Premium Essay

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel

Submitted By
Words 1383
Pages 6
A great captain in military history is not an easy title to obtain and is pinned to a select group of leaders. The title of a great captain is synonymous with that of a sage commander. A sage commander is a leader highly respected for their experience, judgement, and wisdom. He or she has separated themselves from the rest of the leaders of their time by taking advantage of every opportunity to learn, teach, and act when required to do so. He or she is respected by their command and most importantly their subordinates who follow the orders given by their commander. I submit that Field Marshal Erwin Rommel has earned this coveted title of a great captain and/or sage commander. Erwin Rommel was born into a well-established nonmilitary family, …show more content…
His time would be beneficial and broaden his knowledge base outside of the infantry and understand the capabilities of the very artillery that would call on to support future missions. Rommel welcomed this new experience and tediously worked hard to prove to his supervisor, who was the very commander who had denied his previous application to be commissioned as an officer in Artillery. It was July 1914 and Germany was on the brink of war and this notion was not lost to Rommel. Sensing the situation and the likely hood war breaking out he obtained a replacement for his position and rushed back to his parent unit the 7th Company, 124th Wurttemberg Infantry Regiment. Rommel writes, “Since the situation appeared most serious, I longed for my own regiment, the King Wilhelm I, to be back with the men whose last two years of training I had supervised in the 7th Company, 124th Infantry (6th Wirttemberger)”. With these words he demonstrates his dedication to his men as a leader and refuses to go to war without them. Germany declared war on August 1st, 1914 on Russia and two days later on August 3rd war was also declared on …show more content…
Rommel would have his first chance at leadership in a combat zone on August 22nd near Longwy, France. Rommel was tasked with his first command to take a five-man reconnaissance detachment and move towards the enemy lines to ascertain enemy dispositions and strengths. Rommel took his assignment seriously and understood the importance of his mission as being, “Burdened with the responsibility of human life… “. Rommel would complete his first mission with success and quickly relayed his detachments findings to his commanding officer. After this mission, Rommel would eventually see action as a Lieutenant leading his men into battle on several occasions from 1914 to

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Marshal Erwin Rommel's Victory On D-Day

...The man Hitler picked for the job was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Having conquered the British on several occasions in North Africa, Rommel was confident that he could do it again. Understanding that the Allies would strike the beaches under a parasol of fighter-bombers and with massive naval artillery support, Rommel decided that the allied could only be repelled at the shore where his troops would be sheltered in bomb-proof bunkers. Also, he wanted to locate reinforcements near the beaches to minimize their exposure to air attack and where they could be devoted to a battle for the beaches on the day of the...

Words: 1795 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Essay On D-Day Research Paper

...mostly because of bad weather and the enormous tactical obstacles involved. Finally, despite less than ideal weather conditions—or perhaps because of them—General Eisenhower decided on June 5 to set the next day as D-Day, the launch of the largest amphibious operation in history. Ike knew that the Germans would be expecting postponements beyond the sixth, precisely because weather conditions were still poor. Among those Germans confident that an Allied invasion could not be pulled off on the sixth was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, who was still debating tactics with Field Marshal Karl Rundstedt. Runstedt was convinced that the Allies would come in at the narrowest point of the Channel, between Calais and Dieppe; Rommel, following Hitler’s intuition, believed it would be Normandy. Rommel’s greatest fear was that German air inferiority would prevent an adequate defense on the ground; it was his plan to meet the Allies on the coast—before the Allies had a chance to come ashore. Rommel began constructing underwater obstacles and minefields, and set off for Germany to demand from Hitler personally more panzer divisions in the area. Bad weather and an order to conserve fuel grounded much of the German air force on June 5; consequently, its reconnaissance flights were spotty. That night, more than 1,000 British bombers unleashed a massive assault on German gun batteries on the coast. At the same time, an Allied armada headed for the Normandy beaches in Operation Neptune, an attempt to capture...

Words: 617 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Atlantic Wall

...Atlantic Wall During WWII, the German’s created incredible feats of engineering that still stand today. One of the greatest pieces of engineering that can be seen today is Hitler’s Atlantic Wall. Although the entire wall is not still standing many of its heavily armored fortifications are still able to be seen today. Ultimately the project was a failure but it still parts of it stand today. This enormous project began in 1942. “After the invasion and subsequent fall of France in 1940, the German army controlled the entire coast of Northern France” (Williams, Brian). Then followed by the evacuation of Dunkirk the Germans had control of the entire French coast line. This means that something had to be planned and built in order to protect the main land from the Allies. On March 23, 1942 the order was given to start building a wall starting with bunkers to be built in key location and a wall over less important areas of coast line. “In the In barely two years it consumed more than 17 million cubic meters of concrete, depriving Hitler’s armaments factories of more than a million metric tons of iron” (Ruthven, Malise). The key areas that required heavy fortification were areas near ports. This was to provide support for the German U-boats which were most vulnerable when entering and leaving their ports. Hitler was sure that the Allies would attack and try and take over a port as a strong hold first. This thought...

Words: 678 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Alamein Change Slides

...was not a risk the Allied forces were willing to take. Change Slides. After the defeats of the Allies at Gazala, Tobruk and Mersa Matruh, the Allies, led by General Claude Auchinleck and consisting of British, South African, Indian, New Zealand and Australian troops, were forced to retreat from the rapidly advancing Axis forces, led by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Change Slides. The Allies quickly reached the small railway town of El Alamein, and set up their main defensive position. Change Slides. The Allied defensive line was set up near El Alamein as it was essentially a bottleneck, being hemmed in on both sides by the Mediterranean Sea and the cliffs of the impassable Qattara Depression salt marshes. This strategic position was chosen so Field Marshal Rommel could not employ his favourite tactic of sweeping round the rear of the enemy. Change Slides. Rommel’s forces reached the El Alamein region on the 30th of June 1942, and were given orders to attack the enemy position, despite the low supplies and weariness of the Axis troops. Believing that he had sufficient momentum to upset the apprehensive Allied troops, on the 1st of July 1942, Rommel initiated the first battle of El Alamein. Change Slides. The Axis forces immediately took the offensive, but were thwarted by the Allied artillery. Rommel’s forces then regrouped and began another offensive skirmish, but were once again met with the formidable Allied artillery and British Royal Air Force. Change Slides. The Allied forces...

Words: 1235 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Ww 2 History

...The Germans and their Italian allies controlled a narrow but strategic strip of the North African littoral between Tunisia and Egypt with impassable desert bounding the strip on the south. Numbering some 100,000 men under a battle-tested German leader, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the German-Italian army in Libya posed a constant threat to Egypt, the Near East, and French North Africa and by controlling the northern shores of the Mediterranean denied the Mediterranean to Allied shipping. Only a few convoys seeking to supply British forces on the island of Malta ever ventured into the Mediterranean, and these frequently took heavy losses.       Moving against French Africa posed for the Allies special problems rooted in the nature of the Armistice that had followed French defeat in 1940. Under the terms of that Armistice, the Germans had left the French empire nominally intact, along with much of the southern half of Metropolitan France; in return the French government was pledged to drop out of the war. Although an underground resistance movement had already begun in France and the Allies were equipping a “Free French” force, that part of the regular French Army and Navy left intact by the Armistice had sworn allegiance to the Vichy government. This pledge had led already to the anomaly of Frenchman fighting Frenchman and of the British incurring French enmity by destroying part of the fleet of their former ally.       If bloodshed was to be averted in the Allied invasion, French...

Words: 295 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

6 June 1944 Research Paper

...assistant, Oman Bradley and George Patton and the British marshal, Bernard Montgomery decided to land in Normandy, in the south of the Seine. The beach of sand who expand between the Seine and an Island are good for a fast operation and are way less defended than the north. The goal is to land as fast as they can to take them by surprise then take over Cherbourg. Hitler himself was waiting with impatience this operation. He was thinking that he can easily push back the Britain army, and, by this was he would make the Britain lose and he can concentrate his troops against the “Red army”. Him and the “Abwehr” (German secret services ) were sure that the operation would take place in the North of the Seine. The Allies did their best to convince him of this plan. The operation “Fortitude” in the campaign of Kent, lot of military stuff like thanks and airplane were made in carton. This intoxication succeed at the point that Hitler will continue to believe until July that the true landing will take place in the North. This will allow the Allies to face only 17 of the 50 German divisions present in the region. The others waiting in the north for a second landing that will never come. The German forces of Normandy totalled nearly 300.000 men. They are placed under the high command of the prestigious Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. As the weather is bad on the Normandy coast in the early days of June and exclude any attempt to land, Rommel takes the liberty of a motoring trip to Germany to celebrate...

Words: 1000 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

How Universal Are the Principles of War?

...How universal are the principles of war? Many military theorists throughout history had many different concepts, strategic thoughts, and theories within a multitude of principles of war. Throughout history many strategies and tactics were utilized that made a huge impact on defending and attacking armies. Within these concepts of these theorists, nine principles of war gradually became universally used by many countries militaries that are used in the field of battle during the Cotemporary Era and through modern day campaigns. These principle guidelines are universal in military strategies and could have been used in any era where conflicts took place however, one principle that would of brought ultimate success in the example campaigns specified throughout these times of war is to have provided a better directive on the basic principles of logistics that seem to have hindered and faltered the most effective warring armies during their eras of history. A few examples that relate throughout wars fought in times such as the Napoleonic Wars, World War II and the United States current ongoing War on Terror have many relative tactics and strategies used during battles fought in these conflicts. Napoleons armies during the beginning of their conquest would defeat an enemy city utilizing all aspects of their military might (Cavalry, Artillery, Infantry) while maintaining immediate logistical support ensuring reinforcements and munitions were readily available. Napoleon’s enormous...

Words: 1200 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

African Campaign

...THEME The def of Tobruk proved that even in a terrain as the desert a skilful comd could hold his en in defensive operations. Wavell had applied the concept of offensive def to meet the German onslaught. On the other hand Rommel has been criticised for his reckless push, little car-ing for the requisite log sp which becomes even more crucial in the inhospitable desert terrain. Carry out an analysis of the battle of Tobruk bringing out the strs and weaknesses of Wavell's concept of def and causes of Rommel's failure. AIM To analyse the Battle of Tobruk (April - may 1941) highlighting the strs and weaknesses of Wavell's concept of def and reasons for Rommel’s failure. SCHEME OF PRESENTATION a. Background b. Imp of Tobruk c. Opposing forces d. Wavell's concept of def e. Strs and weaknesses of Wavell's concept. f. Cause of Rommel's failure. BATTLE OF TOBRUK (1941) Background 1. Between the summer of 1941 and that of 1942 the field of battle in the Libyan desert shifted to and fro with almost the regularity of a pendulum, or so it seemed. The extremes of the swing were from Mersa Brega in the west and Buq Buq to the east, except for the small stretch of Egyptian territory east of Sollum, the area between these two places covered the whole of Cyrenaica, the eastern province of Libya. 2. Although Tobruk itself, seventy miles west of the Egyptian frontier, is well to the east of the centre of this area, it remained the fulcrum about which the pendulum swung for...

Words: 17230 - Pages: 69

Premium Essay

World War 2

...There is no one date that can be said to mark the beginning of the greatest of global conflicts. In 1931, the Japanese army invaded Manchuria, a northern province of China. In July 1937, the Japanese moved again, this time directly against the Nationalist regime of Chiang Kai-shek. The atrocities that followed shocked the world. Meanwhile, in 1936, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler moved aggressively into the Rhineland, previously a demilitarized zone, and in 1938, he incorporated Czechoslovakia and Austria into the Third Reich. By this time, the Western world was fully alert to the menace of the fanatically ambitious and confident Fuhrer. Then, in the early morning hours of September 1, 1939, Hitler sent his armies into Poland. Two days later, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. Within a matter of weeks the Soviet Union, which had recently signed a non-aggression treaty with Hitler, attacked Poland from the east. Within a month, Polish resistance collapsed, and Warsaw fell. World War II had begun. In general, the American people did not want to have any part in a European war. They felt protected by great oceans on both sides of the North American continent. And they felt that, in World War I, American boys had fought and bled in France mostly to make fortunes for munitions makers and arms merchants. Moreover, the United States had allowed its armed forces to wither in the 1920s and 1930, so that when World War II broke out in Europe, its army of 190,000 men ranked...

Words: 5009 - Pages: 21

Free Essay

General Patton

...George Smith Patton, Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a United States Army general, best known for his flamboyant character and his command of the Seventh United States Army, and later the Third United States Army, in the European Theater of World War II. Born in 1885 to a privileged family with an extensive military background, Patton attended the Virginia Military Institute, and later the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He participated in the 1912 Olympic Modern Pentathlon, and was instrumental in designing the M1913 "Patton Saber". Patton first saw combat during the Pancho Villa Expedition in 1916, taking part in America's first military action using motor vehicles. He later joined the newly formed United States Tank Corps of the American Expeditionary Forces and saw action in World War I, first commanding the U.S. tank school in France before being wounded near the end of the war. In the interwar period, Patton remained a central figure in the development of armored warfare doctrine in the U.S. Army, serving in numerous staff positions throughout the country. Rising through the ranks, he commanded the U.S. 2nd Armored Division at the time of the U.S. entry into World War II. Patton led U.S. troops into the Mediterranean theater with an invasion of Casablanca during Operation Torch in 1942, where he later established himself as an effective commander through his rapid rehabilitation of the demoralized U.S. II Corps. He commanded the Seventh Army during...

Words: 12444 - Pages: 50

Premium Essay

Ap Eh Ch 27 Notes

...AP EH CH. 27---THE DEEPENING OF THE EUROPEAN CRISIS: WW II I. PRELUDE TO WAR (1933-1939) ---the efforts at collective security in the 1920s---the League of Nations, the attempts at disarmament, the pacts and the treaties---all proved meaningless in view of the growth of Nazi Germany and its deliberate scrapping of the postwar settlement in the 1930s ---World War II was largely made possible by the failure of Britain and France to oppose strongly flagrant German violations of the Treaty of Versailles A. The Role of Hitler 1. WW II in Europe had its beginnings in the ideas of Adolf Hitler, who believed that only Aryans were capable of building a great civilization 2. Hitler was a firm believer in the doctrine of Lebensraum which stated that a nation’s power depended on the amount and kind of land it occupied 3. Hitler thought that the Russian Revolution created conditions for Germany’s acquisition of land to its “racially inferior Slavic” east (Mein Kampf spelled out Hitler’s desire to expand eastward and to prepare for the inevitable war with the “Bolshevik Jew-led” Soviet Union) 4. Hitler always returned to his basic ideological plans for racial supremacy and empire as keys to the blueprint for achieving his goals 5. Hitler’s desire to create an Aryan empire led to slave labor and even mass extermination on a scale that would have been incomprehensible to previous generations of Germans (or anybody else outside...

Words: 5075 - Pages: 21

Premium Essay

Biography

...Adolf Hitler was born on 20th April, 1889, in the small Austrian town of Braunau near the German border. Both Hitler's parents had come from poor peasant families. His father Alois Hitler, the illegitimate son of a housemaid, was an intelligent and ambitious man and later became a senior customs official. Klara Hitler was Alois' third wife. Alois was twenty-three years older than Klara and already had two children from his previous marriages. Klara and Alois had five children but only Adolf and a younger sister, Paula, survived to become adults. Alois, who was fifty-one when Adolf was born, was extremely keen for his son to do well in life. Alois did have another son by an earlier marriage but he had been a big disappointment to him and eventually ended up in prison for theft. Alois was a strict father and savagely beat his son if he did not do as he was told. Hitler did extremely well at primary school and it appeared he had a bright academic future in front of him. He was also popular with other pupils and was much admired for his leadership qualities. He was also a deeply religious child and for a while considered the possibility of becoming a monk. Competition was much tougher in the larger secondary school and his reaction to not being top of the class was to stop trying. His father was furious as he had high hopes that Hitler would follow his example and join the Austrian civil service when he left school. However, Hitler was a stubborn child and attempts by his parents...

Words: 20929 - Pages: 84

Premium Essay

Study Guide

...Table Of Content Army Programs ........................................ 4 ASAP - Army Substance Abuse Program ..................... 29 ACS - Army Community Service ........................... 32 ACES - Army Continuing Education Center ................... 34 AER - Army Emergency Relief ............................ 37 Army Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program ........... 40 EO - Equal Opportunity ................................ 44 AFAP - Army Family Action Plan .......................... 48 ARC - Army Red Cross ................................. 50 Army Reenlistment / Retention Program ...................... 51 Army Safety Program .................................. 53 Army Sponsorship Program .............................. 55 QOLP - Army Quality of Life Program ....................... 56 BOSS - Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers ................. 57 CHAMPUS / TRICARE ................................ 58 DEERS - Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System .......... 59 NCODP - Noncommissioned Officer Development Program ......... 60 Weight Control ....................................... 62 Physical Training ...................................... 66 Weapons ............................................ 70 M136 AT4 - Rocket Launcher ............................ 120 M16/A2 - 5.56 mm Semiautomatic Rifle ..................... 123 M4 - 5.56 mm Semiautomatic Rifle ........................ 130 M18A1 - Antipersonnel (Claymore) Mine .................... 137 M2 - .50 Caliber...

Words: 85951 - Pages: 344

Free Essay

Child Labour

...10000 quiz questions and answers www.cartiaz.ro 10000 general knowledge questions and answers 10000 general knowledge questions and answers www.cartiaz.ro No Questions Quiz 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Carl and the Passions changed band name to what How many rings on the Olympic flag What colour is vermilion a shade of King Zog ruled which country What colour is Spock's blood Where in your body is your patella Where can you find London bridge today What spirit is mixed with ginger beer in a Moscow mule Who was the first man in space What would you do with a Yashmak Who betrayed Jesus to the Romans Which animal lays eggs On television what was Flipper Who's band was The Quarrymen Which was the most successful Grand National horse Who starred as the Six Million Dollar Man In the song Waltzing Matilda - What is a Jumbuck Who was Dan Dare's greatest enemy in the Eagle What is Dick Grayson better known as What was given on the fourth day of Christmas What was Skippy ( on TV ) What does a funambulist do What is the name of Dennis the Menace's dog What are bactrians and dromedaries Who played The Fugitive Who was the King of Swing Who was the first man to fly across the channel Who starred as Rocky Balboa In which war was the charge of the Light Brigade Who invented the television Who would use a mashie niblick In the song who killed Cock Robin What do deciduous...

Words: 123102 - Pages: 493

Premium Essay

Julius Ceasar

...OUTLINE OF U.S. HISTORY OUTLINE OF OUTLINE OF U.S. HISTORY C O N T E N T S CHAPTER 1 Early America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 CHAPTER 2 The Colonial Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 CHAPTER 3 The Road to Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 CHAPTER 4 The Formation of a National Government . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 CHAPTER 5 Westward Expansion and Regional Differences . . . . . . . 110 CHAPTER 6 Sectional Conflict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 CHAPTER 7 The Civil War and Reconstruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 CHAPTER 8 Growth and Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 CHAPTER 9 Discontent and Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 CHAPTER 10 War, Prosperity, and Depression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 CHAPTER 11 The New Deal and World War I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 CHAPTER 12 Postwar America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 CHAPTER 13 Decades of Change: 1960-1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 CHAPTER 14 The New Conservatism and a New World Order . . . . . . 304 CHAPTER 15 Bridge to the 21st Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 PICTURE PROFILES Becoming a Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

Words: 104976 - Pages: 420