Who was the “Desert Fox”? How did he rise through the ranks of the German Army and come
to the attention of Adolf Hitler, and which one really betrayed the other? With boldness and wit,
this man managed to topple divisions of thousands of enemy soldiers, using only hundreds of his own.
Welcome back to Nutty History. Today, we’ll be diving deep into the history of World War II
and telling the untold story of Erwin Rommel, The Desert Fox. Erwin Rommel was born on November 25,
1891, and joined the German Army at the age of 18. During the First World War, he fought in France,
Italy, and Romania, and was known for his clever battle tactics, such as using heavy fire with
rapid advances, and moving to the flank position of enemy armies, utilizing tactical surprise.
During the Battle of Caporetto in World War 1, Rommel’s unit of 150 soldiers captured
9,000 men, with a loss of only six men and 30 wounded, in just two and a half days. In a later
battle in Longarone, Rommel again made the bold move to attack with a much smaller force. Having
convinced the 1st Italian Infantry Division that they were surrounded by an entire German division,
10,000 men surrendered to Rommel. He went on to receive the highest Prussian military honour,
the Pour le Merite, also known as the Blue Max. Rommel was promoted to Captain in January of 1918.
Rommel pioneered a new form of maneuver warfare called infiltration tactics. Some called this
“Blitzkrieg without tanks.” He wrote a book describing his wartime experiences and analysis,
called “Infanterie Greift An”, which translates to “Infantry Attacks”. The book was published in 1937
and became a bestseller, going on to greatly influence many armies around the world.
You might be able to guess one person who owned a copy of this book… That’s right- Hitler himself.
More details on their scandalous relationship to come! But first, let’s look at how Rommel came
to be known as “The Desert Fox”. Hitler assigned Rommel to his escort battalion in October of 1938,
accompanying Hitler whenever he left Germany. Rommel’s support of Hitler was clear, stating that
Hitler was “called upon by God”, and “speaks like a prophet”. Rommel rapidly rose through the ranks,
attending Hitler’s daily war briefings in Poland, and accompanying him wherever he went.
By the time the invasion of France began on May 10th, 1940, Rommel had been promoted to the rank
of General, ahead of more senior officers. By May 16th, he had decimated the French II Army Corps,
taking 10,000 prisoners and losing only 36 men. His success only continued,
forcing 40,000 men to surrender in the Siege of Lille. His consistent speed and ability to
surprise earned his division the nickname of “Ghost Division”. He was appointed as
commander of the Afrika Corps in February of 1941, fighting the Allies in North Africa. While there,
he was repeatedly victorious against the British Forces, including the British Desert Rats,
who were standing somewhere behind Rommel in line when they were handing out cool desert nicknames.
Even the British were in awe of Rommel, praising his speed and clever tactics. He earned the
nickname, “The Desert Fox”, which was used by both the German army and the Allied Forces.
The tides turned in 1942, and the Allies defeated Rommel’s troops, who were exhausted and lacking
resources. Hitler ordered Rommel back to Germany, and within a year, Rommel became critical of
Hitler’s leadership, doubting Germany’s ability to win the war. And that’s when things between them
got complicate. A defining part of Rommel’s life, death, and legacy, was his personal connection to
Hitler. Rommel’s military career was started through his own wit, bravery, and initiative,
but it was ultimately Hitler’s support of him that put Rommel on the forefront of World War 2.
But how did that unfold? To start with, Hitler and Rommel had a lot in common. Among the Nazi elites,
both men came from humble beginnings, and weren’t children of privilege. Both men were veterans of
the first World War, and they both had bold and decisive personalities. Rommel was charismatic,
and Hitler was… well, whatever happens to charisma when it chooses that mustache.
Also, Rommel wasn’t Jewish, which was on Hitler’s list of hard boundaries in a relationship.
But their relationship was based on more than mutual respect;
it was built on admiration. Rommel was often resented by the highest ranks of the Nazi Party
for the sway he seemed to hold over Hitler, and Hitler had a strong influence over Rommel.
Hitler and Goebbels put their propaganda machine to work, presenting Rommel to the German public
as a military genius and Nazi hero. However, it’s important to note that whatever Rommel’s
relationship with Hitler was, he was never a member of the Nazi party, and, while he originally
believed Hitler to be the best leader for the nation, he would disobey Hitler when necessary,
and betrayed signs of disillusionment with the dictator by the end of his life.
This disillusionment is understandable. Once, when Rommel needed to retreat, Hitler told him to
present his soldiers with only two paths: one to victory, and one to death. Besides such tensions,
Rommel was also singled out by conspirators as the right person to replace Hitler post-assassination:
after all, Rommel was popular, respected, reasonable, and so much less Hitlery. There’s
a reason no one gets compared to Rommel in the comment section of a Youtube video. Still, even
as Rommel believed that the Nazis should negotiate with the Allies, and even as he might find some
personal advantage in the death of Hitler, he expressed a conviction that Hitler not be killed,
but be tried. All in all, it was a relationship doomed for tragedy. It’s like the ending of the
movie Titanic, except, instead of Jack letting go of the raft so that Rose can live, Rommel
got straight up coerced into ending his life to keep things peachy for Hitler. Other than that,
exactly the same. Sorry for the spoilers there! Jack doesn’t make it. The downfall of Rommel is
a story as old as time: man befriends disturbed dictator, stuff goes wrong. On July 20th 1944,
there was an assassination attempt that failed to kill Hitler. For some reason, this event was known
as The 20 July Plot, and not The Hitler Hit. That makes for two big missed opportunities.
Nice work, guys. Upon interrogation, the conspirators offered up Rommel’s name.
There were some plausible reasons to believe that Rommel was involved: he was, after all,
in a good position to replace Hitler. Remember how a lot of high ranking Nazis were irked by Rommel?
Maybe something to do with him skipping lines for promotions, or coming from a lowly background,
or getting all Mein Comfy with Hitler. Either way, whether or not Rommel was really connected to the
assassination attempt, there were still plenty of officers who would be happy to infer as much.
Ultimately, Rommel was on the hook. Hitler gave Rommel 3 options. The first was to defend
himself in person to Hitler. The second was to go on trial. This would’ve been terrible
optics for the Nazis, as Hitler had spent so long propping Rommel up as a national hero.
To ensure Rommel didn’t choose this route, he implied that there would be consequences for
Rommel’s family if he went to trial. But what did he mean by “consequences”? Well,
Hitler was potentially mentally disturbed, I’m sure Rommel used his imagination. The third option
was for Rommel to take the hero’s way out, AKA the coward’s way out, which is what Rommel chose.
Hitler gave Rommel a hero’s memorial, still raising him up as The People’s Marshall.
Unfortunately, history is always subjective. Erwin Rommel remains an ambiguous figure in history,
and much of this is because, even during his own lifetime, he was highly mythologized. While
Rommel was alive, his mythos was being spun on both sides of the war. At home, the Nazi
propaganda machine worked hard to turn him into an inspiration to the German public: the indomitable
tactical genius who would ensure victory. At the exact same time, on the other side,
allied forces also had reasons to lionize Rommel. It’s easier to explain away a defeat when it’s
against the legendary Desert Fox, for instance. It also made their ultimate triumph over Rommel
that much more impressive. After his death, the west needed Germany as an ally in the Cold War.
The rearmament of Germany is a much easier sell when there’s a noble German general to
look back on. He’s a natural choice: unlike other German officers, he was never tried at Nuremberg,
he’s a little too dead to ever tarnish his reputation, and he was fighting at a geographic
arm’s length from where Germany’s war crimes were being committed. And on top of all of that,
he had a trait everybody could sympathise with: he was killed by Nazis. However you
want to interpret Rommel, he was an important part of the World War 2 story, and his image has
gone on to compel generations since. Thank you for watching Nutty History. See you next time!