Field Marshal: The Life and Death of Erwin Rommel
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IN 1967 GENERALLEUTNANT Ernst Ferber of the Bundeswehr admonished young German soldiers to dismiss the idea of unconditional obedience to the head of state: their duty, he insisted, was to serve the German nation and the German people. Had he heard General Ferber’s words, Erwin Rommel would have smiled and nodded in approval, for the general was encouraging those young men to follow the same path of loyalty to which Rommel had devoted his life—that of the true patriot.
He was, after all, a German.
APPENDIX
ROMMEL — A TIMELINE
January 21, 1871 — Proclamation of the German Empire, Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles.
November 15, 1891 — Birth of Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel, Jr.
July 19, 1910 — Rommel joins the 124th Württemberg Infantry Regiment as an officer cadet.
March 1911 — Rommel posted to the Königliche Kriegschule (Royal Military Academy) in Danzig, Prussia. While there he is introduced to Lucia Maria (“Lucie”) Mollin.
January 1912 — Rommel commissioned as leutnant (Second Lieutenant) in 124th Württemberg Infantry Regiment, posted to Ulm. While there he meets Walburga Stemmer.
January 1913 — Daughter Gertrud Stemmer born to Rommel and Walburga Stemmer.
March 1, 1914 — Attached to the 49th Field Artillery Regiment as a recruit instructor.
June 28–August 1, 1914 — Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; July Crisis; Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, and Russia mobilize their armies; Germany declares war on Russia. Rommel returns to regimental duties with the 124th Infantry.
August–September 1914 — Rommel’s first combat experiences, along the River Meuse on the Verdun Front.
September 24, 1914 — Rommel wounded in the thigh, awarded the Iron Cross Second Class.
January 1915 — Rommel returns to duty with the 124th Infantry Regiment.
January 29, 1915 — Rommel leads an attack on French positions in the Argonne Forest; awarded the Iron Cross First Class.
May 23, 1915 — Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary; a subsequent declaration of war on Germany follows on August 28, 1915.
July 1915 — Rommel suffers a minor leg wound, his second combat wound of the war.
August 27, 1916 — Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary.
September 1915 — Rommel is given command of an infantry company in the II Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, and promoted to Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant)later that same month.
October 1915 — Rommel is transferred to the newly-formed Württembergische Gebrigsbattaillon (Württemberg Mountain Battalion) as a company commander.
Mid-December 1915–October1916 — Regimental duties with the Mountain Battalion in the Vosges Mountains of France.
October 1916 — The Württemberg Mountain Battalion is transferred to Romania.
November 1916 — Rommel sees his first action against the Romanians.
November 27, 1916 — While on leave, Oblt. Erwin Rommel marries Lucie Mollin in Danzig.
January 7, 1917 — The German attack on Gegesti.
Late January 1917–July 1917 — Withdrawn from Romania, the Mountain Battalion returns to the Vosges Mountains of France.
August 1917–October 1917 — The Mountain Battalion again is deployed to Romania.
August 19, 1917 — Rommel’s company leads the successful assault on the crucial Romanian position of Mount Cosna. Rommel is wounded in the arm. For this injury he will be awarded the Silver Wound Badge in January 1918.
October 1917 — The Mountain Battalion is transferred to the Italian Front, where it takes part in the Battle of Caporetto (Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo).
October 24, 1917 — Beginning of the Austro-German assault on the Italian defensive line on Korlovat Ridge.
October 27, 1917 — The infantry abteilung led by Rommel captures Monte Matajur, the key to the Italian defense of the Korlovat Ridge.
November 1917 — Austro-German offensive continues, advancing up the Piave River.
November 10, 1917 — Rommel’s abteilung captures the town of Longarone, for which Rommel is awarded the Pour le Mérite on December 18.
January 11, 1918 — Rommel is promoted to Hauptmann (Captain) and transferred to the Staff of LXIV Corps on the Western Front, where he will remain until the end of the war.
November 9, 1918 — Kaiser Wilhelm II flees to the Netherlands and the German Republic proclaimed.
November 11, 1918 — The Armistice is signed between the Allies and Germany
December 21, 1918 — Rommel is assigned to regimental duties with the 124th Infantry Regiment.
January 1, 1919 — Rommel is assigned to the 13th Infantry Regiment of the new German Reichsheer (popularly known as the Reichswehr) as a company commander.
August 11, 1919 — The adoption of the new German Constitution, popularly called the “Weimar Constitution,” formally establishes the German (“Weimar”) Republic.
June 28, 1919 — Under compulsion, Germany signs the Treaty of Versailles
September 1924 — Rommel is assigned to the Staff of II Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment.
October 1928 — Walburga Stemmer dies of pneumonia.
December 24, 1928 — A son, Manfred, is born to Erwin and Lucie Rommel.
October 1, 1929 — Rommel is posted to the Reichswehr’s Infantry School in Dresden as an instructor.
April 1, 1932 — Rommel is promoted to Major.
January 30, 1933 — Adolf Hitler is named Chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg.
October 1, 1933 — Rommel is appointed commanding officer, 3rd (Jäger) Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment.
June 30, 1934 — The purge of the SA (Sturmabteilung, the Nazi Party’s strong-arm paramilitary force) takes place, becoming known as the “Night of the Long Knives.”
August 2, 1934 — Upon the death of President von Hindenburg, Hitler combines the Chancellorship with the Presidency into a single position, der Führer. All members of the civil government and armed forces are required to swear an oath of personal allegiance (Fahneneid) to Hitler.
September 30, 1934 — Adolf Hitler meets Rommel for the first time, at a troop review in Dresden.
March 15, 1935 — Adolf Hitler announces that the German armed forces (Wehrmacht) will reintroduce conscription, his first abrogation of the Treaty of Versailles.
October 15 1935 — Rommel is posted to the Infantry School at the Potsdam War College as an instructor.
March 7, 1936 — In defiance of the Versailles Treaty, Hitler orders German troops into the Rhineland.
September 1936 — Rommel is assigned to command Hitler’s military escort at the Reichspartietag (the Nuremburg Rally).
October 25, 1936 — The German-Italian military alliance (“Pact of Steel”) is created.
February 1937 — Rommel is appointed the officer responsible for the unsuccessful paramilitary training program for the Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth).
Summer 1937 — Publication of Rommel’s account of his Great War experiences, Infanterie Greift an (Infantry in the Attack)
March 1938 — German annexation (Anschluss) of Austria.
September 1938 — The Munich Crisis; in response to Hitler’s threat of war, France and Great Britain unilaterally cede the Czech Sudetenland to Germany.
October 1938 — Rommel is given command of Hitler’s field headquarters during the occupation of the Sudetenland.
November 10, 1938 – Rommel is promoted to Oberst (Colonel) and appointed commandant of the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener-Neutstadt.
March 15, 1939 — Germany annexes the whole of Czechoslovakia, Rommel commands Hitler’s military escort into Prague..
August 23, 1939 — German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact is signed, with secret clauses providing for a partition of Poland. Rommel is promoted to Generalmajor (Major General) and given command of the Führerbeglietbrigade, which guards Hitler’s military headquarters.
September 1, 1939 — Germany invades Poland, beginning the Second World
War in Europe.
February 15, 1940 — Rommel is given command of the 7th Panzer Division.
May 10, 1940 — Germany begins Fall Gelb (Case Yellow), the invasion of France and the Low Countries.
May 13, 1940 — 7th Panzer Division forces a crossing of the Meuse River, breaching the French main line of defense.
May 15, 1940 — Rommel is awarded the Clasp to the Iron Cross Second Class (indicates a second award).
May 21, 1940 — Rommel’s first encounter with the British Army, as the B.E.F. counter-attacks at Arras. After fierce fighting, the British are turned back.
May 26, 1940 — Rommel is awarded the Knight’s Cross to the Iron Cross.
May 27–31, 1940 — Battle for Lille; Rommel narrowly escapes death twice during the fighting.
June 10, 1940 — 7th Panzer Division reaches the English Channel at Dalles, near Dieppe, and surrounds the town of Sainte-Valery-en-Caux, held by the 51st (Highland) Division. Italy declares war on France and Great Britain. Its ammunition exhausted, the 51st (Highland) Division surrenders two days later.
June 19, 1940 — 7th Panzer Division captures the Channel port of Cherbourg. This is Rommel’s last action in France in 1940.
June 22, 1940 — France signs an armistice with Germany, bringing the Battle of France to an end.
Rommel and the 7th Panzer Division take up occupation duties.
September 9, 1940 — The Italian Tenth Army in Libya invades Egypt, advancing sixty miles before halting near Sidi Barrani.
December 9, 1940–February 7, 1941 — Operation Compass, the British offensive into Libya, which concludes with the surrender of the Italian Tenth Army to the British Western Desert Force at Beda Fomm, 700 miles west of Sidi Barrani.
February 9, 1941 — Rommel is promoted to Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) and given command of two panzer divisions which will be sent to North Africa to reinforce and stabilize the Italians in Libya. These divisions will become the Afrika Korps.
February 12, 1941 — Rommel arrives in Tripoli, along with the lead elements of the 5th Light Division, one of the Afrika Korps’ two panzer divisions.
March 20, 1941 — Rommel is awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight’s Cross.
March 25–May 4, 1941 — The Afrika Korps’ first offensive against the British Army in Libya, and the first (unsuccessful) assaults on Tobruk.
May 15–16, 1941 — Operation Brevity.
June 16–20, 1941 — Operation Battleaxe, the first British attempt to relieve Tobruk.
August 15, 1941 — The Afrika Korps and its associated German units are designated Panzer Gruppe Afrika (Panzer Group Africa).
September 9, 1941 — Britain’s Western Desert Force is re-designated Eighth Army.
November 18–December 10, 1941 — Operation Crusader, Eighth Army’s successful attempt to relieve Tobruk. Rommel, the Afrika Korps, and the Italian divisions under his command are driven back to El Agheila, where their offensive had begun in March.
December 10, 1941 — Following the Japanese attack on the United States Navy at Pearl Harbor on December 7, Adolf Hitler, for “political reasons,” declares war on the United States.
January 20, 1942 — Rommel is awarded the Swords to the Oak Leaves of the Knight’s Cross.
January 21–29, 1942 — Rommel counterattacks out of El Agheila, driving Eighth Army back to the Gazala Line, west of Tobruk.
January 22, 1942 — Panzer Gruppe Afrika redesignated Panzerarmee Afrika (Panzer Army Africa)
May 26–June 21, 1942 — The Battle of Gazala.
May 28–June 5, 1942 — “Der Hexxenkessel” (“The Cauldron”), the decisive action of the Battle of Gazala.
June 21, 1942 — Tobruk is taken by the Afrika Korps. Within hours of the news reaching Berlin, Rommel is promoted to Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal).
June 22–July 1, 1942 — Rommel makes his final advance in North Africa, as the Panzerarmee reaches Alam Halfa and El Alamein.
July 1942 — The First Battle of El Alamein, Rommel’s first attempt to drive Eighth Army out of the El Alamein Line.
August 30–September 5, 1942 — The Battle of Alam Halfa, Rommel’s final (and unsuccessful) attack in the Western Desert Campaign.
September 19, 1942 — Suffering from a variety of health issues, Rommel leaves North Africa, turning over command of the Panzerarmee to General Georg Stumme.
October 23, 1942 — The Second Battle of El Alamein begins as Eighth Army attacks all along the El Alamein Line.
October 25, 1942 — General Stumme goes missing (he is later found dead of a presumed heart attack) and Rommel is recalled to North Africa, where he is able to temporarily contain the British attacks.
November 2, 1942 — Operation Supercharge begins: outnumbering the Axis armor by odds of 4 to 1, Eighth Army begins a heavy, set-piece assault on the northern end of the Axis line at El Alamein. Rommel asks Hitler for permission to withdraw to the more easily-defensible Halfaya Pass/Sollum position.
November 3, 1942 — Hitler replies to Rommel’s request with an adamant refusal, demanding that the Afrika Korps and the Italian forces stand fast and fight to “the last man and the last round.”
November 4, 1942 — Defying Hitler’s commands, Rommel orders the withdrawal from El Alamein to begin.
November 8, 1942 — British and American forces land in French North Africa. The Allies are now closer to the main Axis supply base in North Africa (Tripoli) than is the Panzerarmee.
November 10, 1942–Janaury 26, 1943 — The Axis withdrawal from Libya and Cyrenaica. Despite overwhelming superiority in numbers and logistics, Eighth Army is unable to cut off Rommel’s line of retreat.
January 26, 1943 — Panzerarmee Afrika occupies the Mareth Line in Tunisia.
February 19–21, 1943 — The Battle of Kasserine Pass, Rommel’s last successful attack in North Africa.
February 23, 1943 — Rommel is given command of Heeresgruppe Afrika (Army Group Africa).
March 6, 1943 — The Battle of Medenine, the last battle Rommel would fight in North Africa.
March 9, 1943 — Rommel leaves Tunisia to take a much-needed medical leave in Germany; he never returns to North Africa.
July 10, 1943 — British and American armies invade Sicily.
July 15, 1943 — Rommel is given command of Army Group B and told to plan for a bloodless occupation of Italy should the Italians surrender to the Allies.
July 25, 1943 — Mussolini is deposed by the Italian Grand Council.
July 30, 1943 — Under Rommel’s direction, German forces execute Operation Alarich, occupying Italy.
September 3, 1943 — Allied forces invade southern Italy; the Italian government sues for peace five days later.
November 21, 1943 — Rommel and his Army Group B headquarters are transferred to France, where he is placed in charge of completing the Atlantic Wall.
June 6, 1944 — The Allied invasion of Europe, Operation Neptune, begins with the British, Canadians, and Americans landing divisions on five beaches in Normandy.
June 6–July 17, 1944 — Rommel conducts the defense of Normandy.
June 29, 1943 — Rommel has what will be his final conference with Hitler, demanding that the Führer make peace with the Allies before Germany is destroyed. Hitler rebuffs him.
July 17, 1944 — Rommel is severely injured when Royal Air Force Spitfire fighters strafe his automobile near Sainte-Germaine-de-Montgommery.
July 20, 1944 — A bomb, placed by Wehrmacht officers engaged in an anti-Hitler conspiracy, explodes in the Führerhauptquartier (Führer’s Headquarters) in East Prussia. Hitler is injured in the blast, but survives.
Early August 1944 — After two months of near-constant attacks by the Allies, the German front in Normandy disintegrates. Rommel is transferred from a hospital at Le Vésinet to his home in Herrlingen.
October 7, 1944 — Under suspicion of being complicit in the attempt to assassinate Hitler, Rommel is ordered to report to Berlin. Citing health reasons, he dec
lines.
October 14, 1944 — Rommel, on the orders of Adolf Hitler, in order to avoid reprisals against his family, takes a quick-acting poison, and dies outside Herrlingen, Germany.
October 18, 1944 — Rommel’s state funeral in Ulm.
September 26, 1971 — Lucie Rommel dies in Stuttgart, and is buried beside her husband in Herrlingen.
November 7, 2013 –Manfred Rommel dies in Stuttgart.
ENDNOTES
CHAPTER ONE: THE BIRTH OF A SOLDIER
1. Tuchman, The Guns of August, 8.
2. Irving, The Trail of the Fox, 10, 11.
3. Because the Imperial German Army was organized around the armies of the four kingdoms of the German Empire (Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Württemberg), its organizational nomenclature was a bit complicated. The first number of any unit designation was its standing in the Imperial Army organization, the second, parenthetical number identified the unit’s place in the order of battle of its parent kingdom. This numbering system was applied at the corps, division, and regimental level.
4. A corresponding tradition in the British Army at the time held that “Lieutenants can not marry, captains should not marry, majors may marry, and colonels must marry!”
5. Churchill, The World Crisis, vol. 1, 4.
CHAPTER TWO: THE GREAT WAR
6. Rommel, Infantry in the Attack/Infantry Attacks, 11.
7. Ibid, 11.
8. Ibid, 16.
9. Ibid, 20.
10. Ibid, 50.
11. Ibid, 54.
12. Ibid, 56.
13. Ibid, 51.
14. Ibid, 74–75.
15. Ibid, 80.
16. Ibid.
17. The kampfgruppe concept would utilize company- or battalion-sized units taken as needed from larger armor, infantry, or artillery units to create a combined-arms force whose organization and equipment were tailored to a specific operation or mission. In Romania and elsewhere, the Germans were groping toward this sort of operational doctrine at the same time they were developing their Stosstrupptaktik, or infiltration tactics. When the two concepts were combined, as they would be in 1939, the results were devastating for the enemy.