The story of this German commander, whose death was as sensational as his life, would begin far away from Germany, under the scorching sun of Africa.
Rommel's name should be evaluated separately in the Hitler administration, which is considered one of the most cruel forms of government in human history.
The life and death of Erwin Rommel, who is viewed with sympathy due to his attempt, or perhaps his claim, to kill Hitler, remains a mystery.
His struggle in Africa, his leadership approach, and his different approach from the administrators within the Nazi Party managed to attract attention.
Today, many researchers in the USA and Europe are still publishing new articles about Rommel.
The fact that Rommel is the only German who is considered an exception among the Nazis in Hollywood helps the Germans to cleanse their homeland honor to some extent.
The story of this German commander, whose death was as sensational as his life, would begin far away from Germany, under the scorching sun of Africa.
Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German Generalfeldmarschall (field marshal) during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox, he served in the Wehrmacht (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as serving in the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic, and the army of Imperial Germany. Rommel was injured multiple times in both world wars.
He was born in Ulm on November 15, 1891, as the second baby of a family of four children. The full name his family gave him was Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel.
Rommel, whose father was also a mathematics teacher, had excellent mathematical intelligence; but he was not considered an academically competent student.
Realizing this situation, his family directed him to sports. Rommel, who worked in the field of gymnastics, joined the army at his insistence when he was 16 years old.
While his family expected him to choose the cavalry regiment, where only nobles were accepted, Rommel saw nothing but military cannons.
During his military service, Rommel failed to achieve above-average grades in school subjects; but his commanders had noticed his remarkable ability.
Young Rommel, who was unsuccessful in school, had a rare leadership ability in the social arena.
Rommel, who was discharged early due to his injury in the first months of the First World War, completed his treatment in a short time and returned to the front.
The development that would make Rommel's name known for the first time took place after this; because when he returned to the army in 1915, this time he was commanding his own company.
The front where Rommel's company was located was blockaded by the French's massive encirclement attack.
The only German commander who noticed this blockade was Rommel, who broke through the line and prevented the French from achieving a decisive victory.
Thanks to this success, he was now a platoon commander in the Argonne; But Rommel's enthusiasm for leadership made him an obvious target on the battlefield.
In October 1917, he was sent to the hospital again, this time with a leg injury.
As the end of the war approached, Rommel was sent to the Romanian front when he was released from the hospital.
On this front, Rommel encountered a battle order he had never seen before. He carefully observed the hit-and-run operations, which we can call a kind of guerrilla tactics.
By dividing the companies under his command into small groups, he acquired the skills to manage multiple operations, thus laying the foundation of a strategy that would lead him from victory to victory in Africa.
Rommel would build a fast, flexible, and creative model of warfare to replace the cumbersome and uncoordinated traditional order.
Rommel's African adventure
During the days when World War II was in full swing, Adolf Hitler appointed Rommel as commander of the Afrika Korps. Another important detail in his appointment was Hitler's approach to him.
Hitler asked Rommel, a war hero, which troops he wanted to lead, and Rommel replied without hesitation that he wanted to lead the tank troops.
The victories achieved by Rommel, who showed great usefulness in the attacks on Belgium and France in 1940 before the African adventure, against the British tank forces called 'Matilda' with his skills, enabled the legends about British tanks to disappear.
In the operation launched by the British against Dunkirk, Rommel's tanks in the southern part of the canal took 6,849 soldiers hostage and destroyed 48 British Matilda tanks.
Moreover, this success was achieved in just one day. In the Battle of the Somme, which took place in the following months, Rommel captured 12,674 British people this time.
Most importantly, in the battles that took place in Cherbourg, Rommel's tank troops captured 97 thousand French soldiers along with their weapons.
This meant that France's last hopes for salvation were crushed.
Rommel suddenly became the great hero of Berlin.
At the time of these developments, the allied Italy was in a very difficult situation against the British, especially in Cyrenaica.
Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, on whom Mussolini pinned great hopes, was being dealt blow after blow in Africa.
The Axis powers, who were about to win the war in Europe, were on the verge of defeat in Africa.
On the other hand, it was obvious that the final target of the British was Tripoli. Hitler decided to establish a defense line to prevent this.
Rommel was appointed head of the African forces, known as Deutsches Afrikakorps, on February 3, 1941.
On the 12th of the same month, Rommel quietly landed in Africa. Rommel's troops first eliminated the British threat in Cyrenaica. He then managed to break British power in Tobruk.
Deployed to Tunisia in 1942, Rommel was awarded the Knight's Cross by Berlin for his achievements.
Following Rommel's victories, the House of Commons in England convened urgently and Churchill was asked to provide information about what was happening.
Churchill, who came to the podium, was going to say the following about Rommel;
Our forces were superior to the Axis Powers. We had more than a hundred thousand soldiers against ninety thousand people, fifty thousand of whom were Germans. We had more resources in terms of materials and we took our new guns to the front. Despite this, our Tobruk defense collapsed in one day. We retreated to Marsa Matruh, keeping a distance of 200 kilometers from the enemy. The man called Rommel appeared before us again five days later. We had to escape from the war again, go back to Egypt, and retreat to El Alamein. I can't understand what happened to our huge 5th Army.
Deploying his troops on the coast, Rommel inflicted heavy casualties on the British troops with hit-and-run tactics instead of entering the interior.
Rommel, who knew the desert like the back of his hand, was nicknamed "Desert Fox" by his enemies and "Desert Panzer" by the Germans.
After Rommel's victories in Africa, Hitler gave him another critical mission. Mussolini, the Germans' greatest ally, was about to lose power in Italy.
Rommel would now go to Italy and take the necessary precautions; However, after the rumors about Rommel, Hitler changed his mind and sent Rommel to Northern France in January 1944.
While Rommel was here, the United States was about to launch a major rescue operation in Normandy.
Rommel, whose car was targeted in the air attack on June 17 of the same year, was injured in the head. Thereupon, he was evacuated to Berlin for treatment.
The death of Rommel, who became a legend even among his enemies while he was still alive thanks to the victories he achieved in Africa, would also have a shocking effect.
There was only one explanation for the defeat of the British in Africa in 1941 when they almost won: Rommel the Desert Fox.
His victory extended the war for two years in Africa and four years on the mainland; But it wasn't just the British who wanted to destroy Rommel.
His fame, which was increasing day by day, increased the number of his enemies in Berlin.
In July 1944, Rommel's name was included among the group that wanted to overthrow Hitler. However, Rommel was almost not interested in politics and gave all his attention to the front.
That's why he wasn't even aware of the existence of the group that took action against him in Berlin.
On October 7, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel telephoned and asked Hitler to be present at an important meeting to be held in Berlin.
He would take a special train to bring Rommel, who went to Ulm after his treatment, back to Berlin; However, Rommel, whose wounds had not yet healed, politely rejected this offer.
Thereupon, General Burgdorf came to Rommel's house and told him that he was among those named in the assassination attempt on Hitler by someone in Berlin on July 20.
Rommel was awaiting appointment as the new commander of the Eastern Front; On the other hand, he learned that if the rebels' coup against Hitler had been successful, they would have tried to replace Rommel with Hitler.
Of course, Hitler was also aware of this plan, and the only person who was unaware of the issue was Rommel himself.
Shortly after, a very clear message came from Hitler to Rommel. Rommel would explain the situation to his wife as follows;
I came to say goodbye. Hitler sent me medicine. They said they could give it by injection if I wanted. A poison that takes effect in three seconds... Otherwise, I will be shot after being tried in the people's court.
Despite his family's insistence that he escape or go to trial, Rommel knew this was impossible; because the Gestapo had already surrounded the house.
Wearing his Afrika Krops uniform, Rommel said goodbye to his family and left the house. After driving a few hundred meters away, he came to an open field.
Rommel took his aide and driver out of the car. When the door opened about ten minutes later, the lifeless body of Rommel, the most powerful commander of Nazi Germany, was lying in the car.
Learning on 15 November 1944 that the operation had been completed, Hitler declared national mourning and ordered Rommel to be buried with great military honors.
Rommel was the epitome of how even heroes can become victims in the power struggle within a corrupt government.