Erwin Rommel - Destination: Suez?

In mid-November 1941, a small British commando group burst into what they believed to be Erwin Rommel’s headquarters in a Libyan village. They sprayed the place with machine-gun fire, killing five Germans. Their objective was to kill Rommel, but he had moved his headquarters. Several commandos were killed in the attack; one escaped.

During the war it was rare to plot the assassination of an enemy officer, although there were exceptions. The Americans targeted Isoruku Yamamoto (Number 6) and the British did the same to Reinhard Heydrich (Number 25).

But Rommel was not that prominent a figure in the German Army hierarchy. He did enjoy a reputation as “The Desert Fox” and was regarded as the finest desert fighter of the war. His daring and tactical maneuvers were legendary, earning him the grudging respect of even his enemies

A Daring Campaign

Why, then, an assassination attempt? His death would certainly have affected morale on both sides: a blow to the Germans and a boost for the British. But there had to be more to it than that. 

It is possible that the answer lay in Rommel’s campaign plan. His aim was to go across North Africa to the Suez Canal. Such a blow would have been devastating to Britain. Considering his daring in the past, it was not outside the realm of possibility.

He is considered an influential figure for a variety of reasons: his accomplishments in the battle of France, his command of the Afrika Korps, his work on the “Atlantic Wall,” his analysis of “the longest day” of the war, and his death at the hands of Adolf Hitler (Number 1).

Early Success in Europe

Erwin Rommel was born in 189l in Heidenheim, Germany. Interested in a military career, he attended the War Academy in Danzig and was a lieutenant when World War I broke out in 1914. He was wounded several times in action and decorated for bravery. Following a number of military exploits, he ended the war a captain.

Between the wars, Rommel taught at German war academies. He took part in the occupations of Austria and Czechoslovakia.

In the spring of 1940, his panzer unit struck out across the Meuse River in the campaign that would crush the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Neth-erlands) and France.

Conquering the Desert

With continental Europe firmly in German control, Hitler turned to North Africa. Early in 1941, Rommel was named commander of the Afrika Korps. It was just in time, for Italian forces were being badly beaten by British troops under Archibald Wavell. Rommel used the same blitzkrieg tactics that had worked in France. British and German forces battled back and forth across North Africa. Rommel’s major victories were the capture of Tobruk in June 1942 and his thrust to the border of Egypt.

But events elsewhere would affect what was happening in North Africa. Great battles were taking place all along the Russian front. German reinforcements would go there, not to North Africa. With the United States in the war, there was the possibility that American forces might get their first taste of battle in North Africa. Finally, a new British commander was taking over the British 8th Army. His name was Bernard Montgomery (Number 37).

A Final Defeat

In the fall of 1942, it all came together. On October 23rd, Montgomery began his attack on German positions at El Alamein. Rommel, ill in Europe at the time, was ordered back to North Africa. The worst was yet to come. On November 7th, American troops landed in French North Africa. The retreating Afrika Korps was now between the British 8th Army on the east and the Americans on the west. Battles would continue in North Africa for another six months before the final surrender of German forces in Tunisia.

The Longest Day

After serving briefly in various posts, Rommel was put in charge of planning defenses for the “Atlantic Wall,” a supposedly impregnable system of defenses against an Allied invasion along the French coast. Propaganda films were released showing huge fortifications being built in some unspecified area of western Europe. But the coastline of possible invasion places could not be protected at every point. Rommel did his best to build obstructions both in the water and on the land.

It was during one of his inspections of the coastline that he made the famous comment to his aide:The war will be won or lost on the beaches. We’ll have only one chance to stop the enemy and that is while he’s in the water struggling to get ashore. Reserves [which Hitler planned to be located a hundred miles from key landing areas] will never get up to the point of attack and it’s foolish even to consider them. The...[main line of resistance] will be here [pointing to the beaches].... Everything we have must be on the coast. Believe me, Lang, the first 24 hours of the invasion will be decisive.... For the Allies, as well as Germany, it will be the longest day.

It was even worse than Rommel imagined. Hitler believed that the “real” invasion would come across the channel at the Pas de Calais. The reserves would not be made available for weeks, far too late to dislodge the Allies from Normandy.

Death by Poison

On July 20, 1944, a number of German officers set in motion a plan to kill Hitler and bring an end to the war. Hitler survived the assassination attempt and began rounding up the plotters, both real and imagined.

What did Rommel know of the conspiracy and did he actively participate in it? Most historians believe that he knew of the plot. There is disagreement over whether he was actually involved. His name may have appeared on a list of potential government officials following the overthrow of Hitler. In any case, two generals met with him in October 1944 with a message from the Führer: Commit suicide and save your family and staff, or face trial and put family and staff at risk. Rommel took poison.

Several months earlier, he had been wounded after his car was strafed by Allied planes. It was easy for the German radio to announce that he had died of his wounds. Rommel was lauded at a state funeral.