ROMMEL - THE DESERT FOX

BOOK REVIEW

ON

ROMMEL - THE DESERT FOX

1.            Introduction

a.         Name of the Book                 -           Rommel - The Desert Fox

b.         Name of the Author               -           Brigadier General Desmond Young

c.         Name/Address of the           -           Natraj Publishers, Publication Division,                 the Publisher                                            Dehra Dun

            d.         First Indian Edition                -           2006

            e.         Number of Pages                  -           288

            f.          Number of Chapters -           11

2.         About the Author.   The author of this book, Brigadier General Desmond Young, fought against Rommel in North Africa, was captured by him, and after his release at the end of the war visited Rommel’s family and talked with many of his fellow officers. Thus, he is able to tell us about intrigues that went on in the German High Command during the war, he is able to give a blow by blow description of El-Alamein, and he is able to give personal anecdotes about Rommel and to sort out the facts from the legends that have sprung up around this extraordinary general.

3.         Comments on the Contents

a.         Gen Comments.      This book is the classic biography of the man who masterminded the great turnabout in North Africa in Second World War, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, Commander of the German Afrika Korps. .

b.         Book Addressed To.         The book is basically addressed to the students of military history.

c.         The Book.     The author has personally interviewed various people close to Rommel including his family members and jotted down the facts.

4.         General Comments on the Chapters

a.         Chapter1- Benghazi (Return).     In this chapter the author describes the events of 1939 to 1941 and how the circumstances were made which led to disaster in Cyrenaica and made Rommel to enter North Africa.  

b.         Chapter 2 – “Our Friend Rommel”.       The author explains the personality of Rommel in this chapter by describing different events of Rommel’s life including World War-I and views of few people around him. The author wants readers to form opinion of their own about Rommel.

c.         Chapter 3 – Between Two Wars.            This chapter deals with Rommel’s life after First World War telling about Captain Rommel’s re-posting to 124^th Infantry at Weingarten after the war in 1918 until he became Major General in August 1939 and posted to the staff of the Fuhrer’s headquarters and air attacks upon Poland.

d.         Chapter 4 – Ghost Division.        In this chapter the author tells the events starting from 1940 when Rommel was given the command of 7^th Panzer Division at Godesberg and he crossed frontiers south of Liege and actions of this division thereafter until it was withdrawn after capture of 97,468 prisoners.

e.         Chapter 5 – None So Blind.         The chapter describes the events once the ‘OP Sea Lion’ was launched and gives accounts of conference held between Hitler and Mussolini describing bringing of three Italian divisions in Tripoli. The chapter also includes the event of entrance of German troops in Libya on February 15, 1941.

f.          Chapter 6 – Desert Ups and Downs.    The chapter explains the graph of Rommel’s fortune in North Africa including rise of his victory in April 1941 followed by a small decline for his failure to capture Tobruk on May 1^st. Comments of various military personals on Rommel’s military acumen are also included in this chapter. ‘Op Crusader’ has also been discussed in the end of this chapter. 

g.         Chapter 7 – To The Gates Of Alexandria.         This chapter describes how Rommel assumed his offensive again after his withdrawl in January 1941 until the fall of Tobruk and how Rommel came upto the El Alamein line where Alexandria was 65 miles away.           

h.            Chapter – 8 – Such Was The Enemy.   The author describes becoming of Rommel as Field Marshal at the age of 50 and also gives an account of Rommel’s habits, behaviour, attitude, dealing with his men and enemy and how he used to appreciate the difficult situations.        

j.          Chapter 9 – The End In Africa.    The chapter deals with the Operations held at El Alamein in detail and how Rommel lost his campaign in North Africa after a series of his successes in this theatre.

k.         Chapter 10 – The Atlantic Wall.   The author in this chapter writes about the appointment of Rommel as Commander Army Group B in Northern Italy.  He also writes about the difference of opinions of Rommel with other commanders on various decisions.

l.          Chapter 11 – A Pitiless Destiny. The chapter covers the events which led to the death of Rommel and his involvement in a conspiracy against Hitler.

5.         Opinion About the Book. The book is an excellent biography of Rommel explaining his achievements in his military campaign in North Africa. It also covers the military operations conducted in North Africa by Rommel and affects of Rommel’s personality on those operations. The best part of this book is the inclusion of comments and letters written by various military commanders who remained with Rommel at various occasions.

6.            Recommendations. The book gives good account of the biography of Rommel as well as the operations conducted in North African Theatre in World War-II. The book also gives an idea of conduct of armour operations in desert, hence recommended for study by students of military history as well as military tactics.