Rommel, Erwin 1891-1944
German soldier

He was born in Heidenheim. He served in World War I and became an instructor at the Dresden Military Academy, where he was an early Nazi sympathizer. He commanded Hitler's headquarters guard, and displayed such skill while leading a panzer division during the invasion of France in 1940 that he was appointed to command the Afrika Corps. His spectacular successes against the attenuated Allied 8th Army earned him the title 'Desert Fox' and the admiration of his opponents. He drove the British back to El-Alamein, but in November 1942 was defeated there by Montgomery and retreated to Tunis. In March 1943 he was withdrawn, a sick man, from North Africa at Mussolini's insistence. Hitler subsequently appointed him commander of the Channel defences in France. Returning home wounded in 1944, he supported the July plot against Hitler's life. After its failure, he committed suicide.

Bibliography: Desmond Young, Rommel (1950)