Field Marshal Erwin Rommel: The Desert Fox

The German Command, in planning for a short and swift war, found themselves in a bind when the war started to prolong itself. From the very beginning, their plan started to fall apart, as Belgium, who they assumed would just let them march through to France, took up arms in resisting their approaches (Hull, 2005). The war would get longer and longer and seemed farther away from its conclusion as the months grew colder. As a result of this as well as their Prussian roots, they resorted to dangerously risky and destructive tactics, trying to bring the war to a quicker end while putting more of their resources in jeopardy, a move that eventually did not pay off and ended up leading to the German Empire’s demise (Hull, 2005).

Hans Mommsen’s book, From Weimar to Auschwitz, presented an interesting look at Hitler within the Nazi Party. The overriding themes in the chapter “Hitler’s Position in the Nazi System” were the stubbornness and charisma of Hitler and the chaos within the Nazi Party. The weak leadership of Hitler along with the inability to concentrate power to one position helped lead the Third Reich to be a very frenzied and unorganized government.

“By his achievements he won a high place amongst the great generals of history…his strategy was daring always, and he never hesitated to take the gravest risks. On the field of battle he was as energetic in attack as he was constant in defense, and his personal influence over the men whom he led was extraordinary…his surpassing ability was never more conspicuously shown than in the last hopeless stages of the contest… friends and foes alike acknowledged the purity of his motives, the virtues of his private life, his earnest Christianity, and the un-repining loyalty with which he accepted the ruin of his party.”

Ernst Rohm a professional soldier and once a close friend of Adolf Hitler was a major threat against Hitler’s power and reign. Rohm was a natural rebel who had strong revolutionary

After World War I, Germany was in a deep hole and everyone looked to find a way out. The man who would bring hope and a purpose to Germans

Speer achieved great success for the German war effort as the Minister for Armaments and Munitions once promoted in 1942. The productivity in the manufacturing and distribution of weaponry was increased drastically, serving the needs of soldiers despite constant allied bombardment. Speer took on a job in an area in which he had no prior experience but managed to improve the military sector for the benefit of his country. It was his exceptional organisational skills that was his greatest strength and led to his success as he was accredited with prolonging the war for up to 2 years. Allan Bullock suggests that he was an ‘apolitical technocrat’ and that is was his concern for the job, rather than the benefits and power associated with it, which allowed him to achieve such great heights. In this sense, Speer kept politics ‘pure’ as he aspired to improve his country in a time of disaster. However, this improvement was only beneficial to some as traditional morals and ethics were compromised when minorities such as the Jews and foreigners were exploited at Speer’s hands.

Hitler’s generals strongly disagreed with his policies even to the point of attempting an assassination. Multiple times Hitler’s officer tried to stop him from wreaking havoc on the German way of life. Their repeated warnings went unheard, resulting in Germany’s downfall. The German war effort was vastly influenced by the Anti-Nazi tendencies of Hitler’s senior officers.

All bullets were counted, beds made, uniforms cleaned, this occurred until suddenly 03:45 arrived. “Men, the time is nearly here,” my words choked as self-hatred flooded my body, “What we do here today will be remembered for generations to come, we fight today not only for ourselves, but all who we know. All our mates and family who live back home!” A faint cheer followed my speech as I steadied myself for what was to come. “We charge in 5 minutes. We charge not only for our freedom but for the freedom of our country. For the freedom of the world!” Spit filled the air from the cheer which erupted from my unit this time. A unity formed over the men, a cold malevolent sweat captured me. Who was I to send these boys to their death? A resolve set inside me, I would fight alongside my men, their lives are worth the same as mine. 04:00 “THIS IS IT MEN! WE FIGHT FOR THE WORLD!” I screamed as I led the charge. Vaulting out of the trench I saw no man’s land clearly for the first time. Death was everywhere, flies swarming the pools of blood. The land so barren of life no greenery was seen. A cold resolution set over me, it was the Germans fault, they caused

On the third day of the Battle of Mortain a German SS officer came up the hill under a white flag, and gave Cpt. R.A. Kerley the ultimatum to surrender by 8pm that night of be destroyed... In reply Cpt. Kerley said, “Go to hell. I will surrender when every one of our bullets has been fired and every one of our bayonets is sticking in a German belly.” This shows the dedication to the war on this unit’s part, and it was vital because if the men had failed to hold the hill on which the Battle of Mortain was held on the allied forces would have been split in two by the German forces. This could have undone the

He often faced critics some saying quote. ¨He was obsessed with the tiniest details of turnout, losing his rag if any soldier had untied shoelaces or five o'clock shadow.¨ ( Tunzelmann) He often faced people saying negative things about his leadership or how he would command his soldiers. But even with those critics he wouldn't listen to them and continue to fight in the war. To support this ¨He was well known and respected in the German high command.¨ (History.com Staff) This helps to show even when he was being faced with critics it didn't stop him, and this shows he was respected by the German high command which wasn't a common thing for Allied

     Erwin Rommel Jr. was born on November 15, 1891 in Swabian. His father Erwin Rommel Sr., was a schoolmaster in Heidenheim in Wurttemberg , and Rommel's mother was Helene von Luz was a daughter of the local Regierungs-President.

The Battle of the Bulge is remembered as Adolf Hitler’s final effort to escape total defeat during World War II (WWII). His initial efforts were successful, however the Allied force commanders proved superior through there demonstrated adaptive and decisive decision making. These actions helped to overcome the military force and military intelligence failures during the battle. If these failures had been avoided, the Germans would have been defeated much quicker, effectively preventing the casualty numbers and damage inflicted on the Allied forces during the Western Front of WWII.

From a fiercely brave General, who strictly enforces customs, bravery, formalities, and success; to a General with a lighthearted-mood, down to earth attitude, a steadfast courage, and a integrity and decency to lead the nations of the world into battle; while both these legendary Generals fought on the same side, both General S. Patton and General D. Eisenhower were distinctly different Generals. This paper seeks to outline the differences and similarities between the two Generals by taking a close look at their lives, and the impacts they had on WWII.

Germany was not able to claim victory during World War II due to poor military guidance. Hitler’s military tactics led

When Hitler and the Nazi party offered him a seat in politics, he declined and asked to command a tank division. He saw tanks as the next major player on the modern battlefield. Famous for leading from the frontline, Rommel could not accept running battles from a staff room, miles away. On the12 of February 1940, Rommel received his first field command over the 7th Panzer Division. While in command of the 7th, Rommel participated in the invasion of Poland, Belgium and France. The campaigns in Europe helped Rommel develop his employment of blitzkrieg tactics using combined arms. Although