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For educational purposes
"DESERT FOX"
The famous Desert Fox of legend, the commander of the German Afrika Korps, a soldier loved by his men and respected by his enemies.
Rommel is best remembered for his spectacular successes over the British 8th Army and in particular the capture of Tobruk in 1942; he subsequently drove the British back to El-Alamein.
He was withdrawn after the defeat by Montgomery and, his health broken, put in charge of the Channel defenses in 1943.
Rommel was implicated in the plot to kill Hitler in 1944, and his subsequent suicide did nothing to diminish his reputation as a formidable soldier and leader.
"DESERT FOX"
The famous Desert Fox of legend, the commander of the German Afrika Korps, a soldier loved by his men and respected by his enemies.
Rommel is best remembered for his spectacular successes over the British 8th Army and in particular the capture of Tobruk in 1942; he subsequently drove the British back to El-Alamein.
He was withdrawn after the defeat by Montgomery and, his health broken, put in charge of the Channel defenses in 1943.
Rommel was implicated in the plot to kill Hitler in 1944, and his subsequent suicide did nothing to diminish his reputation as a formidable soldier and leader.
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LearningTranscript
00:01In February 1941, Mussolini's dream for the rebirth of the Roman Empire was on the verge of complete collapse.
00:09British forces had advanced 500 miles into North Africa, wiping out most of the new Italian Empire in North Africa.
00:21Mussolini appealed to Hitler for aid.
00:23The Italians needed a man of proven military status to swing the tide of war back in their favour.
00:30But it was a relatively unknown Lieutenant General who assumed command of the newly formed Deutsche Afrika Korps.
00:39On March 24th, the new General seized the moment and made a surprise attack on the unsuspecting British forces.
00:48The British were forced into a massive retreat, losing all of the territory they had just won.
00:54Soon, the Germans were knocking on the door of Cairo.
00:58The man that turned the war in the desert on its head was to become one of the most distinguished
01:03and respected soldiers of the 20th century.
01:06The quick and decisive German advances were the hallmark of Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel.
01:18Quebec Navy and the 24th century.
01:18Only one, the few and her mares have had been picked up quite shortly after her programing the airplay in
01:43the wake of Kopern Beverly Hills.
01:58Erwin Rommel was born on the 15th of November, 1891, in Hinderheim, a small town in the kingdom of WĂĽrttemberg.
02:06His father was a schoolteacher, and his mother the daughter of a local official.
02:14Germany at this time is growing rapidly as both an industrial and military power.
02:24And although he did not come from a military family, Rommel decided to break with tradition and join the army,
02:31enlisting as an officer cadet.
02:36Europe was then in a state of tension.
02:38By June 1914, growing international unrest was exacerbated by the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand.
02:47World War I had begun.
02:52Like many of the generals of the next war, Rommel had gained his practical experience at the Sharp End, in
02:58the trenches of the Great War.
03:03Rommel soon attracted the attention of his superiors.
03:06In a notoriously static war, he was resourceful, daring, and active.
03:11In one action, he led his men through a breach in the barbed wire, and inflicted heavy casualties deep behind
03:18the French lines.
03:19He was decorated, receiving the Iron Cross, first class.
03:27Shortly afterwards, he was promoted to first lieutenant, and posted to a mountain battalion, in Vossage.
03:35Despite his dedication to the cause, Rommel still found time for other things, and in November 1916, he married Lucy
03:43Maria Mollen.
03:49In 1917, the war still raged on, and Rommel's unit was posted to Italy.
03:56Now a respected veteran soldier, his advice was frequently sought on tactical matters,
04:02and when Rommel asked for permission to lead his own independent action, he was instantly given the go-ahead.
04:09His actions in Italy earned him the pour le mérite, a decoration normally reserved for senior generals.
04:16Soon after, he was promoted to captain, and given a staff position, where he remained until the end of the
04:22war.
04:32Despite the best endeavours of Erwin Rommel and his ilk, Germany lost the war.
04:37On November 11th, 1918, the armistice was signed at Versailles.
04:44Disillusionment in Germany with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles led to public disquiet and frequent riots.
04:51A mood of revolution gripped the country.
04:54Rommel was to experience that fervour as he travelled across Germany to Danzig to collect his wife Lucy.
05:01Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany forfeited vast tracts of land.
05:07Amongst the land conceded to Poland was the area containing the city of Danzig, and with it, more than two
05:14million Germans.
05:16The treaty also demanded that the German army be reduced to an internal peacekeeping force of no more than 100
05:22,000 men.
05:25Despite the emasculation of the army, Rommel was content to remain as a soldier.
05:32During this time, he developed an interest in rethinking old battles, and reading books on military feats.
05:39It was a time of great hardship.
05:41The ensuing turmoil saw the emergence of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialists.
05:47Like most Germans, Rommel believed that Hitler might be the man to pull Germany out of the rut.
05:54Hitler assumed full dictatorial powers, and the Third Reich was born.
06:04In the year that followed, Germany changed dramatically.
06:10Soon the army swore an oath of allegiance, not to Germany, but to the FĂĽhrer and to the Reich.
06:16In March 1935, Hitler publicly renounced the military constraints of the Versailles Treaty.
06:24Industry was turned over to the production of arms.
06:34Tanks and planes were produced in their thousands.
06:38The move went completely unchallenged from abroad.
06:47From this time onwards, the German army grew with alarming rapidity.
06:52During the summer, Hitler was in attendance at a military parade in Gothla.
06:56Rommel was told that for the FĂĽhrer's protection, he must have a line of Nazi SS troops at the head
07:02of his army battalion.
07:04He refused, and protested in person to Himmler and Goebbels, threatening to withdraw his men from the parade.
07:11In a rare reversal, the Nazi troops were removed, and later in the day, Rommel met Hitler briefly for the
07:18first time.
07:20It may have been then that Rommel fell under his spell.
07:29In autumn 1935, now a lieutenant colonel, Rommel was posted as an instructor to the War Academy in Potsdam.
07:38However, he was relieved due to a conflict with his superiors, whom even Rommel, who was sympathetic to the cause,
07:45viewed as fanatical Nazis.
07:49In 1937, Rommel published a book, which was based on his lectures at the infantry school in Dresden.
07:55Among its many readers was the FĂĽhrer.
07:59Hitler, at this time, was poised to realise his vision of Liebensraum.
08:04Impressed by the book, he gave him a temporary appointment as commandant at his headquarters.
08:11Rommel was placed in charge of the army battalion responsible for Hitler's personal safety
08:16during the annexation of the Sudetenland.
08:21When Germany annexed Czechoslovakia, Rommel was once again placed in charge of security for Hitler's entry into Prague.
08:30Hitler asked Rommel's advice on the best manner of approach.
08:34Always the showman, Rommel replied that Hitler should travel into the city in an open car.
08:50During this time, Rommel was in close contact with Hitler, and he undoubtedly developed an even greater respect
08:57and admiration for the man who was undoubtedly a mesmerising figure, and in many respects, a brilliant leader.
09:05Rommel was promoted Major General, and in the same August, transferred him to Hitler's headquarters.
09:21At dawn on September the 1st, 1939, the Luftwaffe attacked Poland without war.
09:40German panzer divisions poured over the border.
09:43There was fierce resistance, but the German forces moved forward, sweeping all in their path.
09:50This was Blitzkrieg, lightning war.
09:56From his vantage point in Hitler's command post, Rommel had a complete overview of the first Blitzkrieg campaign.
10:03He paid close attention to the techniques of this new style of warfare, particularly the use of tanks in the
10:10offensive.
10:23In the days that followed, all of Europe was once again drawn into war.
10:29Bored with his security duties, in February of 1940, Rommel requested a fighting command.
10:34He was given charge of the 7th Panzer Division, nicknamed the Ghost Division.
10:42In May, Rommel's panzers moved into Belgium, south of Liege, where he earned the loyalty of his men by working
10:49alongside them.
10:50After bridging the Muirs, the Ghost Division pushed westwards, cutting through an extension of the Maginot Line into France.
11:00Contrary to procedure, he ordered his panzer commanders to fire whilst on the moon.
11:06He argued that the panic and confusion caused would more than compensate for the inaccurate waste of ammunition.
11:12His theory proved true on more than one occasion, when French forces sufficient in strength and numbers to stop him
11:19were thrown into disarray.
11:21By the end of May, Rommel's forces had pushed deep into France.
11:34In one two-day period, his forces destroyed more than 100 tanks and took 10,000 prisoners.
11:44Rommel's own insistence on commanding from the front brought him close to death and capture on a number of occasions.
11:51But by the end of the campaign, the haul of equipment was almost beyond measure, and his prisoner tally was
11:57close to 100,000.
12:00For his troubles, Rommel was awarded the Knight's Cross.
12:04Even more important was the invaluable experience he gained in tank warfare.
12:23In September of 1940, the Italian army in North Africa, under General Graziani, launched an attack across the Libyan frontier.
12:32The Italian forces advanced 50 miles into Egypt.
12:36Their territorial gains, however, were short-lived.
12:39A British counter-attack developed into a full-scale advance, and the Italians were driven back across 600 miles of
12:47desert.
13:04By February 1941, loss of face and concern for his fascist ally forced Hitler to offer Mussolini military assistance.
13:20With the Italian forces in North Africa almost defeated, Churchill believed it was important to send the British forces to
13:27Greece, now under threat from the Germans.
13:29But as the British were evacuating their troops, General Erwin Rommel landed in Tripoli with the first elements of the
13:37Afrika Korps.
13:42In a typical Rommel ruse, he employed a local workshop to build dummy tanks, which were placed over his newly
13:49arrived Volkswagens.
13:51These were used to confuse the enemy reconnaissance about the scale and movement of his panzers.
14:00The desert provided a new and complex theatre of combat.
14:05The environment also possessed unusual challenges to living conditions.
14:11The logistical nightmare of moving around the desert was caused mainly by the ubiquitous sand which permeated everything.
14:19Tank tracks would be slowly eroded until they literally fell apart.
14:24Sand would also get into the turret bearings, causing poor manoeuvrability or causing them to jam completely.
14:30It also entered the air filters and would clog the radiators, causing overheating.
14:36All of this was exacerbated by the need to cross massive stretches of desert.
14:42Tanks were designed to be transported to the front line by trains and then unloaded.
14:46However, in North Africa, four or five hundred mile stretches of desert had to be traversed on tracks due to
14:54the constantly changing front lines.
14:57It was as much of a battle to keep the tanks operational as it was to fight the enemy.
15:02Working inside a tank was dangerous and very uncomfortable.
15:07The heat generated by the diesel engine coupled with the scorching temperatures outside caused rapid dehydration.
15:14Dust would also fill the scorching air.
15:19Another logistical nightmare was the problem of extended supply lines.
15:24Providing clean drinking water, fuel and ammunition to the forces was constrained by constant British air attacks.
15:32The trucks used to transport fuel for the tanks at the front consumed huge quantities of fuel.
15:38It was a self-perpetuating problem, which was to assume nightmare proportions.
15:45Life for soldiers was made unbearable by recurring plagues of flies and fleas.
15:50Finally, the lack of fresh food and clean water was a serious problem.
15:54Dysentery, malaria and jaundice were just three of the more common complaints.
16:08Rommel had been ordered not to start any offensive action until his forces were up to strength.
16:13But he characteristically decided to seize the initiative with a surprise attack on the overstretched British lines.
16:22Rommel's three-pronged approach allowed him to recapture the eastern region of Libya, known as Serenica.
16:29The British troops, who, six months earlier, had forced an Italian retreat, were now cut off and captured in their
16:36thousands.
16:36Senior British commanders increased the profile of the capture.
16:41On Good Friday, April the 11th, Rommel took Bardia and four days later Solemn as he bypassed Tobruk
16:48and pushed relentlessly east towards Egypt and the Suez Canal.
16:53Many crews of the British 2nd Armoured Division abandoned their tanks and joined the headlong retreat.
17:22The port of Tobruk was heavily fortified and supplied by sea from Malta
17:26and was capable of enduring a long siege.
17:32Rommel desperately needed a port from which he could supply his army and avoid the overland supply trek,
17:38which was consuming fuel at an alarming rate.
17:41His supply columns were increasingly vulnerable to Allied air attacks from the better-supplied British forces.
17:49With Tobruk in Allied hands, Rommel's flank was vulnerable
17:53and he could not launch a full-scale attack on Egypt until the city was captured.
18:02As winter approached, Rommel prepared his assault.
18:07His efforts were cut short.
18:09The Allies launched Operation Crusader.
18:36Sensing a possible weakness in the Allied counter-offensive,
18:39Rommel took a typical risk and surprised the British with a dash across the sands
18:44and over the Egyptian frontier.
18:46The panzers that were used, seen here at the Bovington Tank Museum,
18:51were specially camouflaged to blend into the desert background.
19:11Pamu,
19:11Pamela
19:12Did you see here at the Bovington in the
19:28Rommel's attack cut into the Allied supply lines and scattered their forces across the desert.
19:35The Allied commander, General Auchinleck, realizing the threat of such a breakthrough,
19:40ordered that his troops must fight, even to the last tank.
19:45The order stiffened the Allied offensive.
19:48Rommel was not willing to risk further unnecessary casualties,
19:51and eventually he halted his drive into Egypt.
19:59From the moment of his arrival in North Africa,
20:02the fortunes of the Axis forces had been almost miraculously reversed.
20:07Rommel insisted on personally overseeing every aspect of the campaign.
20:12He kept a close watch on the welfare of his troops,
20:15and was always aware of the critical levels of equipment and supplies.
20:21Unlike his Italian allies, he insisted on eating the same rations as the lowest ranks,
20:27as only by doing this could he judge the stamina of his men.
20:37Rommel was a competent pilot, and used a light aircraft to tour the front-line areas,
20:43flying between positions, inspecting their readiness for battle.
20:47The Faisler Stork, seen here in RAF Cossford,
20:51is the same model which Rommel used in his reconnaissance missions.
20:54Small and very mobile, it could go almost anywhere,
20:58and perfectly suited to the restless temperament of the man of the controls.
21:25During the fighting, Rommel was always in the thick of the action,
21:29directing his panzers and moving amongst his troops and artillery,
21:33issuing orders first-hand.
21:39He showed an uncanny sense of precognition,
21:43which his troops referred to as a sixth sense.
21:50On more than one occasion, Rommel was on patrol,
21:53and for no reason other than instinct,
21:55he moved away from an area, sensing danger.
21:59Minutes later, the terrain was bombarded or overrun.
22:03Morale amongst the Afrika Korps was high,
22:06and the propaganda value of Rommel's success was not wasted.
22:10When Rommel first arrived in Africa,
22:12he was all but unknown to the Allied High Command.
22:15By the time of summer 1941,
22:18so portentous was his name
22:20that the British Commander-in-Chief,
22:22General Ochenleck,
22:24issued this directive to his commanders and chiefs of staff.
22:28There exists a real danger that our friend Rommel
22:31is becoming a kind of magician or bogeyman to our troops,
22:35who are talking far too much about him.
22:38We must refer to the Germans,
22:40or the Axis powers, or the enemy,
22:42and not always keep harping on Rommel.
22:45From a psychological point of view,
22:47it is a matter of the highest importance.
22:56Soon the situation was so grave
22:58that even Churchill stated,
23:00Rommel, Rommel, what else matters but beating him?
23:05Rommel was now a German folk hero,
23:08the Desert Fox able to outwit the enemy.
23:11But his popularity did not extend to the high command.
23:16Animosity between Rommel
23:17and some of Hitler's military advisors
23:19was at the root of the problem.
23:22A situation not helped
23:23by Rommel's inflammatory remarks about their competence.
23:31Added to this,
23:32ships bringing fuel and equipment from Italy
23:35were subject to constant attacks
23:37from the Royal Navy and Allied aircraft
23:39stationed on Malta.
23:41Tons of the supplies destined for Rommel's Africa Corps
23:44were being sent to the bottom of the Mediterranean.
23:58In the autumn of 1941,
24:00Rommel was losing more than half of his supplies
24:02to Allied attack.
24:05After months of pleading,
24:07the German high command agreed to act.
24:10Increased air attacks by the Luftwaffe
24:13were ordered on Malta.
24:23U-boat activity was stepped up in the Mediterranean.
24:36These measures helped,
24:37but the level of supplies was always inadequate.
24:41The Africa Corps were pushed back across the desert
24:44to the town of El Aguirre,
24:46where they dug in.
25:03Rommel needed to build up the strength of his forces
25:06due to shortages caused by the Royal Navy's attacks
25:09on his supply lines.
25:13The British had superior firepower.
25:17850 tanks against Rommel's 560,
25:20of which only 330 were German panzers.
25:23The rest were Italian-made
25:26and of dubious fighting value.
25:30The British tank contingent also included the Matilda,
25:34shown here in the Bovington Tank Museum, Dorset.
25:37It was the most heavily armoured British tank of the time.
25:55On May 20th,
25:56Rommel led a group of panzers into battle.
25:59However, soon it turned into an untidy and confused affair.
26:03Rommel realised the momentum of the attack had been lost,
26:07stalled against a strong British defensive crescent,
26:0915 miles long and 3 miles deep.
26:12It was known by the British as the Cauldron,
26:15for its relentless heat and fierceness of the fighting.
26:27On June 1st,
26:29after dogged fighting against a relentless Duker bombardment,
26:32the British forces were finally overwhelmed.
26:36The Battle of the Cauldron had swung against the British,
26:38but at a cost of crippling losses on Rommel's attacking forces,
26:42which made them vulnerable to counter-attacks.
26:51Nonetheless, on June 5th,
26:54Rommel unleashed his remaining panzers,
26:56causing 6,000 casualties and destroying 150 Allied tanks.
27:01The initiative clearly lay with Rommel,
27:05who had carefully husbanded his remaining tanks.
27:08In a series of actions between June 10th and 13th,
27:11he repeated the tactic of drawing British tanks onto his gun line,
27:15and then sending in his own panzers to complete the destruction.
27:19In this way,
27:20he finally broke out of the Cauldron.
27:27On June 15th,
27:28whilst Allied morale was low,
27:31the Axis forces once again pushed towards the port of Tobruk.
27:35A careful deception plan had caused the Allies to strengthen the southwestern defences.
27:40They had been fooled into thinking that Rommel's main thrust would be here.
27:46Mines were hastily transferred from the already weakened southeastern sector,
27:51which is exactly where Rommel's attack was directed.
27:55On June 17th,
27:57Rommel's men captured the outlaying ports of El Duda and Belhamed
28:01and overran the airfield at nearby El Adem.
28:05The Afrika Korps also seized British supply depots
28:09between the border town of Bardia and Tobruk.
28:14On June 20th,
28:16the Axis assault on Tobruk began with a massed artillery and air attack
28:19on the southeastern sector.
28:22To the Allies,
28:23the fortress of Tobruk was the dominant action
28:26in the 15-month phase of the North African campaign.
28:29Its importance lay in its deep-water harbor,
28:32where one ship unloading 5,000 tons of cargo
28:36was worth more than a dozen convoys of trucks.
28:40After hundreds of Stukas and Junkers bombers
28:42had pounded the area,
28:44the German and Italian storm parties
28:46drove a wedge into the fort's defences.
28:49By 8 a.m.,
28:51the anti-tank ditch was bridged
28:52and the Panzer Division drove in.
28:55By 5 a.m. the following day,
28:57Rommel himself
28:58drove triumphantly into the port.
29:05The fall of Tobruk
29:06yielded Rommel a rich haul of food,
29:09armor and supplies,
29:10including 5,000 tons of provisions
29:13and over 2.25 million liters of petrol,
29:16as well as 2,000 vehicles.
29:19More importantly,
29:21he had gained a vital port
29:22and opened the way to Egypt.
29:25Hitler immediately promoted him to field marshal.
29:28At the age of 50,
29:30the youngest in the Wehrmacht,
29:32the German papers hailed him as invincible.
29:35With Tobruk in his control,
29:38he set his sights once again on Alexandria
29:40and the Suez Canal.
29:42Panic spread in Cairo,
29:44where the British Embassy
29:46and the Middle East High Command
29:47burned their archives ready for evacuation.
29:51El Alamein,
29:5260 miles to the west of Alexandria,
29:54was chosen as the last Allied stand for Egypt.
29:58Advances in Allied intelligence gathering,
30:01and in particular the ULTRA organization,
30:04now made it possible for the Allies
30:05to selectively target the exact route
30:08and cargo of Rommel's supply ships.
30:10Fewer and fewer were getting through.
30:20Unaware of this grave situation,
30:23Rommel planned another offensive,
30:25but the necessary fuel did not arrive,
30:27and wave after wave of Allied aircraft
30:30brought the attack to a halt.
30:40Dispirited and ill,
30:41Rommel returned to Germany
30:43for medical treatment for jaundice.
30:46While he was there,
30:47he told the FĂĽhrer
30:48that he must have more men and equipment
30:50if he was to take Alexandria.
30:52Hitler showed him new tanks and weapons
30:55and assured him that he would have all that he needed.
30:58But German resources were stretched thinly.
31:01The invasion of Russia was in disarray.
31:05Hitler had plans to send Rommel to the Ukraine,
31:08but with the launch of an Allied offensive
31:10in North Africa,
31:11Rommel was required to return to Africa.
31:25The offensive was halted,
31:27and it was time for Rommel to counterattack.
31:30This was the first battle of El Alamein.
31:33Despite Rommel's competence,
31:35the odds were now in favour of the British,
31:37for although weakened and under strength,
31:39they held the best defensive position
31:41along the entire North African coast.
31:46Early on July 1st,
31:48Rommel opened his offensive,
31:50but his tanks blundered into a minefield
31:52and fierce artillery bombardment.
31:55The battle was fierce.
31:57Both sides suffered losses and had to withdraw.
31:59While Rommel's advance had been blunted,
32:03now it was the British turn to attack.
32:06On July the 10th,
32:08a devastating artillery bombardment
32:10destroyed the Italian Sabratha division,
32:12and the British made some progress,
32:14that both sides were suffering from exhaustion,
32:17lack of adequate food,
32:18and a general slump in morale.
32:21By the end of July,
32:23fighting had petered out on both sides.
32:26During the winter months,
32:28British newspapers had reported a lull in the fighting,
32:31but there was no lull for the inventory.
32:34Nightly they went out on patrols,
32:36returning the next morning looking like clay figures.
32:40Most of the day would be spent scraping mud
32:42from clothes and equipment and cleaning weapons.
32:45Then they went out on patrol again.
32:48There was no lull for the Germans either,
32:51and their surprise artillery barrages
32:54added to the misery of the bogged-down British.
32:57In their exposed positions,
32:59it was impossible to dig trenches.
33:01The troops were at the mercy of shellfire,
33:04reminiscent of the worst trench warfare
33:06on the Western Front in World War I.
33:09Churchill, disheartened with the lack of progress,
33:13sent General Bernard Montgomery
33:14as a replacement for the 8th Army leader.
33:17Churchill thought and hoped
33:19that this general had the killer touch,
33:21someone who could bring an all-out victory.
33:25In spite of differences in tactics and temperament,
33:28General Bernard Montgomery
33:29and Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
33:31agreed on one major aspect of the war in the desert,
33:35that it would be won by the side
33:36with superior air power.
33:39In 1942, that honour passed to the British.
33:43Montgomery arrived in North Africa that August
33:46and triumphed in Alamhalfa.
33:48The army and air force were closely knitted together.
33:51The two headquarters were side by side.
33:55In just under a week,
33:571,300 tons of high explosive pounded the enemy positions
34:00and Rommel recorded that the air attacks
34:03had pinned down his army
34:04and paralysed his tanks and trucks.
34:07A few weeks later,
34:09the RAF played an even deadlier part
34:11in the Second Battle of El Alamein
34:13when its fighter-bombers attacked airfields
34:16and destroyed scores of tanks and supply trucks.
34:19By the beginning of November,
34:22Rommel felt he had been deserted
34:23by the Luftwaffe at El Alamein.
34:25He had not been deserted.
34:27The Luftwaffe had simply been destroyed.
34:33In October 1942,
34:36Allied bombers from Egypt and Malta
34:38systematically bombed Axis supply bases
34:40in southern Italy
34:41and behind enemy lines in Sarenica.
34:46Naval forces attacked Axis convoys
34:49in the Mediterranean.
34:50As a result,
34:52almost half the necessary German supplies
34:54failed to reach the men at the front.
35:03The Second Battle of El Alamein
35:06was soon won by the Allies.
35:08Lack of fuel had robbed Rommel's panzers
35:10of their mobility.
35:12Montgomery, seen here in his command tank,
35:15was already planning a new
35:16and even fiercer offensive,
35:18codenamed Supercharge.
35:22The FĂĽhrer ordered Rommel to stand fast,
35:26victory or death.
35:28However, Hitler was 3,000 miles away
35:31and Rommel prudently retreated.
35:35By this time,
35:36American backing was making itself felt.
35:38The Allies had endless supplies of tanks
35:41and total air superiority.
35:45The Afrika Korps were forced to retreat across Libya.
35:49Rommel was recalled to see the FĂĽhrer.
35:51He explained that the situation in Africa
35:54is now hopeless.
35:56Hitler exploded,
35:57calling him a defeatist
35:58and his troops cowards.
36:01He earmarked fresh men and supplies for Africa,
36:05including new Tiger tanks.
36:07They did indeed arrive in Africa,
36:09but they were a year too late
36:11and almost only served
36:13to swell the booty of their captors
36:15when the Afrika Korps
36:16finally surrendered
36:17in May 1942.
36:20Rommel taunted Hitler,
36:22inviting him to come
36:24and see Africa for himself.
36:26Other soldiers had been shot for less.
36:30Privately, Rommel told his family
36:32that he now realized
36:33that Hitler's contempt
36:34for the whole German people,
36:36but he would not abandon his men
36:38and left again for the desert.
36:45During the last battles,
36:47the Allies had killed or captured
36:4950,000 men,
36:51almost half the Axis army,
36:54including the cream of the Afrika Korps.
36:57The remaining German forces
36:59were driven into Tunisia.
37:02In November,
37:04British and American forces
37:05staged a joint landing
37:07in three areas
37:08to the west of Rommel's position.
37:10Rommel was now caught
37:12between British and American forces
37:14advancing on two fronts.
37:27By the time Rommel
37:29had reached Sidi Baran,
37:30he had only 10 tanks left,
37:33but he fought a series
37:34of brilliant rearguard actions,
37:37blowing bridges and culverts
37:38and laying cleverly concealed minefields,
37:42all of which
37:43slowed the Allied advance.
37:46Rommel hastened ever westwards,
37:49battered and abandoned
37:50Tobruk fell to the British
37:52on November the 13th.
37:55Benghazi was taken five days later
37:57after a token resistance,
37:59the fifth time the city
38:01had changed hands
38:02in the Desert War.
38:06Before leaving Africa for good,
38:08he engaged the enemy
38:09at Kesarine Pass.
38:26In one of the last major battles
38:29of the African campaign,
38:31Rommel delivered a memorable lesson
38:33to his opponents
38:33and a stinging defeat
38:35to the Americans.
38:40While Rommel left
38:42to receive medical treatment
38:43in Germany,
38:44the Allies continued
38:46their advance.
38:47In Tunisia,
38:48the Afrika Korps
38:49fought itself into a condition
38:51where it could fight no more.
38:53In May 1943,
38:56the war in Africa
38:57was finally lost.
39:02On his release from hospital,
39:04Rommel was summoned
39:05to Hitler's command post.
39:07He was given a position
39:09as a military advisor.
39:13Old rivalries between Rommel
39:15and members of the senior staff
39:16were heightened by disappointment.
39:19It is during this time
39:21that Rommel came to learn
39:22of the atrocities
39:23being committed
39:24against captured prisoners.
39:26He protested to Hitler.
39:28Demanding that those responsible
39:29should face trial.
39:31Under his leadership,
39:33the war in Africa
39:34was fought
39:34in a chivalrous fashion.
39:36Even his enemies
39:37would testify to that.
39:39His protest fell on deaf ears
39:41and the barbarous treatment
39:43of Russian prisoners of war
39:44was to be one of the greatest
39:46atrocities of World War II.
39:53In November 1943,
39:56Rommel was given
39:57a special assignment.
39:59He was to inspect
40:00the coastal defenses
40:01from Scagrac
40:02to the Spanish frontier
40:04to report on their readiness
40:05to resist invasion.
40:08Arriving in France,
40:10he found the Atlantic Wall
40:11to be totally inadequate.
40:27Rommel believed that any attempt
40:28to stop an Allied invasion
40:30of Europe
40:30would have to succeed
40:32on the first day.
40:34We must stop the enemy
40:35in the water
40:36and destroy equipment
40:37while it is still afloat.
40:38above all,
40:40we must have air superiority.
40:48He worked tirelessly
40:49to strengthen
40:50the coastal defenses.
40:53However,
40:54Rommel himself
40:54had little faith
40:56in the principle
40:56of Fortress Europe.
41:12from his desert experience
41:14he knew that
41:15without air cover
41:16the Germans
41:17could not hope to win
41:18and by this time
41:19he was openly criticizing
41:20the Fuhrer
41:21in front of his own officers.
41:33In the spring of 1944,
41:36the south of England
41:37became a giant marshalling ground
41:39as the Allies massed
41:41in preparation
41:41for the invasion.
41:46In 1944,
41:48Rommel was informed
41:49of a plan
41:50by senior army officers
41:51to kidnap Hitler
41:53and force him
41:54to announce his abdication.
41:56In advance
41:57of any kidnap attempt,
41:58Rommel was asked
42:00to approach the Fuhrer
42:01and reason with him
42:02on the matter
42:02of making peace
42:03with the Allies.
42:05Believing that Germany
42:06could no longer
42:07win the war,
42:08he agreed to the plan.
42:10He did not approve,
42:12but Hitler seemed determined
42:13to fight to the last.
42:23In a Germany
42:24disintegrating
42:25under Allied bombardment,
42:27Rommel was still the hero,
42:29second only to Hitler
42:30in popularity.
42:34amongst the Allies,
42:36he was well known
42:36and respected
42:37as an honourable soldier.
42:39He personally knew
42:41nothing of the plan
42:42by the army conspirators
42:43to kill Hitler
42:44and install him
42:45as president,
42:46but he featured
42:47in the plans
42:48of the conspirators.
42:50Rommel's public credibility
42:51was the key
42:52to their plan.
42:53They believed
42:54that with Hitler gone
42:55and Rommel as president,
42:57there may be some chance
42:58of a negotiated peace.
43:01As D-Day grew closer
43:03and the defences
43:04of fortress Europe
43:05were strengthened,
43:06Rommel was unwittingly
43:08playing a dual role.
43:09On the one hand,
43:11he was the people's marshal,
43:12working to defend the Reich.
43:15On the other,
43:16he was a pawn
43:17in the plot
43:17to depose the Fuhrer.
43:21In the days coming up
43:22to the landing,
43:23Rommel's predictions
43:24proved correct.
43:26Allied bombers
43:27now targeted
43:28the German positions
43:29in northern France.
43:30The saturation bombing
43:32wreaked havoc
43:33with German communications
43:34and supplies.
43:39Under cover of fire,
43:41the Allied forces
43:42stormed the beaches.
43:56within a few days
43:57of the Normandy landing,
43:59Rommel was convinced
44:00that making peace
44:01was the only possible action
44:02to prevent
44:03the whole-scale destruction
44:04of Germany.
44:13Rommel was convinced
44:13that making peace
44:18in a meeting with Hitler
44:19on July the 15th,
44:21Rommel reported
44:22on the situation
44:23at the front
44:23and suggested
44:24that the Fuhrer
44:25should approach
44:26the Allies
44:26for a settlement.
44:33Hitler dismissed the idea,
44:36blaming the Allied successes
44:37on the poor performance
44:39of Rommel
44:39and his men.
44:42There was now
44:43no place to hide.
44:45Allied aircraft
44:45continued to attack
44:47all lines of communication,
44:48cutting off supplies
44:49to the defending
44:50German troops.
45:04On July the 17th,
45:06while returning
45:07from the front,
45:09Rommel's car
45:09was attacked
45:10by enemy aircraft
45:11and forced off the road.
45:15Rommel received
45:16severe head injuries
45:17and was not expected
45:19to live.
45:19On July the 20th,
45:21there was a bomb attempt
45:22against the Fuhrer
45:23by members
45:24of his senior staff.
45:28The attempt failed
45:29and the increasingly
45:30paranoid Hitler
45:32now found himself
45:33under threat
45:33from his own officers
45:34as well as
45:35the advancing
45:36Allied forces.
45:39Rommel was convalescing
45:40when the news
45:41of the attempt
45:41reached him.
45:42His reaction
45:43was one of outrage.
45:48As German forces
45:50retreated,
45:51those under suspicion
45:52now found themselves
45:53blamed,
45:54not only for the attempt
45:55on Hitler's life,
45:57but the imminent
45:58destruction of the Reich.
46:01By the end of August,
46:02Paris was liberated
46:03and Allied forces
46:05advanced on Germany
46:06from two sides.
46:09Accusations flew
46:10and Rommel
46:11found himself
46:12powerless
46:13to defend
46:13either his country
46:14or his reputation.
46:18On October the 14th,
46:21two generals
46:21arrived at Rommel's house.
46:23They told him
46:24that he had been
46:25implicated in the plot
46:26to kill the Fuhrer.
46:28To save both Hitler
46:30and himself
46:30from the embarrassment
46:32of a public trial,
46:33Rommel was asked
46:34to take poison.
46:35with the assurance
46:37that he would be buried
46:38with full military honours
46:39and a guarantee
46:41that his family
46:41would come to no harm,
46:43otherwise there could be
46:44no guarantee
46:45for their safety.
46:47He complied
46:48with their wishes,
46:50said goodbye
46:50to his wife and family
46:51and left
46:52with the generals.
46:54Thirty minutes later,
46:56Rommel was dead.
46:58There was no hint
46:59to what had transpired.
47:01In a narration
47:03at the funeral,
47:04General von Rundstein
47:05declared Rommel
47:06to have been
47:07a tireless fighter
47:08in the cause
47:09of the Fuhrer
47:10and the Reich.
47:11from the King,
47:24from the King.
47:24die at the King.
47:26The King was us.
47:28And where could we
47:34Not the King was man
47:40He was sperm
47:41I don't know.
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