Rommel

A hero to the German people of the Third Reich and widely respected by his opponents, Rommel proved himself highly adept at Blitzkrieg warfare.

Both in France and North Africa he consistently outwitted his opponents through his ability to sense the weak spot in his enemy's deployment and the pace at which he conducted his operations. Rommel was a master of the "cut and thrust" of desert warfare, especially in his talent to quickly seize the initiative.

Rommel's serious wounding in France came just three days before the aborted attempt on Hitler's life. In the witch hunt that followed Rommel came under suspicion of being involved on the plot. In the end he was given the difficult choice of committing suicide or of being put on trial and thus endangering the lives of his beloved wife and son. He took the honourable way out and, with a cynicism that characterized the Nazi regime, was given a state funeral.

About the Author

Charles Messenger served for twenty years as an officer in the Royal Tank Regiment before becoming a fulltime military historian and defense analyst. He is the author of nearly forty books, dealing mainly with 20th century warfare. His titles include The Blitzkrieg Story and biographies of the German World War II commanders Gerd von Rundstedt and Sepp Dietrich. He has also written and helped to direct a number of TV documentary series on 20th century warfare and has participated in numerous analytical historical studies for the British Ministry of Defence.