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).

Allied Commanders of World War Two/Wavell & Alexander

"Archibald Wavell"
Wavell was born in southeastern England (Essex*) and attended Sandhurst Royal Military Academy in southern England. Wavell fought in the 2nd Boer War (1899-1902) in southern Africa,** and he then served in India before involvement in World War I, where he was wounded and lost an eye. Postwar he was sent to Palestine and put in charge of British Middle East Forces against the Italian invasion of Egypt in 1940. A highly successful British counteroffensive against Mussolini's army destroyed much of the Italian force in Egypt and eastern Libya, but Wavell had to shift some Commonwealth forces and supplies to help Greece against an Italian invasion, launched by Mussolini in the fall of 1940. Hitler, alarmed by the Italian collapse in North Africa, sent General Erwin Rommel with German tanks and troops to stave off the loss of North Africa. Rommel, not content to just hold the line, launched his own offensive against the tired and depleted Commonwealth forces, driving them back in a stunning reversal. Not only did Wavell have to combat German and Italian forces in North Africa, but he was also forced to deal with military events in the Middle East, far to the rear of his front line command. He was forced to put down an attempted pro-Axis takeover of Iraq and then to fight Vichy French forces in Syria and Lebanon. All the distractions only helped Rommel. Churchill chose to relieve Wavell of his Middle East post in mid 1941 and the general was then sent to India. India was not a safe haven, as it wasn't long before the Japanese launched major operations throughout southern areas of Asia and the Pacific, including the attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. British and Commonwealth forces were woefully inadequate to defend the area, and Japanese forces advanced through southeast Asia and captured the fortress of Singapore. Wavell's forces withdrew to India, but launched a counteroffensive, and although it achieved initial success, it eventually had to be broken off. By mid 1943, Churchill replaced Wavell as commander, but kept him on as Viceroy of India. This was an important position, as India, which included modern Pakistan and Bangladesh in those times, was moving towards independence from Britain. When the war ended, religious violence between Hindus and Muslims had parts of India in flames, and Wavell was replaced by Lord Mountbatten. Wavell returned to England where he died in May 1950.

"Harold Alexander"
Alexander was born into a noble family in London and he attended Sandhurst Royal Military Academy in southern England. Alexander was twice wounded in World War I, and he was given high marks by his superiors. The future field marshal served as a divisional commander in France in 1940 and evacuated with his unit from Dunkirk after the German breakthrough. He was sent to India to help organize defensive measures against the Japanese. Alexander was appointed British Commander-in-Chief Middle East in August 1942, making him newly appointed British 8th Army commander Bernhard Montgomery's superior. In 1943 Alexander became Army Group Commander for North Africa, reporting to General Eisenhower; and then with the same basic set-up for operations in Sicily and Italy. Made Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean and promoted to field marshal in 1944. More composed and far less dramatic then either Montgomery or General Patton, both of whom served under his commands, Alexander was well liked by those who served with him, although Montgomery had a far less favorable opinion of him. After the war he became Governor-General of Canada for the King, and then he became Minister of Defence*** in Churchill's government in the 1950s. Field Marshal Alexander died 1969.

* The County of Essex derives from Old English "East Seaxe" (also written as one word), which means, "East Saxons." The Saxons were one of the major Germanic tribes, from what is now modern northern Germany, who settled in Briton and helped found England. Their Germanic dialect was an essential part of the making of the English language.

** The Boer Wars were fought between the British and Dutch settlers in southern Africa. The Dutch dialects spoken in southern Africa dating back a couple of hundred years developed into what is now classified as a separate language, "Afrikaans." It is naturally very similar to Dutch, and it has many similarities to its other Germanic relatives, especially Frisian, German and English.



*** The American English spelling is "defense."
WORD HISTORY:
Many-This common word goes back to Indo European "monogho," with the notion of "much, many, often." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "managaz," which in turn gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "manig/monig," depending upon dialect. The ending "ig" sound eventually modified to "y." The pronunciation of the base also changed (during the 1200s) as if spelled "meny," although in the related compound "manifold," the original pronunciation remains intact. Common in the other Germanic languages, although I could not find a modern form in Icelandic: German has "manch" and "mannig" (the latter used in compounds, it means "many/multi"); Low German has "männig" and "mannig;" West Frisian has "mannich;" Dutch has "menig;" Norwegian has "mang(e);" Swedish has "mången" and "många;" Danish has "mange."

Allied Leaders of World War Two-Churchill, Part 2

"Churchill and World War Two"

Once Hitler's foreign policy took a much more aggressive turn, and Mussolini became more entangled with Hitler, Churchill dropped any favorable references to either dictator and stepped up his calls for British rearmament. As Hitler scored bloodless victories, even with British complicity in the ceding of the German-populated area of Czechoslovakia,* Churchill heavily criticized the Conservative Party government of Neville Chamberlain for its attempts to appease the German leader. When Hitler pushed matters further by invading Poland on September 1, 1939, Britain (and France) declared war on Germany just a couple of days later. Churchill was returned to his old position as First Lord of the Admiralty, but public dissatisfaction with the government led to Chamberlain's resignation and his replacement with Churchill as Prime Minister in May 1940. Just as Churchill was being elevated to Prime Minister, the largely inactive war on the continent suddenly changed, as all hell broke loose in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, with a German offensive that broke through French lines and trapped the British army, and many Belgian and French troops, along the Channel coast at Dunkirk. While the British successfully evacuated their troops to England, virtually all of their heavy equipment was left on the beaches at Dunkirk. France surrendered a few weeks later and Hitler stood as the master of much of Europe. England, now lacking heavy armaments, faced a possible successful invasion for the first time since 1066, when William, thereafter known as William the Conqueror, successfully defeated the English and King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. While some thought it best to negotiate an end to the war, Churchill was defiant and he rallied the British people with memorable words until their arms could be replenished: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat;" "This was their finest hour;" "We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be... we shall never surrender." While highly sympathetic to the British efforts, the United States remained "officially" neutral, although it increasingly supplied Britain with various necessities and even war materials, bringing it into many diplomatic confrontations with Germany, and eventually, into military actions over German submarine warfare. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in late 1941, Hitler and Mussolini disregarded any common sense they had, and declared war on the United States, bringing Britain a very formidable ally.

Whether Hitler really ever intended to invade England, or if he really had the capability to do so,** has been the subject of historical debate, but his failure to secure air superiority over England during the "Battle of Britain" effectively eliminated the "immediate" threat of invasion. By the summer of 1941 Hitler had turned eastwards and invaded the Soviet Union, and in spite of his anti-communism, Churchill allied Britain with the Soviet Union. Meanwhile in North Africa, the British and Commonwealth forces did battle with a mixed German and Italian force in the sandy and rough terrain of Libya and Egypt. By late October/early November 1942, Allied forces under Bernhard Montgomery inflicted a decisive defeat on the Axis forces under the command of famous German commander, Erwin Rommel. The Allies, including substantial American forces for the first time, then landed behind Rommel's retreating forces in French colonial areas of North Africa. All of this culminated in Axis defeat in North Africa by May 1943.

Next, Churchill and the end of the war.

* The region, known as the "Sudetenland," was given to Hitler by Britain and France at a special conference held in Munich in 1938, without the participation of Czechoslovakia, whose representatives were not even permitted to be in the room.

** An invasion would have required a large number of various landing craft capable of transporting men, artillery, tanks, trucks, supplies, etc. The Germans had a number of river barges available, but they were essentially untested in waters like the English Channel. Further, an invasion force needed naval protection, and the German navy was not all that large. My own opinion is, Hitler neither wanted to invade England, nor did he truly have the capability to do so at that time (summer/fall 1940). Besides, it didn't take him long to shift gears and begin planning what he really desired, the invasion of the Soviet Union.

WORD HISTORY:
Earl-The ancient origins of this word are uncertain, but Old Germanic had "erloz/erlaz," which meant "warrior," and later "chief, leader in war." This gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "eorl," with the same meaning, but later, probably under influence from its Old Norse relative "jarl," its meaning advanced to "nobleman," and later still it was used in England as the equivalent to a "count" in the nobility. The spelling next became "erl," before the modern version, and of course, it also became a fairly common male name. A number of its other Germanic relatives died out long ago, like for instance, Old High German "erl," but Icelandic, Danish and Norwegian still have "jarl," but how much it is used by any or all is unclear to me. Norway produces the popular "Jarlsberg" cheese, named after a district in Norway where it was first made.

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Rommel

"Field Marshal Erwin Rommel"

No doubt about it, this is the most famous German general of World War Two in western Europe and in the United States. Rommel was born in Württemberg, then a kingdom within the German Empire. As an officer in the Alpine troops in World War One, he served primarily in Italy, a country then allied with Britain and France. Rommel remained in the treaty-limited army after the war, where he developed many ideas about tactics for tanks and infantry, which he set down in writing in a couple of books, which became highly popular in military circles inside and outside of Germany.*

About a year before the invasion of Poland, Rommel was named commander of Hitler's personal escort battalion, an army unit which provided protection for Hitler in his military travels. During the war in Poland, Rommel, recently promoted to major-general (Generalmajor), commanded Hitler's military headquarters. When German forces launched their offensive in western Europe, Rommel was in command of a panzer division (the 7th), which was one of the units that helped break through Belgian and French lines to cut off British forces. What was to become Rommel's famed "lead from the front" style, started in this campaign, as he often personally led hard charging attacks that demoralized enemy troops. His division was dubbed "the Ghost Division," since Rommel pushed it so hard, it seemed to burst upon rear area enemy positions from nowhere. The downside was, he was so often right up front, he was out of communication with his command staff, as well as with his superiors.

By early 1941, the defeat of Mussolini's army in Libya (then an Italian colony) by British and Commonwealth forces, brought a German commitment of military forces to help their struggling ally avoid the entire loss of Libya.** Called the "German Africa Corps" (Deutsches Afrikakorps), the corps would become one of the most famous units of the war on any side. Rommel's take charge attitude and his ability to assess a situation to exploit enemy weaknesses, brought a surprise German-Italian offensive success just weeks after his arrival in Libya. The offensive carried the Axis forces back across Libya, clear to the Egyptian border, trapping some Allied forces in the port city of Tobruk. The Allies then launched an attack of their own which broke the siege of Tobruk and caused Rommel to retreat to his original starting point. This was not the end, however, as Rommel launched a new attack of his own in 1942, throwing the Allies back, capturing Tobruk, driving deep into Egypt, and threatening to capture the Suez Canal. Stiffening Allied resistance, lack of supplies and sheer exhaustion halted Rommel's offensive at the little railway station of El Alamein in Egypt. The capture of Tobruk brought Rommel promotion to field marshal by Hitler.

Rommel had met, and was befriended by, Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels in the late 1930s. The desert war captured the imagination of the German public and Goebbels made Rommel a household name throughout Germany and occupied Europe with many newsreels depicting the combat in North Africa. Rommel, by then dubbed "the Desert Fox" (Der Wüstenfuchs***), became a hero to many a German, and a much feared opponent among Allied troops, although the fear also had a certain admiration to it. One British commander was so alarmed by Rommel's reputation with British troops, that he ordered his commanders to quash Rommel's "bogeyman" image among their soldiers.

By late October of 1942, the Allied forces, now under the command of General Bernhard Montgomery, launched a devastating attack on the German-Italian positions in and around El Alamein. After terrible losses of men and equipment, and in spite of Hitler's order to hold his positions,**** Rommel ordered a retreat. Thousands of Axis prisoners were taken by the Allies. Meanwhile, the Americans and British forces landed troops in the French North African colonies of French Morocco and Algeria, which were far to the rear of Rommel's retreating army. Hitler and Mussolini rushed troops to Tunisia, another French colony sandwiched between Rommel's retreating forces in Libya and the Allied forces which had just landed. French resistance to the landings was relatively light, and the struggle then centered on Tunisia. While Rommel inflicted a punishing defeat on the Americans at a place called "Kasserine Pass" in February 1943, the German and Italian forces surrendered in May 1943. The war in North Africa was over.

Rommel was given command of some forces in Greece and then in northern Italy before being transferred to France to take command of the area seen as the most likely for the anticipated Allied invasion. He found the German fortifications wanting, and he immediately set upon a course to strengthen those defenses, especially along the beach areas, as he believed the Allied landing had to be crushed on the beaches as they attempted to land, not after they had already landed. This idea was not universally accepted among other German generals, including Field Marshal von Rundstedt, the overall commander of German forces in western Europe. Rommel wanted all sorts of mines and obstacles along the water's edge to hamper the landings, so that his forces could then finish off the survivors (he also had obstacles placed further inland to prohibit or hamper paratroop or glider landings). He also wanted German armored forces (the Panzer divisions) stationed close to the beaches so that they could quickly be dispatched to mount attacks on any Allied troops who made it ashore, before they could be reinforced. Other generals argued the armor should be kept further back until a definite location of the landings was determined. Remember, the Germans did not know exactly where the Allies would land in France. In the end, there was sort of a compromise, as one Panzer division, interestingly stationed in Normandy (which came to be the site of the invasion), was moved relatively close to the beaches, but others were kept further back. This was complicated by the fact that these divisions could not be committed to any attack without the direct personal permission of the fanatical, ferocious, furious Führer.

On June 6, 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy during a brief lull in a period of bad weather (rain, wind, choppy seas). Rommel was away in Germany for his wife's birthday, having been convinced the Allies would not dare to cross the English Channel under such weather conditions. While some German forces, especially in the area known as "Omaha Beach," put up stout resistance, with Rommel away, the German reaction to the invasion was (thankfully) slow to develop. Hitler and others believed the Normandy landings were a ruse to draw German forces there, to allow an easier major landing somewhat further north. With the Allies having gained a foothold in France, the battle became a slogging match for almost two months; the Germans trying to contain the Allies in Normandy. In mid July, Rommel's car was strafed by Allied aircraft, the car crashed and the field marshal was severely injured. This was the end of Rommel's days of command, as he was hospitalized for quite some time and then sent home to recuperate. Just three days after the strafing of Rommel's car, a bomb, planted by an army officer, Klaus von Stauffenberg, exploded in Hitler's military headquarters in northeastern Germany (Rastenburg, East Prussia). The fanatical, ferocious, furious Führer, now VERY furious, survived the attack, and the Gestapo sought out anyone involved in the slightest way in the plot. Under interrogation and torture, Rommel's name was mentioned a few times by officers in custody, and by October 1944, Hitler dispatched some army officers to Rommel's home in southwestern Germany, where the field marshal was convalescing. Rommel was given the choice of taking his own life, with protections for his wife and son, or of being arrested, put on trial, and then executed, with no protection for his family. He chose to die, and after just a short time to say goodbye to his wife and son, Rommel got into a car accompanied by the other officers. The car traveled a short distance and Rommel took poison. Hitler and the Nazis could ill afford the true story to come out about such a prominent general, so it was announced by the Nazi press that Rommel had died of his wounds. He was given full military honors, and Hitler did keep his word about Rommel's family.*****

After the war, Rommel was held in high regard, even by his former enemies. His eventual opposition to Hitler, which only came out after the war, only enhanced his stature. He is best remembered as "the Desert Fox," during the war in North Africa, a war, that while brutal like all war, was not consumed by hatred, ideology or racism, such as happened in the Soviet Union, especially. Rommel forbade the execution of any captured troops of Jewish heritage or of legitimate Allied commandos, which ran counter to Hitler's orders.

* If you've seen the movie "Patton," you may recall General Patton shouting, upon defeating Rommel's forces in one battle, "Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!!!" While this was only a scene in a movie, it has much truth in it, because many of the successful commanders of the war read the works of military men from other countries in an effort to learn anything and everything they could about strategy and tactics.

** Rommel and the German forces were actually under the overall command of the Italians, which caused some friction, especially due to Rommel's independent personality. In late 1941, a German command structure was implemented for southern Europe and North Africa under the command of Albert Kesselring, but North Africa remained under overall Italian command.

*** German "Wüste," meaning "desert, wasteland," is closely related to English "waste," which we also use in the context of "barren, desert" land in the compound "wasteland." For those studying German, the noun is feminine; thus, "die Wüste," but when combined with the masculine noun "Fuchs" (fox), it becomes "der Wüstenfuchs," as German compounds take the grammatical gender of the last word in compounds. Aren't you glad English gave up using gender a long time ago?

**** In typical Hitlerian nonsense, the fanatical, ferocious, furious Führer ended his order to Rommel to hold fast with, "Ihrer Truppe aber können Sie keinen anderen Weg zeigen als den zum Siege oder zum Tod." (You can but show your troops no other path than the one to victory or death.")

***** Rommel was never all that involved in the plot to actually kill Hitler. He wanted Hitler arrested and put on trial for Germans to see the criminality of the nutcase-in-chief, and so as not to make the fanatical, ferocious, furious Führer a martyr. The major plotters decided that a live Hitler, even one under arrest, would be too much of a threat to German unity, as fanatical Nazis would resist, possibly bringing about a civil war. They wanted and needed someone of Rommel's stature to aid them with the German public, once Hitler, and hopefully SS Chief Himmler, and or Hitler's designated successor, Hermann Göring, had been killed.

WORD HISTORY:
Arm (2)-This is the noun meaning "weapon," which is more commonly used in the plural, "arms." This goes back to Indo European "ar," which had the notion of "fit or join together." This gave its Latin offspring^ "arma," which meant "tools, tools of war; thus, 'weapons.' " Old French, a Latin-based language, had "armes," which was then borrowed into English with the same spelling during the early 1200s. It was a couple of hundred years before the English spelling "arms" developed. The verb form, meaning "to supply or equip with weapons," was borrowed in the 1200s from French "armer," which traces back to Latin "armare," a derived form of "arma," mentioned above. In English the verb was initially spelled "armen," before the modern spelling.

^ Latin is an Indo European language related to English, but further down the family tree, although English and many other non Latin-based languages have borrowed much vocabulary either directly from Latin or from one of the Latin-based languages; in the case of English, from French.

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Kesselring

"Field Marshal Albert Kesselring"

Kesselring was born in Lower Franconia (Unterfranken), now a part of Bavaria. German uses the name "Albert," but also the variant, "Albrecht," and I "believe" Kesselring used that second form. He served in World War One and remained in the treaty-restricted army after the war. Not long after Hitler became chancellor of Germany, Kesselring became involved in German aviation, then restricted by the Versailles Treaty to non military use, but in reality, this was evolving into the "Luftwaffe," or airforce, although it didn't come out from under cover until a couple of years later. He learned to fly during this period, when a middle-aged man, and he moved up through the ranks of the expanding Luftwaffe, serving in several different command positions.

The invasion of Poland in September 1939 found Kesselring as commander of a "Luftflotte"* (air fleet) supporting the German attack. He was then transferred to a similar command for the offensive in western Europe the following spring, the successful conclusion of which brought him promotion to field marshal. His air units were then committed to what became known as the "Battle of Britain," after which he and his units were transferred to Poland for the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, where they scored many victories over the Red Air Force during the drive toward Moscow.

The joint German-Italian military operations in North Africa in 1941 against the British and Commonwealth forces there had opened a whole new theater of operations in the Mediterranean area, and Kesselring was sent to assume the command of all German ground, air and naval forces in this southern theater in late 1941, and as such, he was Rommel's superior. Kesselring remained in command in southern Europe and the Mediterranean through the defeats in North Africa, the invasion of Sicily, and the invasion of Italy, although his strategic decisions and the tenacious defense put up by his forces earned him high marks, even among his Allied opponents.** In the fall of 1944, Kesselring was severely injured in an auto accident, which kept him out of service until early 1945. Hitler had such confidence in Kesselring, he pulled him out of Italy in the spring of 1945 and made him commander of the German forces in western Germany. When the Western Allies met the Soviets in eastern Germany, cutting the German forces in two, Kesselring was made commander of the forces in the southern part.

Kesselring surrendered to the Americans and later was put on trial for war crimes a couple of years later. During the German withdrawal up the boot of Italy, some Italians, encouraged by the Allies, joined a resistance movement and attacked German facilities and personnel. The Germans took reprisals, including the execution of prisoners and Jews.*** Jews were also used as forced labor to build German fortifications.**** Kesselring was found guilty and sentenced to death, but some Allied military leaders came to his defense, arguing that Kesselring had fought a tough, but fair, war. That seems to be the case, but remember, the charges against him were not about "battle crimes," but crimes committed behind the front lines, largely against Italian civilians. Eventually the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, but his supporters, many of them military people in Britain, continued to press for his early release, which happened in 1952 when he had throat cancer. He released a couple of books he had been working on during his imprisonment, and he argued that the average German soldier should not have been lumped in with true war criminals. He also said and wrote that his orders against Italian civilians were not war crimes, a position which was highly controversial, especially in Italy. Kesselring died in 1960 in the German state of Hessen, in western Germany.

* A German "Luftflotte" typically contained 500 to 1500 aircraft of all types, depending upon their mission.

** Kesselring's command was always secondary to the operations against the Soviet Union, which consumed huge amounts of men and resources, and then was later moved further down the list, as the Germans prepared for an Allied invasion of France.

*** While Italy is not a country many associate with Jews, due to its Catholic tradition, Rome especially had a Jewish population dating back many centuries.

**** To Kesselring's credit, he did not permit the destruction of many ancient Italian sites and artifacts, in fact, he went out of his way to have such things protected. Later, he generally did not accept Hitler's orders to destroy German infrastructure.

WORD HISTORY:
Arm (1)-This is the noun for the body part, although "arm," meaning "weapon," is from the same ancient source, but with a different history thereafter (more in the next installment). It goes back to Indo European "ar," which had the notion of "fit or join together." This then produced a variant, "arem/aram," with the meaning "arm," which has remained for all of these centuries, although this is not surprising for such a prominent body part. This gave its Old Germanic offspring "armaz, which in turn gave its offspring, Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "earm," and then the modern spelling. Common throughout the other Germanic languages: German and Low German "Arm," Dutch "arm," West Frisian "earm," Icelandic "armur," Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish "arm."

The German Question, Part One Hundred Forty-Six

"Hitler Rules Germany" Part Two/C
"Germany In World War Two" Part Two/F/3
"Germany Versus the Soviet Union" Part Three
"The German Tide Ebbs"

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (then a U.S. territory, not a state). President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Congress agreed to a declaration of war on Japan. Roosevelt had been trying to help Britain as much as possible, without getting the U.S. directly involved in the war, by sending material aid to the British. Before Pearl Harbor, the American public was split over possible American involvement in the war. Hitler solved the issue of American participation in the war against Germany by declaring war on the United States on December 11 at a session of the Reichstag. Always the racist, Hitler didn't seem to realize that he was bringing a formidable foe into the war against him. Various statements indicated he believed Americans could not fight well, because they were such a mixture of ethnic and racial groups. Such nonsense helped to hasten his demise. Mussolini followed suit with a declaration of war by Italy on the United States. It wasn't long before heavily armed convoys were transporting American troops and war equipment to Britain.

In North Africa, Rommel's German and Italian forces faced a new British commander, Bernard Montgomery, and "Monty" launched a major offensive against Rommel in late October 1942, in what became the last part of the El Alamein battle. After terrible losses of men and equipment, and in spite of Hitler's order to hold his positions, Rommel ordered a retreat. Thousands of Axis prisoners were taken by the Allies. Meanwhile, the Americans and British forces landed troops in the French North African colonies of French Morocco and Algeria, which were behind Rommel's retreating army. Hitler and Mussolini rushed troops to Tunisia, another French colony sandwiched between Rommel's retreating forces in Libya and the Allied forces which had just landed. French resistance to the landings was relatively light, and the struggle then centered on Tunisia. While Rommel inflicted a punishing defeat on the Americans at a place called "Kasserine Pass" in February 1943, the German and Italian forces surrendered in May 1943. This now left Italy vulnerable to attack.

In the Soviet Union, Hitler's stalled capture of Stalingrad gave the Soviets time to gather fresh troops north and south of the city. In mid November 1942 they struck, breaking through primarily overwhelmed Rumanian lines and trapping a large German, and a smaller Rumanian force, in and around Stalingrad. By early February 1943, the remaining encircled forces surrendered to the Soviets. During the overall Soviet operations that winter, the whole southern sector of the Axis front was pummeled, and a Hungarian army and an Italian army, besides two Rumanian armies and a German army were essentially destroyed. The Germans did not stabilize the front until February/March 1943, but they had lost virtually all of their gains from the previous summer. Although there would still be much intense fighting, Hitler's days were numbered.

WORD HISTORY:
Ebb-This word, closely related to "off," goes back to Indo European "apo," which meant "off, away (from)." This gave Old Germanic "ab," with the same meaning, and from that Old Germanic developed "abjon," with the meaning "tide flowing away, tide flowing 'off' from shore;" thus, "low tide." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "ebba," which later dropped the ending "a." The figurative use to mean "decline of someone or something" was already in use in the 1300s. There are various forms present in the other Germanic languages: German has "Ebbe," Low German Saxon has "Ebben," West Frisian has "ebbe," Dutch "eb," Icelandic has "ebbið" (=ebbith), Swedish has "ebb," Norwegian has "ebbe" and Danish has "ebbe." Some of the Germanic languages still retain a verb form, English being one of those, and in Old English it was "ebbian." Dutch has "ebben."

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."