The Desert Fox

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel Educational Blog

[cid5]

Rommel with members of the Afrikakorps troops in 1942

[thedesertfox]

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (Colonel Bayerlein behind) talks to Sonderführer Günther Halm. 'Sonderführer' was a unique rank given to men enlisted into the army with specialist skills, hence his unique uniform.

Günther Halm was a non-commissioned officer in the Afrika Korps and the first enlisted man to receive the Knight's Cross by Rommel personally, during the 1st Battle of El Alamein in July 1942.

Nineteen-year-old Halm was manning one of two antitank guns that had been positioned so that they would be the last defense before the enemy armour could break through. The gun crew was unable to dig the gun into the rocky ground, so two gunners had to sit on the gun’s trails to absorb its recoil. Toward them roared a column of British tanks. In two minutes Halm blasted four heavy tanks. The others halted, searched for the barely concealed guns, and opened fire on them. A shell screamed between Halm’s legs. A second shell tore off his loader’s legs; another gunner took that man’s place.

Five more British tanks were shot to flames before Halm’s gun was disabled by shellfire. By that time the Twenty-first Panzer had arrived and finished off the enemy tanks. One week later Rommel personally decorated Halm with the Knight's Cross.

[thedesertfox]

From left to right:

Colonel Siegfried Westphal, General Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma, Colonel Fritz Bayerlein, and Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.

This must have been taken during the Second Battle of El Alamein between October-November 1942, as Rommel did not meet von Thoma beforehand.

Von Thoma deserted to the British lines late into the battle, just as Rommel was debating whether to retreat or stand fast.

[vikkicomics]

Kaiserzeit Prussian Cadets - Jackboots on Cobblestones, click click click.

Characters are from 'Moth', my upcoming graphic novel about Prussian Krieg Schul officers before wwi. Top: Vincent Odinkirk Left: Leon von Zelewski Right: Gottlieb Witt Bottom: Siegfried Isenstein Vincent's Hawk is called Flosshild.

[thedesertfox]

"Catch them!"

This photo was taken sometime shortly after Rommel's epic capture of the port of Tobruk, late June 1942. Colonel Fritz Bayerlein (right) and German & Italian staff officers are also present.

The newly-promoted Field Marshal did not celebrate for long. He knew that the British were retreating, but if he didn't capture their veteran divisions and heavy equipment, they would slip away into British-controlled Egypt. This set the stage for the First Battle of El Alamein.

[thedesertfox]

With his tunic bleached by the North African sun, Rommel looks every inch the Desert Fox in this photograph!

He was extremely photogenic and made sure the pose was just right for every photo taken. He rarely travelled anywhere without personal photographers.

[thedesertfox]

Rommel (left) and Field Marshal Albert Kesselring (centre), confer during the first Battle of El Alamein, August 1942.

Kesselring was one of the most relied upon senior commanders of the Luftwaffe and regularly visited Rommel in North Africa to provide crucial strategic advice and moral support.

[thedesertfox]

Erwin Rommel receives the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross, 20 February 1941.

[polsterreich]

The Fox and the Grapes

[er1chartmann]

Opening of the Berlin International Motor Show 1939

Source: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek/Heinrich Hoffman

I DON'T SUPPORT NAZISM,FASCISM OR ZIONISM IN ANY WAY, THIS IS AN EDUCATIONAL POST

[polsterreich]

Admiral Regent Eric Ethelstan of Waterland, who came to power during Naval Supremacy in 1921

[vikkicomics]

Siegfried Isenstein Post War.

He's not a genocidal pervert, we promise, he's actually a really nice guy.

The second version is with an armored car in the background.

This is a wwi uniform, with a black leather trench coat. You might notice it is not his signature, tailored uniform, but an ordinary private's issue, and he has put away his rank badges. This is also the first time I've given him black gloves instead of white. He picks up the Sam Browne belt from a British officer in Ottoway vol 3.

[hyliabeilschmidt]

dimentio in a dimension where he is 256 times twinkier and more stylish

[thedesertfox]

Pictured is Generalleutnant Johannes Streich. He commanded the 5th Light Division during Operation Sonnenblume in 1941 - the Axis offensive against Cyrenaica. After repeated attempts to conquer the region he visits his superior - General Erwin Rommel.

Rommel ordered an immediate attack on the fortress of Mechili - situated on the main route to Derna in the North. Streich refused, saying his tanks were scattered about and overheating with no fuel. Rommel lost his temper and called him a coward. Streich unhooked his Knight’s Cross - won for gallantry in 1940 - and snapped: “Nobody has dared call me that before. Withdraw that remark, or I’ll throw this at your feet”. Rommel muttered a withdrawal, but did not mean it.

[thedesertfox]

Major Wilhelm Bach, right, salutes General Erwin Rommel during an inspection at the Halfaya Pass. Italian staff officers are seen behind as Italian troops were also present in the defense of the area that took place between February 1941 - January 1942.