Erwin Rommel

Erwin Rommel, who lived from 1891 to 1944, was a German field marshal who served in both World Wars and became known as the Desert Fox for his leadership of German forces in North Africa; historians continue to debate the extent of his personal allegiance to the Nazi Party as opposed to loyalty to Hitler individually. From 1941 to 1943 he commanded the Afrika Korps and later Panzer Army Africa against British forces in Libya and Egypt, earning respect even among his adversaries for his tactical skill in engagements including the Siege of Tobruk, the Battle of Gazala and the Second Battle of El Alamein, where he was ultimately defeated by Bernard Montgomery. In 1944 he took command of Army Group B in Normandy, overseeing preparations of the Atlantic Wall defenses ahead of the Allied invasion. Later that year he became implicated in the July 20 plot to assassinate Hitler, and rather than face a public trial and execution he was compelled to take his own life by cyanide poisoning on October 14, 1944, after which German authorities gave him a state funeral and falsely attributed his death to wounds from an earlier strafing attack. Rommel remains historically significant as a skilled strategist whose reputation crossed national lines, and his case continues to shape debates over military ethics and what historians call the Rommel myth.