Gen. Rommel

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Rommel, pronounced RAW muhl, Erwin (1891-1944), a German field marshal, was one of the most brilliant generals of World War II. He led the Afrika Korps, and his clever tactics earned him the nickname of The Desert Fox. But in 1942, he was stopped by British forces in Egypt.

In 1944, Rommel led some of the troops that opposed the Allied invasion of Normandy. After he recognized the significance of the superiority of the Allied air forces, he reported to Adolf Hitler that it was futile for Germany to continue the war. He was implicated in the plot to kill Hitler in July 1944. Rommel was given his choice of trial or poison. He chose death by poison. Rommel was born in Heidenheim.

Contributor: Donald M. McKale, Ph.D., Class of 1941 Memorial Prof. of History, Clemson Univ.