The Desert Fox, The Movie & History

I first saw this 1951 movie in the 1960s on NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies, which showed movies for their first time on television. The film was based upon a popular book, "Rommel: The Desert Fox," * by British officer Desmond Young, who served in North Africa with the Indian forces stationed there during World War Two (India was still a British colony at that time). German General/Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, has enjoyed a popular and respected place in the history of the world's worst war, as even the British and Commonwealth forces that opposed him heaped praise upon him at times, and this movie does much the same (remember, this movie was made just six years after the war ended). After a few decades of praise for Rommel, historians turned to scrutinizing the former field marshal's record, and such scrutiny was not a bad thing, in my opinion. The thing is, like many Germans, including those of the German officer corps, Rommel's association with Hitler and the Nazis is not always easy to untangle. In essence, all were tainted to some degree, including highly respected senior general Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt. Rommel was much liked by Hitler, probably somewhat because he was not from the German nobility, another segment of German society with a mixed record with the Nazis. He also became a favorite of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels during the war. As for Rommel's association with Hitler, early in the war, the fanatical furious Führer chose Rommel to lead his escort battalion, a highly trained army (not SS) unit that provided security for Hitler. 

Like American general, George Patton, Rommel was insubordinate at times, but like Patton, he was also known for appearing anywhere on the battlefield. In the movie, one of Rommel's subordinate commanders in North Africa, General Bayerlein (pronounced as if, "buyer-line"), played by George Macready, tells the headquarters staff, after repeated attempts to reach Rommel in the field, that he wishes they had a commander with at least a little bit of cowardice about him, so he would report back to his headquarters occasionally. The biggest "plus" to the Allied view of Rommel's record was his "participation" in the plot to kill Hitler in 1944, although the extent of Rommel's involvement is still debated and likely it will never be truly known in great detail. The movie shows Rommel's anguish as he gradually comes to terms with the need to rid Germany of Hitler. At first he makes excuses for Hitler and he blames the crowd around Hitler for Germany's growing prospect of defeat. To be quite honest, the movie's portrayal of Rommel's participation in the plot is probably close to what it actually was; that is, Rommel certainly knew of the plot, but he didn't report it, which indeed made him complicit in it, although admirably so. Any further role Rommel had with the plotters is just not completely known; after all, everything had to be very secret, lest the Gestapo and other Nazi agents find out about it, so few written records were kept, but the fact that Hitler wanted Rommel dead speaks volumes as to what the Nazis knew, or, at least, thought they knew.    

The movie deals with Rommel's life from about the time of the decisive Battle of El Alamein in Egypt, which began in the summer of 1942. Rommel, played by James Mason, is first seen returning a salute from captured British Lieutenant-Colonel Desmond Young (played by himself). Young tells how, after the war, he decided to find out what had actually happened to Rommel, since the Nazi line had been that the renowned field marshal had died from wounds he had suffered during the battle in Normandy, in July 1944. He mentions that to compile the story, besides using Rommel's papers and official records in Germany and England, he talked with Rommel's son Manfred, his widow Lucie, with Germans who had served with him and with some who had served under his command, and with British troops who had fought against him. 

The scene shifts to the British offensive at El Alamein, with Young noting that Rommel was in Germany recovering from nasal diphtheria at the time of the attack, but that he immediately returned to North Africa to take command.** There is a lot of actual World War Two combat footage incorporated into the movie for the large scale battle scenes. Rommel finally admits that his forces can't keep up the fighting, and that they need to retreat to fight another day. Meanwhile, Hitler (played by Luther Adler) sends a message that there is to be no retreat, only "victory or death." At first Rommel seems inclined to obey the order, as it is from Hitler himself, but then Bayerlein tells him that obeying would double the madness, and that it is an order to throw away an entire army. Rommel gives the order to retreat. The movie quickly moves to the surrender of the German and Italian forces in North Africa in May of 1943, but with the explanation that prior to the surrender, Rommel had again returned to Germany due to illness. 

We next see Rommel in the hospital in Germany, visited by his wife Lucie (played by Jessica Tandy), his son Manfred (played by William Reynolds) and the Lord Mayor of Stuttgart, Dr. Karl Strölin (played by Cedric Hardwicke), who is on the Gestapo list to be "watched." After Rommel tells Strölin that Hitler knows that none of the Allies will negotiate a peace settlement with him, Strölin says that "abdication" is the answer, but Rommel bristles at the idea, and Lucie brings the visit to an immediate end to relieve the tension. When Strölin leaves, he is followed by a Gestapo agent, but Strölin manages to lose him. 

Rommel checks the German defenses in France and then meets with the commander-in-chief of the German forces in western Europe, Field Marshal von Rundstedt (played by Leo G. Carroll).*** Von Rundstedt, known for his little quips and bluntness, tells Rommel that neither of them will really be in charge of much of anything when the Allies invade, because "the Bohemian Corporal himself is assuming sole and total command of this operation."**** He also tells Rommel to be wary, as he will be under constant observation by "friends of the management." 

Rommel returns home and receives another visit from Strölin, ***** who tells Rommel there are some very respected people, military, religious, labor, and government, who want to end Hitler's rule. Rommel immediately throws up the "soldier's duty is to obey" defense, prompting Strölin to tell Rommel to stop hiding behind his uniform. When the Field Marshal orders Strölin to leave, he tells Rommel that he knows his true feelings about Hitler and the war, because Lucie has told him. This stuns Rommel.  

The Allies successfully invade France and Rommel and von Rundstedt confer. The old field marshal tells Rommel that Hitler believes the real invasion is yet to come and that Hitler is following his usual pattern of hold at all costs, no retreat and "victory or death." Von Rundstedt says he wishes he had a free hand and that the Allies would know they had fought an army, "not a series of stationary targets. He'll never lets us, of course. You know how firm corporals are." (That is such a GREAT line!) Rommel discusses with von Rundstedt the idea of overthrowing Hitler, and asks the respected commander, if he would receive any of the plotters, if they asked his advice, to which von Rundstedt replies, "Oh no, it's too late." Rommel assumes he means the war is so far gone that even an overthrow of the Nazi government couldn't save Germany, but the Field Marshal corrects him, and tells him he means that it is too late for himself, as at his age (the picture says 70, but he was 68 at that point), "I'm too old to revolt. Too old to challenge authority, however evil." After telling one of  Hitler's staff generals, Field Marshal Keitel, "make peace, you idiots" (German: "den Krieg beended, ihr Idioten"), he says to Rommel that he's not too old to wish him and "his friends" the best of luck in their plans. (Historically, after that remark, von Rundstedt was fired by Hitler the very next day, although von Rundstedt was brought back in a couple of months.) 

Rommel goes to meet Hitler personally at Margival, France, and the meeting shows Rommel the nutcase Hitler really is. While on the road in Normandy on July 17, 1944, Rommel's car is strafed by a British plane and he is seriously injured (historically, fractures to his skull and facial wounds). Just three days later the plot to assassinate Hitler was carried out, with a bomb carried into a military conference by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg. The bomb exploded, but failed to kill Hitler, who was only injured. He took quick revenge.****** This is all depicted in the movie. In October, with Rommel still recovering at home, he receives a call from Keitel to receive a couple of officers being dispatched to him. Rommel assumes it is about a new command. When the officers arrive, they tell Rommel there is substantial evidence against him for treason. At first he wants to fight the charge in court, but is told, "the verdict is already in." He is also told that they have brought a quick acting poison and that if he takes the poison, his wife and son will be taken care of and it will be announced that he died of his wounds. While reluctant, concern for his family matters more, and he accepts the "offer." He says goodbye to his wife, and then to his son (but doesn't tell him he will be dead in a few minutes). He gets into the car with the officers and it drives off. The movie ends with film and a description of his most famous exploits and then a quote of Winston Churchill honoring Rommel.  (Note: Richard Boone appears several times in the film as Rommel's military aide, Captain [German: Hauptmann] Hermann Aldinger, who indeed was his historical aide.)   

* The Desert Fox, in German der Wüstenfuchs, and the German compound word is closely related to English "waste" (see Word history below), although English tends to use "wasteland" to equal "desert," and of course, German "Fuchs" is English "fox." For the history of the word "fox," this is the link to the article: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/08/german-question-part-one-hundred-forty_20.html 

** In Rommel's absence, General Georg Stumme, who had commanded a corps on the Eastern Front, was sent to North Africa. On the day after the opening of the British offensive, Stumme apparently suffered a heart attack while in the field, as his body was found with no wounds, after his staff car had come under attack. 

*** Three things: first, the movie makes numerous mention of "Berlin" sending orders, but in reality, after Hitler launched the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, he and the key officers of the German High Command were seldom in Berlin, as Hitler preferred his military headquarters near Rastenburg, in northeastern Germany (East Prussia), or his villa in southern Germany above Berchtesgaden. Second, the film shows von Rundstedt, Rommel and other high ranking officers giving the Hitler salute to one another. This most certainly did not happen; at least, not at that point in the war, as the traditional military salute was used. After the bomb was placed in Hitler's headquarters in July 1944, the Nazi salute was mandated, but I don't recall if that included between officers. Of course, the Nazi salute had always been part of the SS, a Nazi organization. Third, while Rommel and von Rundstedt were both field marshals, von Rundstedt was the senior commander and in western Europe, Rommel was subordinate to von Rundstedt, and the movie correctly shows that relationship. 

**** Hitler had been born on the border of Austria and Germany, in an area near the Czech lands of Bohemia, once a part of the Old German Empire. During World War I, Hitler served in the German army and rose to the rank of corporal; thus, von Rundstedt referred to him, derogatorily, as "the Bohemian corporal" ("böhmischer Gefreiter") a term he likely learned from Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, the late president of Germany, who used the term to describe Hitler in the early 1930s.    

***** It should be understood, Karl Strölin was a longtime Nazi and an official in the Nazi Party, but he began to become disenchanted during the war. While suspected of being involved in the bomb plot against Hitler in 1944, the Nazis could not obtain evidence against him, but he was dismissed from his position in the party. 

****** For more detail on the bomb plot, here are two links: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2013/07/heroes-against-hitler-overview.html

 http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2013/07/heroes-against-hitler-colonel-klaus-von.html

Photo is from the 2003 20th Century Fox DVD

WORD HISTORY:
Waste-This word, with noun, verb, and adjective forms, and distantly related to "vast," goes back to Indo European "euehst," which had the notion of "empty, lacking, absent, alone, abandoned, desolate." This gave its Old Germanic offspring the verb form "wostijanan," which meant, "to make desolate, to ruin, to ravage." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "westan," with the same meaning. The Indo European form also gave West Germanic the noun "wosti," which meant "a waste(land)." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "westen," meaning "waste(land), wilderness." In western Europe, the Germanic tribe the Franks had the related "wostijan," which was borrowed into Old Northern French as "waster" ("to ruin, to spoil, to lay waste to"). When the Normans went to England the existing English word and the French word merged. The same thing happened with the noun. German has the verb "wüsten" (to waste, to squander), also the verb, "verwüsten" (to ravage, to lay waste, to devastate) and the noun "Wüste" (desert, desolate area); Low German Saxon "Wööst" (desert, wasteland); Dutch has the adjective "woest" (bleak, desolate, also fierce, savage, from the notion of making things desolate) and the noun "woestijn" (desert); West Frisian "woastine" (desert).

The German Question, Part One Hundred Forty-Two

"Hitler Rules Germany" Part Two/C
"Germany In World War Two" Part Two/D
"He Was Called The Desert Fox"

If ever there has been a "popular" part of modern war, the war in North Africa would undoubtedly be a leading candidate for the title. While the men killed on both sides were just as dead as those killed on the continent of Europe, or somewhere on the vast seas, the outright hatred by the two sides was lacking in this war in the desert. Any atrocities were limited to acts carried out by individuals, rather than by policy from higher commands. The war in North Africa has been romanticized from the time it was taking place until the present, with books, articles, movies and television shows. I "guess" what all of this means is, if there have to be wars, then let them be like the war in North Africa, where even enemies sort of "had respect" for one another.

When Italy declared war on June 10, 1940, the Italians found their African colonies bordered in East Africa and in North Africa by enemy forces or colonies.* In East Africa, Italy controlled the colonies of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Italian Somaliland, and in August of 1940, the Italians ousted the British from their small colony of "British Somaliland." It wasn't long, however, before the British and British Commonwealth military forces launched operations against the Italians in East Africa. Far removed from Italy, the Italians and their colonial forces could not prevent an eventual defeat by late 1941.

In North Africa, Italy controlled the colony of Libya. To the west lay the French colonies of Tunisia and Algeria; to the east lay Egypt, a kingdom, but with substantial British influence, including British and Commonwealth troops stationed there to protect the Suez Canal and the major British naval base at Alexandria.**

Mussolini sought to restore the long defunct Roman Empire, and in September of 1940, his forces advanced into Egypt with the Suez Canal as the grand prize. The terrain in both Libya and Egypt was mainly desert or extremely rough, with hot and dry conditions. Major military operations were thus usually carried out only from the Mediterranean coast to about 40-60 miles inland. The Italians advanced against light British opposition, and then they paused and set up defensive camps. The British took the opportunity to launch an offensive in December 1940, even though they were outnumbered by the Italians. Instead of having a unified defensive position, the Italians had formed defensive camps that were separated from one another, and one camp was thus unable to support any other camp or camps that came under attack. The British forces won a decisive victory, not only destroying the Italian forces, but pursuing the remnants of Mussolini's army back into Libya, threatening to conquer all of Libya. Events on the continent (see next article) and sheer exhaustion hampered the British advance, and they stopped the offensive to rest and resupply their forces. They had captured some 130,000 Italian troops! This achieved by a British force of only 36,000.

Alarms sounded in Germany about Mussolini's failed exploit. Hitler, not wanting to get bogged down in North Africa, nor to embarrass his ally Mussolini, decided to send a relatively small German mobile force under the command of General Erwin Rommel, a former commander of Hitler's headquarters' protection unit, to hopefully stabilize the situation. The German units came to be called the "German Africa Corps" ("Deutsches Afrikakorps"). Not long after his arrival, and before all of his units were even delivered to North Africa (through the Libyan port of Tripoli), Rommel launched an attack against the British forces in Libya, chasing them back to the Egyptian border, and surrounding British and Commonwealth forces in the Libyan port city of Tobruk. The British held out in Tobruk, and eventually their forces along the Egyptian border launched an attack against Rommel's German and Italian units (Mussolini had sent reinforcements).*** Rommel retreated all the way back to his original starting point, but then turned on the British and launched a new offensive, this time capturing Tobruk and driving deep into Egypt.**** It looked as if the Germans and Italians would capture both Alexandria and the Suez Canal, and Mussolini even went to North Africa to be present for the victory celebration, but the British weren't defeated yet. Rommel, short of supplies and faced with increasing British resistance, halted near a tiny railway station called El Alamein in the late summer of 1942. His mastery of the battlefield and his tendency to go right to the front line to assess and direct situations helped earned Rommel the nickname, "The Desert Fox" (Der "Wüstenfuchs," see Word History below).

* The armistice signed by France on June 22, 1940, ended hostilities, and part of the agreement carved out a central core of France to be administered by the French, referred to as "Vichy France," as the government operated out of the city of Vichy, not Paris, which remained under German occupation. The French also retained their colonies in Africa and the Middle East. The French military was restricted in size, but they continued to have troops stationed in their colonies. These forces, like two other belligerents, Britain and Italy, were a combination of "national" troops and colonial troops; the colonial units usually commanded by national officers. "National" means French, British, or Italian, respectively.

** This control of the Suez Canal and the eastern Mediterranean Sea by the British prohibited Italy from supplying her military forces in East Africa, mentioned in the above segment. The only way for Italy to send substantial military aid to East Africa by ship was to try to get ships through the narrow Strait of Gibraltar (Gibraltar was under British control), then go clear around Africa, and given British naval superiority this gave them two chances; slim and none. They were able to send some transport planes with aid for their forces in East Africa, but the limited number of such planes available to the Italians made this impractical for sustaining their army in East Africa.

*** It needs to be noted that Rommel was technically subordinate to the Italian High Command in Rome, something he resented, as politics intruded onto the battlefield. On the other hand, the Italians were not always taken with Rommel's insubordination to their orders, and the relationship between the two sides was never really cordial, to say the least, although Rommel did seemingly like and respect some of the Italian field commanders subordinate to him in North Africa.

**** Hitler promoted Rommel to Field Marshal for the capture of Tobruk, and Rommel's exploits in North Africa captured the imagination of the German public. Rommel's friendship with Hitler's propagandist Josef Goebbels helped too, as Goebbels gave Rommel lots of stories in the press and in newsreels. It wasn't only in Germany that Rommel was known, however, as the British and the rest of the world took note of his dashing persona, and with the British, a strange sort of admiration developed for Rommel, albeit a fearful one. One British commander was so alarmed by Rommel's reputation among British troops, that he ordered his commanders to quash Rommel's "bogeyman" image among their men.

WORD HISTORY:
Fox (Vixen)-This noun goes back to Indo European "puk," which meant "tail," and the extended form, "pukso," meaning "with a tail, tailed." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "fuhsaz," then West Germanic "fukhs;" English is a West Germanic language. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "fox," and it has remained such for all of these centuries. The North Germanic languages do not use the word, although their ancestor, Old Norse, had a form of the word, "foa," which has died out, but it is common in the other West Germanic languages: German has "Fuchs" (be careful how you pronounce that! The 'u' is pronounced pretty much like the 'oo' sound of English 'food'); Low German has "Voss," Dutch has "vos," and West Frisian has "foks." For those studying German, "Fuchs" is masculine, thus "der Fuchs," although a female fox is feminine, and is "die Füchsin," similar in pronunciation, but with a beginning "f" sound, to its close relative, the English word for female fox, "vixen."