Erwin Rommel

Home > ... > People > History > German History: Biographies > ...

Essential reading Compare
side-by-side A Dictionary of World History World Encyclopedia The Columbia Encyclopedia, ...

Erwin Rommel

Erwin Rommel , 1891-1944, German field marshal. He entered the army in 1910 and rose slowly through the ranks. In 1939, Adolf Hitler made him a general. Rommel brilliantly commanded an armored division in the attack (1940) on France. In Feb., 1941, he took the specially trained tank corps, the Afrika Korps, into Libya. For his successes there he was made field marshal and earned the name "the desert fox." In 1942 he pressed almost to Alexandria, Egypt, but was stalled by fierce British resistance and lack of supplies. A British offensive overwhelmed (Oct.-Nov., 1942) the German forces at Alamein (see North Africa, campaigns in ). Rommel was recalled to Germany before the Afrika Korps's final defeat. He was a commander in N France when the Allies invaded Normandy in June, 1944. Allied success led Rommel, who had lost his respect for Hitler, to agree to a plot to remove Hitler from office. Wounded in an air raid in July, he had just recovered when he was forced to take poison because of his part in the attempt on Hitler's life in July, 1944.

Bibliography: See his memoirs and correspondence of World War II. (The Rommel Papers, ed. by B. H. Liddell Hart, 1953); biography by D. Young (1950, repr. 1969); studies by R. Lewin (1968, repr. 1972) and C. Douglas-Hume (1973).

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-Rommel-E" title="Facts and information about Erwin Rommel">Erwin Rommel</a>

Give this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"Erwin Rommel." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 22 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Erwin Rommel." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (November 22, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Rommel-E.html

"Erwin Rommel." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Rommel-E.html

Learn more about citation styles

Rommel, Erwin

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Â© World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Rommel, Erwin (1891–1944) German general. Rommel commanded tanks in France in 1940, and later led the Afrika Korps in a victorious campaign in North Africa – until defeated by the British at El Alamein (1942). Transferred to France in 1943, he was unable to repel the invasion of Normandy, and was wounded. Implicated in the plot against Hitler in July 1944, he was forced to commit suicide.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O142-RommelErwin" title="Facts and information about Erwin Rommel">Erwin Rommel</a>

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"Rommel, Erwin." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 22 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Rommel, Erwin." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (November 22, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-RommelErwin.html

"Rommel, Erwin." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved November 22, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-RommelErwin.html

Learn more about citation styles

Rommel, Erwin

A Dictionary of World History | 2000 | Â© A Dictionary of World History 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Rommel, Erwin (known as ‘ the Desert Fox’) (1891–1944) German Field Marshal. Rommel was posted to North Africa in 1941 after the collapse of the Italian offensive, and, as commander of the Afrika Korps, he deployed a series of surprise manoeuvres and succeeded in capturing Tobruk (1942). After being defeated by Montgomery at El Alamein (1942), he was ordered home the following year to serve as Inspector of Coastal Defences. He was forced to commit suicide after being implicated in the officers' conspiracy against Hitler in 1944.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O48-RommelErwin" title="Facts and information about Erwin Rommel">Erwin Rommel</a>

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"Rommel, Erwin." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 22 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Rommel, Erwin." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (November 22, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-RommelErwin.html

"Rommel, Erwin." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved November 22, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-RommelErwin.html

Learn more about citation styles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries and thesauruses

Rate these entries|See all related entries

Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Erwin Rommel 1891-1944.(Brief Article)(Book Review) Magazine article from: The Bookwatch; 10/1/2004
	Rommel and the rebel. Magazine article from: National Review; 8/15/1986
	Pressfield, Steven. Killing Rommel.(Young adult review)(Audiobook review) Magazine article from: Kliatt; 9/1/2008

Facts and information from other sites

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

	The lessons of the Desert Fox. (Erwin Rommel) (Showdown in the Gulf) (Cover Story) Magazine article from: U.S. News & World Report; 1/14/1991; ; 700+ words ; ...desert combat, it was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. What the Germans...much that they had to be rotated. Rommel's brand of swift, daring and deceptive...detailed mapping of the terrain, which Rommel reconnoitered by airplane. Sand...
	Erwin Rommel 1891-1944.(Brief Article)(Book Review) Magazine article from: The Bookwatch; 10/1/2004; 453 words ; Erwin Rommel 1891-1944 Karl Hoffmann Brassey's...Focus" series from Brassey's, Eriwn Rommel 1891-1944 by Karl Hoffmann is an in...diagrams highlight this critical assessment of Rommel's strengths, weaknesses, character...
	THE REAL DESERT RAT; It was one of the biggest security blunders of the war. But only now can the Mail reveal how a U.S. colonel handed our secrets to Germany's legendary tank commander Erwin Rommel ? throwing away the lives of thousands of British soldiersHis reports let Rommel know every secret the British had. Newspaper article from: The Daily Mail (London, England); 5/25/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...Panzer army commanded by General Erwin Rommel had long been expected to attack...their northern flank. Instead, Rommel was making a massive onslaught...brilliant tactics of the charismatic Erwin Rommel. BUT the truth is that Rommel...
	Desert Fox no match for Desert FAX. (Erwin Rommel's nickname, AT&T transmits international FAX messages to military personnel involved in Operation Desert Shield) Magazine article from: Information Today; 11/1/1990; ; 700+ words ; Desert Fox No Match for Desert FAX Even though the publication you are holding is proof that we live at a time when information and communications technology are changing all the details of our lives, it is sometimes hard to perceive that the information age is in any degree of progress outside the
	Rommel and the rebel. Magazine article from: National Review; 8/15/1986; ; 700+ words ; Rommel and the Rebel Rommel and the Rebel, by Lawrence Wells (Doubleday, 415 pp., $17...mysterious reputation, and the oddly compelling threat posed by Erwin Rommel, "the Desert Fox'? After all, it's not every day that Winston...
	Rommel ( brilliant leader of men.(News) Newspaper article from: The Journal (Newcastle, England); 6/1/2004; 700+ words ; ...hours before D-Day, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was away from his troops and buying...Second World War in their favour, Rommel was back in Germany. Despite being...military leader. Born in 1891, Rommel was a career soldier and completely...
	Was Rommel a war criminal?(Letters) Magazine article from: Quadrant; 7/1/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...being generous about Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (May 2004) probably does him credit...bit too far, though. It's true Rommel's name's not linked to any of the German army's major atrocities. Rommel did most of his fighting in the North...
	'I was Rommel's driver' Newspaper article from: The Independent - London; 6/17/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...all the more remarkable was that Erwin Rommel, the German commander in North Africa...working that day as Field Marshal Rommel's personal driver. Touring the...Schneider spent two years as part of Rommel's elite protection force, driving...
	ROMMEL'S LAST TANKER Magazine article from: Sea Classics; 7/1/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...for, without the cargo of liquid gold, German Gen. Erwin Rommel's greatest offensive in North Africa would stall for...victories until an obscure German major-general named Erwin Rommel landed in March 1941 in Tripoli. He stopped being obscure...
	The real Rommel; Leading from the front: Rommel in action in North Africa. Newspaper article from: The Daily Mail (London, England); 12/19/2008; 646 words ; ...gentleman. Known as the Desert Fox, Erwin Rommel was said to be feared but respected...his longstanding reputation. 'The Rommel Myth' in Stuttgart aims to strip...have traditionally been taught that Rommel was the one good apple in a barrel...