel comes across as a practical and pragmatic soldier who was also a man dedicated to his work and his country.  I would have liked to have heard a bit more about how he grew up and the forces that maneuvered him into a soldier's role, rather than as an engineer (which he seemed to have competency for as outlined in his defense work along France's Atlantic Wall).  Rommel was a force to be reckoned with and I wonder how he got that way.  Was he born knowing he knew better than others or was it a factor of his training and experience?  Rommel is certainly a fascinating figure.

The fact that Rommel wanted to put Hitler on trial, not just kill him, shows that he understood the guilt that the German people would be saddled with for Hitler's crimes after the war.  I'm glad to have read this book; he's one of the most interesting of the soldiers on the Axis side of WWII.

[Daniel Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Desert Fox

This book provides a short but accurate account of the military career of Erwin Rommel, aka The Desert Fox. To his contemporaries he was considered both a military genius and a man of honor. He was respected by both his own people as well as the forces opposing him. The book describes him as neither a good man nor a bad man but as a soldier who was dedicated to using all of his considerable skills in the strategy and tactics of modern mechanized warfare for the benefit of his own country. He was an early admirer of Hitler and like many he fell under his spell. But as the war advanced he became aware of the falsehoods, lies and atrocities that were at he center of the evil Nazi regime . He became involved with the conspirators of the June 1944 attempt to assassinate Hitler, for which like many others involved in the plot, he paid with his life.

[Anirudh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short biography of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel who served under the Nazi German army during the Second World War; popularly known as the Desert Fox for his North African exploits.

The book starts with his early life and how he went on to develop a liking towards the Nazi ideology primarily owing to his hatred towards the Treaty of Versailles, a feeling shared by many Germans. It then talks about Rommel's very quick rise in the army during peace time, his exploits in North Africa and then talks about the amount of faith Hitler had in him and then, eventually moves on to describe his shift in ideology and his failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler, leading to his eventual downfall.

I felt the book was a well structured biography and I am glad that the Hourly History team chose to present a book on him considering we know a lot about Allied Generals, be it Alan Brooke or Douglas McArthur or Dwight Eisenhower but I am unsure whether in case of Axis Generals, we'd be able to go beyond Himmler or Emp. Hirohito. The book also brought out the reasons for his success in North Africa, the reasons for his eventual shift in ideology quite well. My favourite part was the conclusion, where the book presented all points of view surrounding Rommel as to whether he was merely Hitler's stooge or a genuine rebel who started the crumbling of the Third Reich or a mere opportunist who claimed to follow the right ideology at the right time.

What I expect from a biography on a controversial figure is usually the ability to pass judgements as to which side of history whether I wish to put them and in this case, the book helped me do that. Considering that, I would award the book a rating of four.

[Daniel Staats · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too Many Gaps

I know this series of books is designed to be quick reads but this particular book is way too short for even a good summary. This book is more like a footnote to this very interesting general. If you have never heard of the Desert Fox, then you will enjoy this highlight; however, if you have studied Romney and his part in WWII, you might be frustrated with such a terse review of so complex a man.

[Stefan Mitchell-Lauridsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a wow factor

This book has a wow factor and gives you a very good insight on Erwin Rommel and where stood when it came to the nazis.
I do recommend you read this book because it gives you a understanding on how he was and his dislike for Hitler in the end.
Some say he was not a nazi but just a pure soldier and some say he it.
Read this book and make your own judgment.
It is a good, easy, enjoyable and educational read.

[Carl Deskins,III · Rating 5 out of 5]

A review of some history of a convincing Nazis!!!!!!

This review is for the book only!!!!!! This book is full of vital information that puts General Rommel in a questionable state!!!! People should be fully aware of all information as it pertains to form an adequate response!!!!!!!!! I would recommend this book to anyone that has an open mind!!!!!!

[Randolph Rossi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Field Marshall Rommel an Excellent Soldier and Strategist

Although, this biography of Erwin Rommel was brief, I found that it had many insights into his character. It was a good start for learning about the man and his actions which can be completed by picking up a much longer and detailed study of his life.

[Jeff Aldrich · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just the basic information

I did not do my research well enough before starting this book, thinking it was a full biography, which it is not. It reads on a very elementary level and provides just a bare level of facts above Wikipedia. If you want a short read to learn the basic facts it is sufficient.

[Thomas H. Scales, Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erwin Rommel was probably Germany's finest general in WWII. If the failed assassination attempt on Hitler which connected to Rommel had succeeded, Rommel would likely have been chosen Chancellor. If so, he would have surrendered Germany with honor and provided the leadership necessary to restore the Country

[Mark Lindholm · Rating 4 out of 5]

History reader

Snapshot of the desert fox. A smart general who was not given all the tools needed to wage successful warfare. Thank goodness. !Many new facts I didn't know about Rommel. Good read.

[BeverlyNespal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The life of Rommel:

Rommel was a very interesting military person. I love military history and this book helped support a lot of movies that were about the world wars. I look forward to reading about more of these famous General's.

[Anil Swarup · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely well narrated story of the Desert Fox. In just a few pages, Hourly History manages to bring forth the entire life of Erwin Rommel rising up the ranks to go on to become a Field Marshall and then falling from grace, forced to commit suicide.

[Ommar H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro resumen de la vida del general Rommel, se me hizo muy buen narrado y con los,pasajes más importantes de su vida, sin duda buen libro para iniciar el conocimiento del legado militar de este general

[Bob Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found out a good bit of information about Rommel in this brief biography. It is sad that a man with his military talents would have supported Adolf Hitler. If Rommel hadn't done so his military genius would have been his legacy.

[Barry · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Victor Raul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un personaje inolvidable, famoso y temido por sus adversarios. Conocido como el zorro del desierto y jefe del Afrika korps.

[Sharon Bapp]

Ok

Nothing new. A nice over view of a professional soldier in the time of Hitler and the Second World War

[John Jackse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Quick Read

A very good overview of and interesting man. The part about the assassin on Hitler is the best in all the Rommel books I’ve read

[David Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sacrificial lamb

I never knew what became of Rommel, so it fills a blind spot. Ultimately, blind obedience is a dangerous position especially when dealing with scorpions.

[Kyle Mitschke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and enjoyable.

Very good. Good quick read and have me more info than I had before I started and I was surprised by some of it.

[Guy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks for a very interesting read.

[John Breidinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

well done

Brief but well done biography of Erwin Rommel. The book was concise but still told the story of an excellent leader and strategist.

[Bette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Greatly encapsulated - the life of Erwin Rommel. Gives you an overview of his life but no depth.

[Robin Dix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of great information here. This is a must read.