Erwin Rommel

Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel
Rommel in 1942
Nickname	"Wüstenfuchs" ("Desert Fox")
Allegiance	German Empire (1911-1918) Weimar Republic (1918-1933) Nazi Germany (1933-1944)
Years of service	1911–1944
Rank	Field marshal
Commands held	7th Panzer Division Afrika Korps Panzer Army Africa Army Group Africa Army Group B
Battles/wars	World War I First Battle of the Argonne - (1915) Carpathian Offensive (1915) Battle of Caporetto (1917) World War II Fall of France Battle of Arras (1940) North African Campaign Siege of Tobruk (1941) Operation Crusader (1941) Battle of Gazala (1942) Battle of Bir Hakeim (1942) First Battle of El Alamein (1942) Battle of Alam Halfa (1942) Second Battle of El Alamein (1942) Battle of Medenine (1943) Battle of the Kasserine Pass (1943) Battle of Normandy (1944)
Awards	Pour le Mérite Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary)
Relations	Manfred Rommel (son, dead 2013)

Desert fox can also refer to the Fennec fox

Field Marshal Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel, The "Desert Fox"^[1] (born : 15 November 1891 in Heidenheim Württemberg/died : 14 October 1944 in Herrlingen,Free People’s State of Wurttemberg) was an German Military Army officer of the German Army (as a soldier/junior army infantry officer) in World War I and the German army (as a Senior Army Officer) in World War II. He died in 1944 at the age of 52 . He is a high rank officer with the Senior officer rank of Generalfeldmarschall (field marshal) from 1938-1944 .

In WWII, he commanded the German Army in North Africa during the North African Campaign (1940-1943) in a long struggle against the British 8th Army. He was finally defeated at El Alamein. Later in the war, he commanded the German forces defending the French coast against the Allied Normandy invasion (1944).

Rommel was well liked by the German public and respected by the Allies. He was thought to be chivalrous and humane, when other German leaders were not. His famous Afrikakorps was not accused of any war crimes. Soldiers captured by his army were treated well and orders to kill captured Jewish soldiers and civilians were ignored.^[2]

Rommel knew of the plan by senior officers to assassinate Hitler in 1944. When it failed, all concerned were tortured and executed. Hitler offered him the choice of suicide or court-martial, and he committed suicide. His death was announced as the death of a hero in battle.

1. ↑ Desert Fox or Wüstenfuchs: McKenzie, Steven (2007-11-11). "Desert Fox photos aided war mural". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
2. ↑ AT ROMMEL'S SIDE: The Lost Letters of Hans-Joachim Schraepler Publisher: Frontline Books (September 2009) Language: English ISBN 184832538X ISBN 978-1848325388