History UsefulNotes / ErwinRommel

* Christopher Plummer played Rommel in ''The Night of the Generals'' (1966) and Karl Michael Vogler in ''Film/{{Patton}}'' (1970).

Today, Rommel is remembered as a chivalrous, capable armored officer. He is known for his resistance to Hitler, and his refusal to carry out the illegal Commando Order and Night and Fog Decrees, as well as paying the forced labourers who helped him build his Atlantic Wall. He was one of only two Axis soldiers deliberately targeted for assassination, so afraid were the Allies of him (the other was Isokoru Yamamoto). After his death, Churchill paid him fulsome tribute, and even more so when he discovered the truth of the July Plot. His writings on his experiences in WorldWarTwo were edited and published after the war as ''The Rommel Papers.'' The title he had planned for them was ''Krieg ohne Hass'': "''War without Hate''". In 1970, the German ''Bundeswehr'' named a ''Lutjens''-class destroyer for him. He always wore a braided scarf knitted for him by Gertrud. Because of this, even he has sometimes been given a HistoricalHeroUpgrade and HistoricalBadassUpgrade beyond what the historical record supports, especially since he was one of the German commanders to most consistently fight the Western Allies and (supposedly) WeAllLiveInAmerica or the rest of the West. Most portrayals correctly show he was no blood soaked ghoul, incompetent, or Nazi true believer; it is just that many also overlook how he supported [[ImperialGermany two less]] [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany than savory]] governments and saw his own skill undermined by the FatalFlaw duo of arrogance and failure to play well with others, whether it was [[PetTheDog refusing Hitler's orders to execute Commandos and Jews]] or [[KickTheDog ignoring or insulting his Italian allies in North Africa.]] Suffice it to say he was not perfect, but he was an archtypical NobleDemon and MagnificentBastard who "fought for the wrong side" but did not sink down to its level.

The [[TropeNamer original]] MagnificentBastard. ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel, nicknamed ''"[[RedBaron The Desert Fox]]"'' by the British, was the commander of German forces in North Africa during WorldWarII and held famous commands against the Western Allies, including the 7th Panzer Division and the Afrika Korps [[note]] Forces totalling, at one point, a full ''5-10%'' of Germany's front-line mobile units (tank & motorised divisions) and, in turn, as much as ''1-2%'' of Germany's entire front-line troop strength [[/note]]. Though he was just one of Germany's top twenty tactical commanders, no mean feat in itself, after the war he became the most famous of any of them because he was (exclusively) employed against the Western Allies and was actually a relatively decent guy. Most notably of all he was one of a mere handful of [[NazisWithGnarlyWeapons mid-level German Army leaders]] who not only [[CulturalRebel failed to execute genocide and commit War Crimes]], but ''[[WhiteSheep went out of his way to prevent them]]'' [[note]] Then again, German forces were not required to institute mass-genocide in the North Afrikan and French theatres as they were in the east, there being barely any Communists or Jews in those areas (who had not already been turned over by the civilian authorities) [[/note]]. The only other German Army General who refused to commit war crimes is General Hans-Jurgen von Arnim, commander of the 17th Panzer Division. The commanders of the other 300 divisions had no such compunctions.

The [[TropeNamer original]] MagnificentBastard. ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel, nicknamed ''"[[RedBaron The Desert Fox]]"'' by the British, was the commander of German forces in North Africa during WorldWarII and held famous commands against the Western Allies, including the 7th Panzer Division and the Afrika Korps [[note]] Forces totalling, at one point, a full ''5-10%'' of Germany's front-line mobile units (tank & motorised divisions) and, in turn, as much as ''1-2%'' of Germany's entire front-line troop strength [[/note]]. Though he was just one of Germany's top twenty tactical commanders, no mean feat in itself, after the war he became the most famous of any of them because he was (exclusively) employed against the Western Allies and was actually a relatively decent guy. One of a handful of [[NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Nazi German leaders]] who not only [[CulturalRebel failed to execute genocide and commit War Crimes]], but ''[[WhiteSheep went out of his way to prevent them]]'' [[note]] Then again, German forces were not required to institute mass-genocide in the North Afrikan and French theatres as they were in the east, there being barely any Communists or Jews in those areas (who had not already been turned over by the civilian authorities) [[/note]].

The [[TropeNamer original]] MagnificentBastard. ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel, nicknamed ''"[[RedBaron The Desert Fox]]"'' by the British, was the commander of German forces in North Africa during WorldWarII and held famous commands against the Western Allies, including the 7th Panzer Division and the Afrika Korps [[note]] Forces totalling, at one point, a full ''5-10%'' of Germany's front-line mobile units (tank & motorised divisions) and, in turn, as much as ''1-2%'' of Germany's entire front-line troop strength [[/note]]. Though he was among Germany's top twenty tactical commanders, no mean feat in itself, after the war he became the most famous of any of them because he was (exclusively) employed against the Western Allies and was actually a relatively decent guy. One of a handful of [[NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Nazi German leaders]] who not only [[CulturalRebel failed to execute genocide and commit War Crimes]], but ''[[WhiteSheep went out of his way to prevent them]]'' [[note]] Then again, German forces were not required to institute mass-genocide in the North Afrikan and French theatres as they were in the east, there being barely any Communists or Jews in those areas (who had not already been turned over by the civilian authorities) [[/note]].

The [[TropeNamer original]] MagnificentBastard. ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel, nicknamed ''"[[RedBaron The Desert Fox]]"'' by the British, was the commander of German forces in North Africa during WorldWarII and held famous commands against the Western Allies, including the 7th Panzer Division and the Afrika Korps [[note]] Forces totalling, at one point, a full ''5-10%'' of Germany's front-line mobile units (tank & motorised divisions) and, in turn, as much as ''1-2%'' of Germany's entire front-line troop strength [[/note]]. One of a handful of [[NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Nazi German leaders]] who not only [[CulturalRebel failed to execute genocide and commit War Crimes]], but ''[[WhiteSheep went out of his way to prevent them]]'' [[note]] Then again, German forces were not required to institute mass-genocide in the North Afrikan and French theatres as they were in the east, there being barely any Jews or Roma in those areas (who had not already been turned over by the civilian authorities) [[/note]].

Despite the General Staff's evaluation that (what with ''Barbarossa'' having some 2.5 million combat-troops and 1.5 million logistics personnel) they could only support some 50,000 combat troops in North Afrika and even then only by diverting precious trucks from the eastern fronts (then North, Middle, and South), Rommel used his pull with Hitler to have some 100,000 combat troops given to him. Accordingly, his troops could ''never'' have had the food, ammunition, and fuel to survive let alone fight without stealing all three from the Italians. This created and endless series of arguments with his quartermasters, the Italians, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs and the Italians' quartermasters]]. Initially under the command of the Italians, Rommel [[RightHandVersusLeftHand swiftly ignored them for being useless]] and, pinching their food and petrol, began a lightning campaign across North Africa that quickly turned the entire temp of the campaign on its' head. His first campaign was a relative anti-climax, and it still thoroughly wrongfooted the Western Allies and drove to the gates of Tobruk before eventually being driven back. But the second one was where he made his legend, swiftly taking Gazala (for which he was made Field Marshal) and Tobruk, and preparing to push into the British-held Middle East, aiming to cut the Suez Canal, split UsefulNotes/TheBritishEmpire in two, and eventually push up through the Caucasus into the Soviet Union (German plans tended to be made without reference to logistics or the enemy's capabilities, which is why a thousand-kilometre advance to defeat the USSR's Caucasian mountaineers at a series of well-fortified mountain passes was considered a realistic possibility).

By 1940, Rommel had been promoted to Major-General and placed in command of the 7th Panzer Division. Under his terrifyingly effective command in the Battle of France, 7th Panzer became known as the "Ghost Division" by the German High Command, because it struck so rapidly and penetrated so deeply that its true position was often not known. 7th Panzer was the first German unit to reach the channel, reported to High Command (during one of Rommel's typical surprise communiques) with the three word signal: "Am at coast." He was then placed in command of the ''Deutsche Afrika Korps'', the ''Heer'''s expeditionary force in Africa.

In 1943, he flew back to Germany on his own initiative to try and convince Hitler of the situation in Africa. Hitler refused to listen, and soon after, a quarter of a million Axis troops surrendered in Tunisia (including Rommel's remaining 100,000 Afrika Korps combat- and logistics-troops). He was transferred to the ''B''-front in Greece (one of the five eastern fronts), where an Allied invasion was expected thanks to a British deception operation. When it became that the Germans had been fooled (the British and Americans instead invaded Sicily), Rommel and Army Group B were transferred to France in expectation of D-Day. He oversaw a massive expansion of the Atlantic Wall, turning it from a token propaganda fortress to a major thorn in the side of Allied planners. Despite this, he was fooled with the rest of the German staff into believing that the Allied invasion would come through the Pas-de-Calais.[[note]]This is not surprising, as it was with good reason considered insane ''not'' to land at Calais, as a major amphibious assault without a harbor is virtually impossible. Neither Rommel nor any other German staff realized that the Allies would do something so audacious as ''building an artificial harbor while in the middle of the landing''.[[/note]] Correctly, however, Rommel knew that wherever the invasion did come, it could only be resisted by hitting it immediately with overwhelming force and smothering it at birth. However, due to Germany's devastating panzer-losses in the Ukrainian campaigns during the winter of 1943-44, very little forces were available for this and those that were available were generally 'green'. Worse, the command system remained highly fragmented with Rommel and the ''Heer'' commanding the bulk of the land forces but the paratroops and flak troops under ''Luftwaffe'' control - the command-situation was even worse in the eastern theatre, where the Luftwaffe actually had field-''divisions'' numbering some 200,000 combat troops (a tenth of the total). There was even a battalion of Marines and the crews of most of the heavy defensive guns under command of the Navy (which at least made a bit of sense, as those guns were essentially battleship main guns mounted in bunkers or on special railroad carriages)- and this is before the prime battle formations of the ''Waffen-SS'' and the ''Panzer Lehr'' under Hitler's direct command. Denied freedom of action or sufficient resources, Rommel did his best with what he could, stopping his old enemies, the British, from taking Caen on D-Day, using under-strength infantry and panzer forces. Meanwhile, the elite ''Panzer Lehr'' and fanatical 12th SS Panzer Divison ''Hitlerjugend'' were kept uselessly in place by Hitler, whilst the 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich'' was wasted fighting LaResistance in the Corrèze and the 15th Panzer Division dawdled in Calais, waiting for the ''real'' invasion, which would never come. On the 17th of July, returning from 1st SS headquarters, a Canadian Spitfire strafed his staff car, throwing him from the vehicle and putting him in hospital. The defense plan he had put in place just before this stopped the Allied advance of "Operation Goodwood" the day after his injury. However, Goodwood set up the next offensive a week later that resulted in the shattering of the German line in France, which may have suffered from Rommel's absence but neither he nor anyone else by that point could have altered the outcome.

In 1943, he flew back to Germany on his own initiative to try and convince Hitler of the situation in Africa. Hitler refused to listen, and soon after, a quarter of a million Axis troops surrendered in Tunisia (including Rommel's remaining 100,000 Afrika Korps combat- and logistics-troops). He was transferred to the ''B''-front in Greece (one of the five eastern fronts), where an Allied invasion was expected thanks to a British deception operation. When it became that the Germans had been fooled (the British and Americans instead invaded Sicily), Rommel and Army Group B were transferred to France in expectation of D-Day. He oversaw a massive expansion of the Atlantic Wall, turning it from a token propaganda fortress to a major thorn in the side of Allied planners. Despite this, he was fooled with the rest of the German staff into believing that the Allied invasion would come through the Pas-de-Calais.[[note]]This is not surprising, as it was with good reason considered insane ''not'' to land at Calais, as a major amphibious assault without a harbor is virtually impossible. Neither Rommel nor any othe German staff realized that the Allies would do something so audacious as ''building an artificial harbor while in the middle of the landing''.[[/note]] Correctly, however, Rommel knew that wherever the invasion did come, it could only be resisted by hitting it immediately with overwhelming force and smothering it at birth. However, due to Germany's devastating panzer-losses in the Ukrainian campaigns during the winter of 1943-44, very little forces were available for this and those that were available were generally 'green'. Worse, the command system remained highly fragmented with Rommel and the ''Heer'' commanding the bulk of the land forces but the paratroops and flak troops under ''Luftwaffe'' control - the command-situation was even worse in the eastern theatre, where the Luftwaffe actually had field-''divisions'' numbering some 200,000 combat troops (a tenth of the total). There was even a ''Kriegsmarine'' battalion - and this is before the prime battle formations of the ''Waffen-SS'' and the ''Panzer Lehr'' under Hitler's direct command. Denied freedom of action or sufficient resources, Rommel did his best with what he could, stopping his old enemies, the British, from taking Caen on D-Day, using under-strength infantry and panzer forces. Meanwhile, the elite ''Panzer Lehr'' and fanatical 12th SS Panzer Divison ''Hitlerjugend'' were kept uselessly in place by Hitler, whilst the 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich'' was wasted fighting LaResistance in the Corrèze and the 15th Panzer Division dawdled in Calais, waiting for the ''real'' invasion, which would never come. On the 17th of July, returning from 1st SS headquarters, a Canadian Spitfire strafed his staff car, throwing him from the vehicle and putting him in hospital. The defense plan he had put in place just before this stopped the Allied advance of "Operation Goodwood" the day after his injury. However, Goodwood set up the next offensive a week later that resulted in the shattering of the German line in France, which may have suffered from Rommel's absence but neither he nor anyone else by that point could have altered the outcome.

* The 1951 film ''Film/TheDesertFox: The Story of Rommel'', starring James Mason in the title role portrayed him sympathetically.

In 1943, he flew back to Germany on his own initiative to try and convince Hitler of the situation in Africa. Hitler refused to listen, and soon after, a quarter of a million Axis troops surrendered in Tunisia (including Rommel's remaining 100,000 Afrika Korps combat- and logistics-troops). He was transferred to the ''B''-front in Greece (one of the five eastern fronts), where an Allied invasion was expected thanks to a British deception operation. When it became that the Germans had been fooled (the British and Americans instead invaded Sicily), Rommel and Army Group B were transferred to France in expectation of D-Day. He oversaw a massive expansion of the Atlantic Wall, turning it from a token propaganda fortress to a major thorn in the side of Allied planners. Despite this, he was fooled with the rest of the German staff into believing that the Allied invasion would come through the Pas-de-Calais. Correctly, however, Rommel knew that wherever the invasion did come, it could only be resisted by hitting it immediately with overwhelming force and smothering it at birth. However, due to Germany's devastating panzer-losses in the Ukrainian campaigns during the winter of 1943-44, very little forces were available for this and those that were available were generally 'green'. Worse, the command system remained highly fragmented with Rommel and the ''Heer'' commanding the bulk of the land forces but the paratroops and flak troops under ''Luftwaffe'' control - the command-situation was even worse in the eastern theatre, where the Luftwaffe actually had field-''divisions'' numbering some 200,000 combat troops (a tenth of the total). There was even a ''Kriegsmarine'' battalion - and this is before the prime battle formations of the ''Waffen-SS'' and the ''Panzer Lehr'' under Hitler's direct command. Denied freedom of action or sufficient resources, Rommel did his best with what he could, stopping his old enemies, the British, from taking Caen on D-Day, using under-strength infantry and panzer forces. Meanwhile, the elite ''Panzer Lehr'' and fanatical 12th SS Panzer Divison ''Hitlerjugend'' were kept uselessly in place by Hitler, whilst the 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich'' was wasted fighting LaResistance in the Corrèze and the 15th Panzer Division dawdled in Calais, waiting for the ''real'' invasion, which would never come. On the 17th of July, returning from 1st SS headquarters, a Canadian Spitfire strafed his staff car, throwing him from the vehicle and putting him in hospital. The defense plan he had put in place just before this stopped the Allied advance of "Operation Goodwood" the day after his injury. However, Goodwood set up the next offensive a week later that resulted in the shattering of the German line in France, which may have suffered from Rommel's absence but neither he nor anyone else by that point could have altered the outcome.

-->--'''UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill'''

Despite the General Staff's evaluation that (what with ''Barbarossa'' having some 3 million combat-troops) they could only support some 50,000 combat troops in North Afrika and even then only by diverting precious trucks from the eastern fronts (then North, Middle, and South), Rommel used his pull with Hitler to have some 100,000 combat troops given to him. Accordingly, his troops could ''never'' have had the food, ammunition, and fuel to survive let alone fight without stealing all three from the Italians. This created and endless series of arguments with his quartermasters, the Italians, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs and the Italians' quartermasters]]. Initially under the command of the Italians, Rommel [[RightHandVersusLeftHand swiftly ignored them for being useless]] and, pinching their food and petrol, began a lightning campaign across North Africa that quickly turned the entire temp of the campaign on its' head. His first campaign was a relative anti-climax, and it still thoroughly wrongfooted the Western Allies and drove to the gates of Tobruk before eventually being driven back. But the second one was where he made his legend, swiftly taking Gazala (for which he was made Field Marshal) and Tobruk, and preparing to push into the British-held Middle East, aiming to cut the Suez Canal, split UsefulNotes/TheBritishEmpire in two, and eventually push up through the Caucasus into the Soviet Union (German plans tended to be made without reference to logistics or the enemy's capabilities, which is why a thousand-kilometre advance to defeat the USSR's Caucasian mountaineers at a series of well-fortified mountain passes was considered a realistic possibility).

Despite the General Staff's evaluation that (what with ''Barbarossa'' having some 3 million combat-troops) they could only support some 50,000 combat troops in North Afrika and even then only by diverting precious trucks from the eastern fronts (then North, Middle, and South), Rommel used his pull with Hitler to have some 100,000 combat troops given to him. Accordingly, his troops could ''never'' have had the food, ammunition, and fuel to survive let alone fight without stealing all three from the Italians. This created and endless series of arguments with his quartermasters, the Italians, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs and the Italians' quartermasters]]. Initially under the command of the Italians, Rommel [[RightHandVersusLeftHand swiftly ignored them for being useless]] and, pinching their food and petrol, began a lightning campaign across North Africa that quickly turned the entire temp of the campaign on its' head. His first campaign was a relative anti-climax, and it still thoroughly wrongfooted the Western Allies and drove to the gates of Tobruk before eventually being driven back. But the second one was where he made his legend, swiftly taking Gazala (for which he was made Field Marshal) and Tobruk, and preparing to push into the British-held Middle East, aiming to cut the Suez Canal, split UsefulNotes/TheBritishEmpire in two, and eventually push up through the Caucasus into the Soviet Union, quite possibly sealing Russia's fate. It was not to be, however. The British harryied German resupplies with their naval forces in the Mediterranean and aircraft from Gibraltar and Malta. British intelligence had also cracked the German codes, and were reading his orders; Rommel guessed the Western Allies had obtained an intelligence breakthrough but- like virtually all German commanders- believed the Enigma machine was impenetrable, meaning he [[MisBlamed assumed it was a result of Italian incompetence one of the rare times it wasn't.]] All of these crucial problems coupled with his trademark aggressiveness began to turn against him. His critical supply situation began to wear him down. At the First Battle of El Alamein, the Allied forces under Claude Auchinleck pulled back and let their superior artillery and airpower wear down Rommel's attack, stopping it without ever engaging the bulk of their own forces. At the Second Battle of El Alamein, UsefulNotes/BernardLawMontgomery inflicted a crushing defeat, reducing his effective armored strength to just 35 tanks and boatloads of poorly-supported infantry who were often run down in the rout. Rommel requested permission to retreat and re-supply. Back came the order from Hitler: "victory or death". Rather than allow himself to be surrounded, he retreated anyway, heading back to Tunisia disgusted with Hitler's lack of concern for his exhausted troops, the lack of support he had received, and with his faith in his ''Führer'' broken. His growing disillusionment with Hitler's callousness, cruelty, and incompetence lead to him lending his support, in February 1944, to the plot against Hitler.

The [[TropeNamer original]] MagnificentBastard. ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel, nicknamed ''"[[RedBaron The Desert Fox]]"'' by the British, was the commander of German forces in North Africa during WorldWarII and held famous commands against the Western Allies, including the 7th Panzer Division and the Afrika Korps [[note]] Forces totalling, at one point, a full ''5-10%'' of Germany's front-line mobile units (tank & motorised divisions) and, in turn, as many as ''1-2%'' of Germany's entire front-line troops [[/note]]. One of a handful of [[NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Nazi German leaders]] who not only [[CulturalRebel failed to execute genocide and commit War Crimes]], but ''[[WhiteSheep went out of his way to prevent them]]'' [[note]] Then again, German forces were not required to institute mass-genocide in the North Afrikan and French theatres as they were in the east, there being barely any Jews or Roma in those areas (who had not already been turned over by the civilian authorities) [[/note]].

The [[TropeNamer original]] MagnificentBastard. ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel, nicknamed "[[RedBaron The Desert Fox]]'' by the British, was the commander of German forces in North Africa during WorldWarII and held famous commands against the Western Allies, including the 7th Panzer Division and the Afrika Korps [[note]] Forces totalling, at one point, a full ''5-10%'' of Germany's front-line mobile units (tank & motorised divisions) and, in turn, as many as ''1-2%'' of Germany's entire front-line troops [[/note]]. One of a handful of [[NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Nazi German leaders]] who not only [[CulturalRebel failed to execute genocide and commit War Crimes]], but ''[[WhiteSheep went out of his way to prevent them]]'' [[note]] Then again, German forces were not required to institute mass-genocide in the North Afrikan and French theatres as they were in the east, there being barely any Jews or Roma in those areas (who had not already been turned over by the civilian authorities) [[/note]].

The [[TropeNamer original]] MagnificentBastard. ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel, nicknamed "[[RedBaron The Desert Fox]]'' by the British, was the commander of German forces in North Africa during WorldWarII and held some of the most famous commands, including the 7th Panzer Division and the Afrika Korps.

Despite the General Staff's evaluation that (what with ''Barbarossa'' having some 3 million combat-troops) they could only support some 50,000 combat troops in North Afrika and even then only by diverting precious trucks from the eastern fronts (then North, Middle, and South), Rommel used his pull with Hitler to have some 100,000 combat troops given to him. Accordingly, his troops could ''never'' have had the food, ammunition, and fuel to survive let alone fight without stealing all three from the Italians. This created and endless series of arguments with his quartermasters, the Italians, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs and the Italians' quartermasters]]. Initially under the command of the Italians, Rommel [[RightHandVersusLeftHand swiftly ignored them for being useless]] and, pinching their food and petrol, began a lightning campaign across North Africa that quickly turned the entire temp of the campaign on its' head. His first campaign was a relative anti-climax, and it still thoroughly wrongfooted the Western Allies and drove to the gates of Tobruk before eventually being driven back. But the second one was where he made his legend, swiftly taking Gazala (for which he was made Field Marshal) and Tobruk, and preparing to push into the British-held Middle East, aiming to cut the Suez Canal, split UsefulNotes/TheBritishEmpire in two, and eventually push up through the Caucasus into the Soviet Union, quite possibly sealing Russia's fate. It was not to be, however. The British sent UsefulNotes/BernardLawMontgomery to take command of their armies in Egypt, as well as harrying German resupplies with their naval forces in the Mediterranean and aircraft from Gibraltar and Malta. British intelligence had also cracked the German codes, and were reading his orders; Rommel guessed the Western Allies had obtained an intelligence breakthrough but- like virtually all German commanders- believed the Enigma machine was impenetrable, meaning he [[MisBlamed assumed it was a result of Italian incompetence one of the rare times it wasn't.]] All of these crucial problems coupled with his trademark aggressiveness began to turn against him. His critical supply situation began to wear him down. At the Second Battle of El Alamein, Montgomery inflicted a crushing defeat, reducing his effective armored strength to just 35 tanks (from a starting total of more than 400) and boatloads of poorly-supported infantry who were often run down in the rout. Rommel requested permission to retreat and re-supply. Back came the order from Hitler: "victory or death". Rather than allow himself to be surrounded, he retreated anyway, heading back to Tunisia disgusted with Hitler's lack of concern for his exhausted troops, the lack of support he had received, and with his faith in his ''Führer'' broken. His growing disillusionment with Hitler's callousness, cruelty, and incompetence lead to him lending his support, in February 1944, to the plot against Hitler.

In 1943, he flew back to Germany on his own initiative to try and convince Hitler of the situation in Africa. Hitler refused to listen, and soon after, a quarter of a million Axis troops surrendered in Tunisia (including Rommel's remaining 100,000 Afrika Korps combat- and logistics-troops). He was transferred to the ''B''-front in Greece (one of the five eastern fronts), where an Allied invasion was expected thanks to a British deception operation. When it became that the Germans had been fooled (the British and Americans instead invaded Sicily), Rommel and Army Group B were transferred to France in expectation of D-Day. He oversaw a massive expansion of the Atlantic Wall, turning it from a token propaganda fortress to a major thorn in the side of Allied planners. Despite this, he was fooled with the rest of the German staff into believing that the Allied invasion would come through the Pas-de-Calais. Correctly, however, Rommel knew that wherever the invasion did come, it could only be resisted by hitting it immediately with overwhelming force and smothering it at birth. However, due to Germany's devastating panzer-losses in the Ukrainian campaigns during the winter of 1943-44, very little forces were available for this and those that were available were generally 'green'. Worse, the command system remained highly fragmented with Rommel and the ''Heer'' commanding the bulk of the land forces but the paratroops and flak troops under ''Luftwaffe'' control - the command-situation was even worse in the eastern theatre, where the Luftwaffe actually had field-''divisions'' numbering some 200,000 combat troops (a tenth of the total). There was even a ''Kriegsmarine'' battalion - and this is before the prime battle formations of the ''Waffen-SS'' and the ''Panzer Lehr'' under Hitler's direct command. Denied freedom of action or sufficient resources, Rommel did his best with what he could, stopping his old enemies, the British, from taking Caen on D-Day, using under-strength infantry and panzer forces. Meanwhile, the elite ''Panzer Lehr'' and fanatical 12th SS Panzer Divison ''Hitlerjugend'' were kept uselessly in place by Hitler, whilst the 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich'' was wasted fighting LaResistance in the Corrèze and the 15th Panzer Division dawdled in Calais, waiting for the ''real'' invasion, which would never come. On the 17th of July, returning from 1st SS headquarters, a Canadian Spitfire strafed his staff car, throwing him from the vehicle and putting him in hospital.

Today, Rommel is remembered as a chivalrous, capable armored officer. He is known for his resistance to Hitler, and his refusal to carry out the illegal Commando Order and Night and Fog Decrees, as well as paying the forced labourers who helped him build his Atlantic Wall. He was one of only two Axis soldiers deliberately targeted for assassination, so afraid were the Allies of him (the other was Isokoru Yamamoto). After his death, Churchill paid him fulsome tribute, and even more so when he discovered the truth of the July Plot. His writings on his experiences in WorldWarTwo were edited and published after the war as ''The Rommel Papers.'' The title he had planned for them was ''Krieg ohne Hass'': "''War without Hate''". In 1970, the German ''Bundeswehr'' named a ''Lutjens''-class destroyer for him. He always wore a braided scarf knitted for him by Gertrud. Because of this, even he has sometimes been given a HistoricalHeroUpgrade and HistoricalBadassUpgrade beyond what the historical record supports, especially since he was one of the German commanders to most consistently fight the Western Allies and (supposedly) WeAllLiveInAmerica or the rest of the West. Most portrayals correctly show he was no blood soaked ghoul, incompetent, or Nazi true believer; it is just that many also overlook how he supported [[ImperialGermany two less]] [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany than savory]] governments and saw his own skill undermined by the FatalFlaw duo of arrogance and failure to play well with others, whether it was [[PetTheDog refusing Hitler's orders to execute Commandos and Jews]] or [[KickTheDog ignoring, mistreating, insulting, and even abandoning his Italian allies in North Africa.]][[note]]He refused to pull Italian units out of line to rest, and would even retreat without informing them.[[/note]] Suffice it to say he was not perfect, but he was an archtypical NobleDemon and MagnificentBastard who "fought for the wrong side" but did not sink down to its level.

Today, Rommel is remembered as a chivalrous, capable armored officer. He is known for his resistance to Hitler, and his refusal to carry out the illegal Commando Order and Night and Fog Decrees, as well as paying the forced labourers who helped him build his Atlantic Wall. He was one of only two Axis soldiers deliberately targeted for assassination, so afraid were the Allies of him (the other was Isokoru Yamamoto). After his death, Churchill paid him fulsome tribute, and even more so when he discovered the truth of the July Plot. His writings on his experiences in WorldWarTwo were edited and published after the war as ''The Rommel Papers.'' The title he had planned for them was ''Krieg ohne Hass'': "''War without Hate''". In 1970, the German ''Bundeswehr'' named a ''Lutjens''-class destroyer for him. He always wore a braided scarf knitted for him by Gertrud. Because of this, even he has sometimes been given a HistoricalHeroUpgrade and HistoricalBadassUpgrade beyond what the historical record supports, especially since he was one of the German commanders to most consistently fight the Western Allies and (supposedly) WeAllLiveInAmerica or the rest of the West. Most portrayals correctly show he was no blood soaked ghoul, incompetent, or Nazi true believer; it is just that many also overlook how he supported [[ImperialGermany two less]] [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany than savory]] governments and saw his own skill undermined by the FatalFlaw duo of arrogance and failure to play well with others, whether it was [[PetTheDog refusing Hitler's orders to execute Commandos and Jews]] or [[KickTheDog ignoring, mistreating, insulting, and even abandoning his Italian allies in North Africa.]][[note]]He refused to pull Italian units out of line to rest, and would even retreat without informing them.[[/note]] Suffice it to say he was not perfect, but he was an archtypical NobleDemon and MagnificentBastard who "fought for the wrong side" but did not sink down to its' level.

* He appeared as the villain in Creator/BillyWilder's 1942 film ''Five Graves to Cairo'', where he was played by Erich von Stroheim.

Despite the General Staff's evaluation that (what with ''Barbarossa'' having some 3 million combat-troops) they could only support some 50,000 combat troops in North Afrika and even then only by diverting precious trucks from the eastern fronts (then North, Middle, and South), Rommel used his pull with Hitler to have some 100,000 combat troops given to him. Accordingly, his troops could ''never'' have had the food, ammunition, and fuel to survive let alone fight without stealing all three from the Italians. This created and endless series of arguments with his quartermasters, the Italians, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs and the Italians' quartermasters]]. Initially under the command of the Italians, Rommel [[RightHandVersusLeftHand swiftly ignored them for being useless]] and, pinching their food and petrol, began a lightning campaign across North Africa that quickly turned the entire temp of the campaign on its' head. His first campaign was a relative anti-climax, and it still thoroughly wrongfooted the Western Allies and drove to the gates of Tobruk before eventually being driven back. But the second one was where he made his legend, swiftly taking Gazala (for which he was made Field Marshal) and Tobruk, and preparing to push into the British-held Middle East, aiming to cut the Suez Canal, split UsefulNotes/TheBritishEmpire in two, and eventually push up through the Caucasus into the Soviet Union, quite possibly sealing Russia's fate. It was not to be, however. The British sent UsefulNotes/BernardLawMontgomery to take command of their armies in Egypt, as well as harrying German resupplies with their naval forces in the Mediterranean and aircraft from Gibraltar and Malta. British intelligence had also cracked the German codes, and were reading his orders; Rommel guessed the Western Allies had obtained an intelligence breakthrough but- like virtually all German commanders- believed the Enigma machine was impenetrable, meaning he [[MisBlamed assumed it was a result of Italian incompetence one of the rare times it wasn't.]] All of these crucial problems coupled with his trademark aggressiveness began to turn against him. His critical supply situation began to wear him down. At the Second Battle of El Alamein, Montgomery inflicted a crushing defeat, reducing his effective armored strength to just 35 tanks and boatloads of poorly-supported infantry who were often run down in the rout. Rommel requested permission to retreat and re-supply. Back came the order from Hitler: "victory or death". Rather than allow himself to be surrounded, he retreated anyway, heading back to Tunisia disgusted with Hitler's lack of concern for his exhausted troops, the lack of support he had received, and with his faith in his ''Führer'' broken. His growing disillusionment with Hitler's callousness, cruelty, and incompetence lead to him lending his support, in February 1944, to the plot against Hitler.

In 1943, he flew back to Germany on his own initiative to try and convince Hitler of the situation in Africa. Hitler refused to listen, and soon after, a quarter of a million Axis troops surrendered in Tunisia (including Rommel's remaining 100,000 Afrika Korps combat- and logistics-troops). He was transferred to the ''B''-front in Greece (one of the five eastern fronts), where an Allied invasion was expected thanks to a British deception operation. When it became that the Germans had been fooled (the British and Americans instead invaded Sicily), Rommel and Army Group B were transferred to France in expectation of D-Day. He oversaw a massive expansion of the Atlantic Wall, turning it from a token propaganda fortress to a major thorn in the side of Allied planners. Despite this, he was fooled with the rest of the German staff into believing that the Allied invasion would come through the Pas-de-Calais. Correctly, however, Rommel knew that wherever the invasion did come, it could only be resisted by hitting it immediately with overwhelming force and smothering it at birth. However, due to Germany's deteriorating supply situation, very little forces were available for this. Worse, Hitler had set up a Byzantine command, with Rommel and the ''Heer'' commanding the bulk of the land forces, but with paratroops and flak troops under ''Luftwaffe'' control. There was even a ''Kriegsmarine'' battalion - and this is before the prime battle formations of the ''Waffen-SS'' and the ''Panzer Lehr'' under Hitler's direct command. Denied freedom of action or sufficient resources, Rommel did his best with what he could, stopping his old enemies, the British, from taking Caen on D-Day, using under-strength infantry and panzer forces. Meanwhile, the elite ''Panzer Lehr'' and fanatical 12th SS Panzer Divison ''Hitlerjugend'' were kept uselessly in place by Hitler, whilst the 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich'' was wasted fighting LaResistance in the Corrèze and the 15th Panzer Division dawdled in Calais, waiting for the ''real'' invasion, which would never come. On the 17th of July, returning from 1st SS headquarters, a Canadian Spitfire strafed his staff car, throwing him from the vehicle and putting him in hospital.

In 1943, he flew back to Germany on his own initiative to try and convince Hitler of the situation in Africa. Hitler refused to listen, and soon after, a quarter of a million Axis troops surrendered in Tunisia, including Rommel's Afrika Korps. He was transferred to command of Army Group B in Greece, where an Allied invasion was expected thanks to a British deception operation. When it became that the Germans had been fooled (the British and Americans instead invaded Sicily), Rommel and Army Group B were transferred to France in expectation of D-Day. He oversaw a massive expansion of the Atlantic Wall, turning it from a token propaganda fortress to a major thorn in the side of Allied planners. Despite this, he was fooled with the rest of the German staff into believing that the Allied invasion would come through the Pas-de-Calais. Correctly, however, Rommel knew that wherever the invasion did come, it could only be resisted by hitting it immediately with overwhelming force and smothering it at birth. However, due to Germany's deteriorating supply situation, very little forces were available for this. Worse, Hitler had set up a Byzantine command, with Rommel and the ''Heer'' commanding the bulk of the land forces, but with paratroops and flak troops under ''Luftwaffe'' control. There was even a ''Kriegsmarine'' battalion - and this is before the prime battle formations of the ''Waffen-SS'' and the ''Panzer Lehr'' under Hitler's direct command. Denied freedom of action or sufficient resources, Rommel did his best with what he could, stopping his old enemies, the British, from taking Caen on D-Day, using under-strength infantry and panzer forces. Meanwhile, the elite ''Panzer Lehr'' and fanatical 12th SS Panzer Divison ''Hitlerjugend'' were kept uselessly in place by Hitler, whilst the 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich'' was wasted fighting LaResistance in the Corrèze and the 15th Panzer Division dawdled in Calais, waiting for the ''real'' invasion, which would never come. On the 17th of July, returning from 1st SS headquarters, a Canadian Spitfire strafed his staff car, throwing him from the vehicle and putting him in hospital.

By 1940, Rommel had been promoted to Major-General and placed in command of the 7th Panzer Division. Under his terrifyingly effective command in the Battle of France, 7th Panzer became known as the "Ghost Division" by the German High Command, because it struck so rapidly and penetrated so deeply that its true position was often not known. 7th Panzer was the first German unit to reach the channel, reported to High Command (during one of Rommel's typical surprise communiques) with the three word signal: "Am at coast." He was then placed in command of the ''Deutsche Afrika Korps'', the ''Heer'''s expeditionary force in Africa. Initially under the command of the Italians, Rommel [[RightHandVersusLeftHand swiftly ignored them for being useless]], and began a lightning campaign across North Africa that quickly turned the entire temp of the campaign on its' head. His first campaign was a relative anti-climax, and it still thoroughly wrongfooted the Western Allies and drove to the gates of Tobruk before eventually being driven back. But the second one was where he made his legend, swiftly taking Gazala (for which he was made Field Marshal) and Tobruk, and preparing to push into the British-held Middle East, aiming to cut the Suez Canal, split UsefulNotes/TheBritishEmpire in two, and eventually push up through the Caucasus into the Soviet Union, quite possibly sealing Russia's fate. It was not to be, however. The British sent UsefulNotes/BernardLawMontgomery to take command of their armies in Egypt, as well as harrying German resupplies with their naval forces in the Mediterranean and aircraft from Gibraltar and Malta. British intelligence had also cracked the German codes, and were reading his orders; Rommel guessed the Western Allies had obtained an intelligence breakthrough but- like virtually all German commanders- believed the Enigma machine was impenetrable, meaning he [[MisBlamed assumed it was a result of Italian incompetence one of the rare times it wasn't.]] All of these crucial problems coupled with his trademark aggressiveness began to turn against him. His critical supply situation began to wear him down. At the Second Battle of El Alamein, Montgomery inflicted a crushing defeat, reducing his effective armored strength to just 35 tanks and boatloads of poorly-supported infantry who were often run down in the rout. Rommel requested permission to retreat and re-supply. Back came the order from Hitler: "victory or death". Rather than allow himself to be surrounded, he retreated anyway, heading back to Tunisia disgusted with Hitler's lack of concern for his exhausted troops, the lack of support he had received, and with his faith in his ''Führer'' broken. His growing disillusionment with Hitler's callousness, cruelty, and incompetence lead to him lending his support, in February 1944, to the plot against Hitler.