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After the campaign, the Allies would turn their attention to Italy, where they would win another crucial victory in the fight against militant fascism in Europe. These often-chilling pictures offer us a fascinating insight into the hardware the Allies were up against in this theatre of WW2. The campaign was hard and bloody and left many hundreds of thousands dead, missing, wounded, or captured, but the fascist alliance of Germany and Italy was ultimately driven from the land. Given a choice between suicide and a show trial, he took his own life on October 14. While recuperating, he was implicated in a plot to kill Hitler. In July 1944, he was severely wounded when a British fighter strafed his car. However, his tactical flexibility was limited by Hitler’s commands. He prepared defenses and fought against the 1944 Allied invasion. With a lack of reinforcements and supplies hampering his ability to complete a knockout blow to the Allied forces in North Afrika, Rommel was forced to go on the defensive and then later pull out his remaining forces from the North African theater.īriefly involved in the defense of Italy, Rommel was then moved to Normandy. In the process, he not only earned a formidable reputation for personal bravery and strategic genius but also for gallantry and mercy, as he amply demonstrated when he sent medical supplies to New Zealand forces within the Allied lines. In June 1941, Wavell launched an Allied counterattack, Operation Battleaxe, but was severely mauled by Rommel’s Afrika Corps.Īfter that, Rommel notched up a string of victories, more often than not against vastly superior forces, including Tobruk, Gazala, and El Alamein. Rommel placed Tobruk under siege but met with stiff and resolute resistance from British and Australian soldiers. In an attempt to take advantage of the confusion that resulted from the fall of Benghazi, Rommel continued to press forward, driving the British before him and finally enveloping the enemy within Tobruk. Ignoring orders to assume a defensive posture, Rommel immediately launched a lightning assault on the startled British forces and his Afrika Korps advanced rapidly, driving General Waverley out of his fortified position at Benghazi. Having gained a solid reputation as a military genius of the highest order, Rommel was promoted to Lieutenant General and placed in command of the newly formed Afrika Korps, which had been created with the intention of being sent to Libya to assist Italian troops struggling to cope with British advances into Axis territory in North Africa. His troops were credited with capturing 100,000 Allied prisoners. He waded into icy waters and wielded a machine gun during a difficult river crossing.
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Using the boldness that had won him distinction in the previous war, he led his division in a decisive advance. In France, Rommel proved his worth as a tank commander. He then used Hitler’s favor to win command of a Panzer Division, skipping the usual line for a promotion. His style of command involved more micro-management than was usual in Germany, but because of his political connections, it did not hinder his career.Īt the start of the Second World War, Rommel commanded the troops guarding Hitler’s headquarters during the invasion of Poland. Politically astute, Rommel ingratiated himself with the Nazi leadership as they took control of Germany.