Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel earned the nickname 'Desert Fox' as commander of the Afrika Korps in North Africa (1941-43), where his audacious mobile warfare, tactical brilliance, and personal courage — often leading from the front in his command vehicle — won him the admiration of enemies as well as allies. He was one of the most capable German commanders of the war, but the North African theatre he dominated was ultimately a sideshow whose outcome was determined by Allied maritime supply superiority. Transferred to command the Atlantic Wall defences in France in late 1943, he argued (against von Rundstedt) that Panzer reserves must be placed at the beaches — not inland — to defeat any Allied landing before it could establish a beachhead. After D-Day failed to be repelled, he was wounded in July 1944 and implicated in the July 20 assassination plot against Hitler; given the choice between a public trial and private suicide, he chose suicide in October 1944 to protect his family. His death was announced as a hero's passing from wounds.
- Lived: 1891 CE – 1944 CE
- Nationality: German
- Roles: field marshal, commander
