Just who was Erwin Rommel?
War hero or war criminal? Hitler flunky or man of integrity? Military genius or just lucky?
Now, bestselling military historian Samuel W. Mitcham Jr. gets to the heart of the mysterious figure respected and even admired by the people of the Allied nations he fought against. Mitcham recounts Rommel’s improbable and meteoric military career, his epic battles in North Africa, and his fraught relationship with Hitler and the Nazi Party. Desert Fox: The Storied Military Career of Erwin Rommel reveals:
• How Rommel’s victories in North Africa were sabotaged by Hitler’s incompetent interference
• How Rommel burned orders telling him to commit war crimes
• Why it wouldn’t have helped Patton if he really had read Rommel’s book
• How Rommel was responsible for the Germans’ defense against the D-Day landing
• Why the plot to overthrow Hitler was fatally compromised when Rommel was gravely injured in an Allied attack
• The reason Rommel agreed to commit suicide after his part in the plot was discovered by Hitler
Mitcham’s gripping account of Rommel’s life takes you through the amazing adventure of the World War II battles in North Africa. Again and again, Rommel outfoxed the Allies—until the war of attrition and Hitler’s blunders doomed the Axis cause. Illustrated with dozens of historical photos, this illuminating biography paints a fascinating and tragic picture of the man known as the Desert Fox.
“The complexities of Rommel are deftly explored in this new book. The author looks into the facts and myths surrounding the Desert Fox, his relationship with Hitler, and how he often tried to serve honorably under a regime bent on wickedness.”
“Samuel Mitcham has written an accessible and comprehensive introduction to Erwin Rommel....”
“Looks beyond the mythology of ‘the Desert Fox’ into the varied realities of the man as well as the general.”
“Samuel Mitcham has penned a meticulous biography of the man who is the best remembered of Germany’s wartime military leaders—and arguably the best.”
