May 13: We had a great success near Sollum yesterday. We chased the British sixty miles into Egyptian territory and took quite some booty, including five artillery pieces, and shot down two Hurricanes. At Tobruk the usual fire. I wonder whether they will try to hold the fortress. Now that their attempt to relieve the garrison failed, I believe that they will continue to hold out. I wish I had more air and naval support.
General Gariboldi awarded him Italy's highest decoration, the Commander's Cross of the Crown of Savoy, and Rommel reciprocated a few days afterward with the awarding to Gariboldi of the Iron Cross 11 and I class.
After several more days in which the British failed to come to the rescue of their beleaguered garrison, the general wrote:
May 18: Dearest Lu: Sunday! A critical week has passed. Our mastery of this difficult crisis is very gratifying to me and the troops. We had considerable losses at some points. The first enemy attempt to relieve Tobruk can be regarded as thwarted. The situation inside Tobruk has turned precarious. Yet the enemy troops at Tobruk give an excellent account of themselves and are superior to us in training. With our present means we cannot take Tobruk by force.
At his request General Streich, commander of the 5th Light Division, was relieved of his command. He told his wife that the man was not up to the job and bemoaned the death of one of his generals at Tobruk and the wounding of another.
Rommel watched the German airborne attack on Crete in the latter days of May with crossed fingers. If successful, he believed, a Luftwaffe based on the island would force Tobruk's capitulation and would dominate the air over the coastal region. Further, it would shorten the long overland supply route by allowing his stores to be delivered to ports nearer to his operations. The bulk of his supplies were being ferried across the Mediterranean by Italian transports to Tripoli, requiring an onerous trek of over 1,000 miles to the front. Elements of the 15th Panzer Division were arriving.
May 23: On/v this afternoon, after my return from Bardia and Sollum, have I had the chance to write you. There is good leadership upfront, and there are fresh reserves in case we run into trouble. Many worries, much work forme, little man! However, if we succeed in taking Crete our battle here will be much easier.
May 26: Dearest Lu: Last night I received quite a censure from Berlin from the Army High Command-the reason for which is hevond my comprehension. It would seem that my reports about the actual situation over here do not quite suit the eminent gentlemen up there. The result is over here we will become taciturn and report on/v the absolutely necessary. All in all it is rather quiet here as well as at the front near Sollum. Up there, however, you can never tell whether it isn't the calm that precedes the storm.
The general gloried in the news that the Germans were doing well in the battle for Crete, and that the British battleship Hood was sunk. He wrote: "I hope other Hoods will follow."
He captured the important Halfaya Pass, five miles south of Sollum and with it considerable booty. He ordered strong points built along the Egyptian border. Rommel had his workshops recondition artillery pieces that were left behind by the Italians during their rout the previous year. When the Italians learned of the reconditioning, they protested that the weapons were Italian property and were to be used only by Italians. The Fox ignored the protest on the grounds that his allies had made no efforts of their own to recondition the weapons.
May 31: The day started well. As I was having breakfast in my tent, an enemy vessel was sighted about a half mile to a mile away along the coast. It had apparently lost its course during the night. Soon our fighters were above her, but the fellow still fired his machine guns. A few minutes, later, however, the gasoline on the ship started burning. Ten minutes later the crate blew up with a terrific explosion. I took pictures, of course. It carried mines, ammunition, drinking water, and soap for Tobruk. It verifies that drinking water is a scarce article in Tobruk. Once Crete is fully occupied and our airforces start operating from there, Tobruk will have a tough time. Then they will have to capitulate.
Rommel sent his chief of staff to Berlin to plead for supplies and reinforcements and was anxious to hear his report. The naval commander assured him he was working night and day to cut the British shipments to Tobruk.
The temperature rose to 107 degrees, and in the tanks, if standing in the sun, it hit 160.
June 7: Our positions in the Sollum area look good and are getting better every day.
June 10: Started out early this morning for a visit to Derna. I took the opportunity to visit the wounded and ill. I was glad to find only a few serious cases. The many cases of dysentery are not had.
June 11: The British took off forty miles into the desert, and I don 't know whether that is just a defensive measure or preparation for an attack.
Actually the move presaged an attack. On June 15 the British opened the battle for Sollum, an epic slugging match.
June 18: The end of the three-day battle was complete victory. I am going upfront to the troops now to thank them and give them further orders.
June 22: There is tremendous joy in the ranks of the Africa fighters over the latest victors'. The British thought they could crush us with 400 tanks of the heaviest type. We could not put an equivalent armored force against that. Our grouping, however, and the fierce determination of our German and Italian troops, who had been encircled for days, enabled us to operate decisively with all the mobile forces left at our disposal. Now the enemy may try again. He will get an even hotter reception.
In this battle the British had used many of their big Matilda tanks. They were heavily armored but were slow and mounted with only a small-caliber gun with a limited range. Rommel was able to capitalize on these deficiencies by outmaneuvering the Matildas with his faster tanks.
June 23: During the recent battle we destroyed 237 enemy tanks. The very strong armored contingent (about 400 tanks) escaped from the battle with only /0 or 12 operationally fit tanks. Two Italian corps will now be placed under my command, making me automatically an army commander. Quite a nice position at my age! The gentlemen at the Army High Command want me to bear the responsibility. I bear it gladly.
June 29: We must expect the British to make another try before long, especially while we are tied up in Russia. I am preparing thoroughly for the next encounter. Churchill admitted to the House of Commons: "The battle of Sollum from the 15th to the 17th of June was a painful affair. " If that fellow is driven to such an admission it must have been quite a success.
A few days later Rommel was promoted to General der Panzertruppen (General of Armored Forces) and wrote: "I understand from Lieutenant Berndt, who visited him, that I owe my rapid promotion to the Fuhrer. I also understand that he will present me with two or three splendid cars. You can imagine how happy I am." He regretted that they could not celebrate his promotion together.
July 8: Some cad in Berlin must have said that I attempted to incite the Arabs against the Italians since I received a telegram to that effect from Field Marshal Keitel. That is a vicious rumor. We have a clear conscience.
Rommel had, in fact, earlier asked the Italian High Command to order their men to treat the Arabs with respect. The Duce's soldiers consorted with Arab women- to the great annoyance of the Arab men-and the Fox feared an armed rebellion might develop behind his lines.
In the next weeks, as Rommel waited for the enemy to attack again, his letters show him inspecting the front, complaining about the heat and the mosquitoes and rather unhappy to exchange direct control of his Afrika Korps, for whose troops he had a great affection, for command of an army. "They want to kick me upstairs one flight, but / question very much whether this can be done without jeopardizing the efficiency of the Korps," he wrote. Then while on a trip to a conference in Italy he was taken ill with jaundice, from which he never fully recovered. The front was quiet as both sides refitted and reshuffled their forces, so quiet that Rommel found time to mention this: "Unfortunately / had to kill two bedbugs this morning." And the following day:
"Nothing new. Terribly hot day and night. Finished offour more bugs."
In the desert there was a hiatus in the battle. Rommel commented several times on the oppressive temperature, the consuming thirst developed on long desert trips and during the night tossing and turning and dripping with sweat. He observed that the tanks got so hot they could not be touched: We are literally steaming along these days. My recent swift promotion has lifted me above the rank of many colleagues and created much jealousy."
IN THE QUIET STAR-RICH DESERT NIGHT THE FATHERLAND SOLDIERS SANG the haunting "Lily Marlene." The Tommies heard the strains wafting through the still darkness and translated the lyrics into English, and the song was sung on both sides through the rest of the desert war.
Toward the end of the month Rommel engaged in a testy correspondence with Brauchitsch. Some of the officers he relieved had protested his action to the commander in chief of the German Army. "Naturally," he wrote, "I am defending nay skin."
There followed conferences in Europe and a short visit at home. Returning to Africa, he stopped in Rome.
August 6: Arrived safely. Unfi)rtunately I had to get busy right away. In the evening / was invited to the German ambassador's and today I am with the Italians. Today is a big day. I must keep my head at all cost. I hope everything will go well, especially with Mussolini.
In the succeeding days Rommel was ill with jaundice and the doctors put him on a diet. An aide reported to his wife that he ought to be in bed, but instead he visited the front in Egypt preparatory to moving his command post, and at Tobruk an Italian corps headquarters was put under his command, the troops to follow shortly.
On August 15 his letterhead changed to Panzer Group Afrika.
August 15: Started my new job! Far, far from the front!
August 16: Issued imv first "Army Order" yesterday. My new position puts me in the ranks of army commanders.... My new staff is much more numerous than the old one, which enables me to work more efficiently. It is natural, though, that the German Afrika Korps is still very close to my heart.
His new staff was beginning to click, and he was particularly pleased with his new chief of staff, "with whom I agree in every respect."
On the jaundice diet for two weeks, he was "already sick of the constant mush" and decided he would have the chicken that was scheduled for dinner. He put heavy wear and tear on his flyswatter, but was not having trouble with fleas as some of his compatriots were. With his new responsibilities, he believed he would attain the rank of colonel general after the war if matters went well in Africa.
August 23: Today is the last day at this location. I will be glad to be nearer the front again. One can exercise more influence on events.
August 28: I returned from another visit to the front and hope soon to receive the supplies we so urgently need ...
The next several letters reveal the German much concerned about his supplies and increasingly displeased with his Latin allies.
August 31: The Italian High Command is dissatisfied with the fact that they have so little to say around here. They annoy us with petty things. But we don't take their guff They maybe trying to create an incident in order to get all German troops over here relieved. I would object very little to a change in the theater of war.
September 2: Yesterday I was in bed with a bad stomach, a headache, and a little fever, but I am all right today. Good news continues to come from Russia. The ring around Leningrad is closing and will then be tightened. The fall of Kiev is only a matter of days. What a pity that I can't be there but have to wait around here!
Recovered from his short illness, Rommel daily toured the front and checked on the regrouping that had been under way, and reports to "Dearest Lu" that "it was really dusty and to top it off it also ghiblied." On the other hand, during periods of heavy rainfall the roads seemed bottomless.
He was pleased with his efficient chief of staff and, everlastingly starved for supplies, sent him on a foraging mission to Rome.
September 7: Now, as superior commander, I benefit from the support of the General Staff in our planning.
Allied planes continued to wreak havoc with Axis shipping, and he griped that "quite a bit of mail has gone to the bottom of the sea."
September 10: We expect an important visitor today, Major Melchiori, the representative of the Duce. We don't let them take the butter from our bread, and we frequently talk to them in no uncertain terms.
Melchiori presented the general with the award of the Military Order of Savoia.
September 13: This morning I am going upfront with the la [operations officer]. We intend to stay two or three days.
And then to ease his wife's worries, he added, tongue in cheek, "Farbehind the lines, of course."
During this inspection he put the finishing touches on his plans for a drive against Egypt. In the rush, he wrote on September 16:
I did not get around to writing you. Everything went veryfast and the British staged an exemplary retreat over forty miles on our front. Only occasionally did they make it unpleasant for us with their aerial bombs. Unfortunately our planes were not around.
September 17: The chief of staff returned today from his visit to Rome and brought back a host of good news and apologies. . .. There will be a lot of work during the next eight weeks. Our ally will have to be prodded continually in order to make him work the way we want for successful cooperation. It is necessary over here to fight for everything you need, and the battle with officials is often more difficult than the battle against the enemy.
Again his wife was told how well pleased he was with his staff, but he lamented that too many of the high-ranking General Staff officers were ill and others needed a rest. He fretted that if they all "go lame" he wouldn't know how to carry on: "The war over here wears out people fast."
The German communique announcing the capture of 380,000 prisoners east of Kiev delighted him. He avidly studied the High Command communiques on the eastern front and told his wife that when Russia was conquered his supply difficulties would be solved. Until then he had to be satisfied to play second fiddle.
September 27: 1 am very much on the go these days visiting especially the Italian units, which particularly need continual supervision. A special announcement was just made, indicating that 665,000 PWs were taken east of Kiev. That's something to talk about. Even the Russian bear cannot stand such a drain in the long run.
He was gladdened by the arrival of a large convoy with supplies, the unloading of which took fifty hours:
In the present situation in the Mediterranean it is not easy to get things through. For the moment we are stepchildren and must be satisfied with that role. On the other hand the progress in Russia is good. Later we'll be on top again. The health of the troops is improving. There are many cases of jaundice, which, however, pass harmlessly.
His faith in Hitler was still intact, which can be noted in his letter of October 4:
I am sure you listened to the Fiihrer's speech yesterday. That will remind our enemies what they must reckon with!
October 6: 1 could not write yesterday as my stomach went on strike again. The night before we had a chicken that must have been from the coop of Ramses II. Despite six hours of cooking the beast was as tough as shoe leather and my stomach rebelled.
After heated conferences with high-ranking Italian officers three days later, Rommel berated his allies: "I never did have a high opinion of our colleagues. They remain the old good for-nothings they've always been."
His views on the international situation at this time were expressed to "Dearest Lu" as follows:
The news from Russia is very pleasing, it is quite possible that the advance to the east will be very swift and make it impossible for the enemy to build a new line of defense. The British workers seem to be getting restless, and the Communist influence [is] spreading. England would like to attack, but she does not have the necessary troops and means fora large-scale landing on continental European soil. In Russia she will be too late
if she chooses the only open route via India, and to attack in Libya would be a risk with immediate repercussions in Russia. Once we have taken Tobruk they won't stand a chance here any more.
He received pleasing news from the publisher of Infanterie Greift An concerning the royalties he would receive. He told his wife the news and instructed her to inquire about the train schedules to Rome and to bring along his brown civilian suit.
During the remainder of the month Rommel planned operations against Tobruk. He then flew to Italy for conferences and to celebrate with his wife his fiftieth birthday, which fell on November 15. In Naples with Lucie, he was informed that five Italian freighters laden with supplies for his forces had been sunk when the escorting Italian flotilla of twelve ships deserted them upon discovering that a British fleet had put out from Malta to give battle. In a rage he rushed to Rome, so angry that on the trip he spoke not a word to his wife or entourage. Meeting with the Fascist leader, he demanded that the Italian commander be court-martialed and another five ships promptly dispatched.
The Duce's reaction to the general's furious diatribe was a helpless shrug. Although Rommel had hoped to launch a major attack against the British in September, by the end of that month he had received only a seventh of the supplies he calculated he needed and only a third of the troop reinforcements, amounts the High Command agreed were at best only the necessary minimum. Hence they favored delaying the campaign until the following year. With Allied dominance in the air and on the sea increasing daily, the race against time with the British was running in favor of the enemy. Of this Rommel was acutely aware. The primary reason for his trip to Rome was to persuade his superiors to grant approval to launch the attack in November.
Discovering the Rommel Murder Page 7
