The British, though, had a surprise for the Swabian. In fact, they had two. First, they beat him to the punch. On the night of November 17-18 they launched a major attack against his forces. Second, their intelligence service thought they had located his headquarters and, looking for a knockout blow, landed a dozen commandos by submarine far behind the lines to kill orcapture him. In the resulting fray several Germans were killed or wounded and one British officer was killed before the Tommies retreated. The building had in fact been occupied earlier by Rommel but was being used by the quartermaster and his staff at the time of the attack.
Further thwarting the success of the daring plan was the British unawareness that, while Rommel had left Italy on the 17th, his plane was forced to turn back when an engine failed. Again in the air, he had first flown to Athens, where he had business, before continuing on to Africa, not arriving at his actual headquarters until hours after the failed commando mission.
Told of the incident, Rommel was puzzled that the British would send a team to kill him so far behind the lines. Didn't they realize that he commanded from much closer to the front?
November 20: The battle is at its height right now.
November 23: The battle seems to have passed through the worst crisis. It is going well now. I am in a very good mood and confident. Knocked out over 200 enemy tanks thus far. Our lines have held.
His letter of the 27th:
The battle has been raging in the desert since the l8th and also at Tobruk and Sollum. I think we are through the worst and the battle will be of major importance for our eventual victory. Personally, I am well. I have been in the desert without toiletries for the last four days leading our counterattack, which is coming along splendidly.
He mentioned that it was their twenty-fifth anniversary and said he felt it was not necessary to tell her how well they had gotten along. He thanked her for the love and kindness and thought of their son, who was a source of great pride to him and who he felt would go far in life.
While the Swabian mentioned his lack of toiletries, he did not tell his family he had been sleeping on a pile of hay in a captured British truck, living on a can of old drinking water and a few cans of food.
November 29: The battle seems to be going fine. I suppose the decision will be reached today. I am full of confidence.
His forward command post was then set up at Gambut, a dirty, fly-infested town between Tobruk and Sollum where the two big battles would be fought. The town also housed, in well-camouflaged buildings, his efficient repair shops, which maintained a large inventory of spare parts for his tanks and trucks and were capable of restoring within days those damaged in battle. With the aid of heavy tackle, bogged-down vehicles were quickly winched free. All through the desert fighting Rommel's recovery system, superior to the enemy's, had been a major asset to his efforts.
November 30: The battle is still raging and it is taking every effort to win it. The prospects are favorable, but the troops are dog tired after these twelve days. I am well.
After the war General Fritz Bayerlein. Rommel's chief of staff at the time, pointed out an illuminating aspect of Rommel's gifted generalship. Obliged by his inferior tank numbers and an unreliable Latin partner, the Fox was forced to develop stratagems to offset these handicaps. Whereas British tactics called for the commitment of their armored brigades in separate units, Rommel would mass his armor into one powerful striking force and overwhelm his opponent's formations one after the other until, in essence, the entire enemy striking force had been wiped out.
In the course of this fighting, as confusion reigned, which was characteristically endemic to most battle situations but particularly so in desert warfare, units of both sides became intermingled. In the murky situation, Rommel raced from one formation to another, often cutting through the British lines, goading his troops on and solving crisis after crisis. Finding himself unexpectedly in a New Zealand field hospital, he had an Englishspeaking officer promise more medical supplies, beating a hasty escape before the occupants realized who had been in their midst.
On other occasions he was chased by British cars but evaded capture. In one such instance, a foray in search of an enemy dump was sighted by an RAF plane, which dropped a bomb. The driver was killed and Rommel, protected by his lucky star, only lost a heel off one of his boots.
December I : Yesterday's day of battle was also a successful one. I hope to advance another big step today.
December 2: Yesterday we succeeded in destroying the remnants of one, or perhaps two, British divisions at Tobruk. The tension has thus been eased, but if 1 know the British, they won't quit yet.
Not only did they not quit, but they developed an irritating habit of concentrating artillery fire on Rommel's observation posts. To put an end to this practice, he sawed down several miles of telephone poles and erected a large number of observation towers, replete with fully clothed straw observers who were manipulated by strings from nearby holes and periodically ascended and descended. After pouring their shells at these towers for several days, demolishing some, the enemy gave up the unprofitable targets and Rommel sent up live observers to scan the front unmolested.
The RAF, trying to lop off the serpent's head, located and bombed Rommel's headquarters. He and his chief of staff dove into slit trenches to wait out the wave of attacks.
Rommel's men were so weary that many slept while walking. To boost their morale for one more big effort, he issued a proclamation detailing some results of the battle, informing his men it had been successfully fought to its first conclusion, that they had destroyed over 800 tanks and armored cars and 127 aircraft and had taken 9,000 prisoners and tremendous amounts of booty. There remained only the final knockout blow.
December 4: The past night was disturbed by enemy air raids. The staff and I are all right, so far as we can make out. lam moving! Let's hope the new place will be quieter.
December 5: The battle continues. As it moved farther to the West, it forced us last night to completely regroup.
December 6: (Orderly's letter) The present fighting takes up all of the general's time. We hope to clean up these attackers as we did the last ones. It will be difficult though, as their superiority is very great.
The letter goes on to say they had moved to a small gully where the vehicles were well camouflaged and could not be easily spotted by aircraft. Of some chickens that had been presented to Rommel, they still had two that were not destined for the pot but were carried along as mascots.
December 8: 1 am well despite the last hard days. Traveling much. Situation difficult.
The next day, after a three-week period of mutual butchering, characterized by the exchange of countless thousands of artillery shells and the Germans burying their fallen in hastily dug graves alongside the trenches during lulls in the fighting, Rommel, for want of sufficient strength, broke off the offensive. Dejected, he wrote home:
In view of the poor combat efficiency of the Italian units, but also due to the severely weakened German troops, I had to abandon the battle for Tobruk. I hope we can escape encirclement by the enemy and hold Cyrenaica. lam in good health, but you can imagine what I must endure these days.
He expected the week ahead to be difficult but assured "Dearest Lu" that he was in good health and approached his tasks with full vigor. He said he did not expect a decision in the battle to be reached for another two weeks: "But I still have hope of holding my own. I am quartered in a real house now. During the day I stay with the troops."
December 13: Because of the failure of a large Italian unit our situation has grown precarious.
December 14: The savage fight continues. There is a tremendous amount of work to be done. I am all right, and despite everything 1 hope to master the situation. The British suffered heavy casualties yesterday while our own were bearable. Of our three division commanders, two were killed and one (Ravenstein) captured.
December 15: The situation is changing. Grave crises arise every day and must be met
.
December 16: Yesterday we were able to achieve a major success, but since no reinforcements are forthcoming we shall have to break off the battle. You can imagine my worries.
December 18: The outlook is very black, of course, but I still have not given up hope.
Although he achieved a major success soon after, the lack of reinforcements left him no alternative but to break off the battle, and by December 20 he was compelled to withdraw:
Even with the best of intentions we could do nothing else. I hope I shall succeed in reaching the selected positions. Christmas will be full of trouble. I just bathed and changed underwear after having slept in my overcoat most of the time during the past weeks.
His commanders were sick, all those who were not dead or wounded.
December 21: Unfortunately we had to give up the good port of Bardia. We did not have sufficient troops to hold it. I still hope to force the enemy to conclude his operations. Will I succeed?
December 22: Retreat to A ! You cannot imagine the things that are happening. I hope to extricate the bulk of my forces and make a stand somewhere. Little ammunition and gasoline! No air support! With the enemy it's just the other way around. Oh, enough of that.
He had retreated to Agedabia, and while he was short of ammunition, gasoline, and air support, which he continually deplored, he was satisfied with the progress of the withdrawal but added sourly: "The Italian High Command shows no concern, of course. If it were up to them, they would all be captured by now."
December 24: The situation has improved, the German divisions having dealt the British a decisive blow yesterday. Despite all the damage of the last five weeks, the combat effectiveness of the German troops remained undiminished and seems superior to the British. Our number, however, is small.
Christmas Day: The night passed quietly, but the Italian divisions give me reason to worry a great deal. They show alarming signs of disintegration, and the German troops must always fill gaps.
He opened a Christmas package in his van and enjoyed the letters and gifts. The bottle of champagne he took to the intelligence truck to share with the chief of staff and the intelligence and operations officers. He mentioned in a letter that his adjutant, Major Schraepler, was fatally injured, run over by the Mammoth command car. He expressed his pleasure that his successor as commander of the Afrika Korps, General Ludwig Cruewell, had been promoted to panzer general. As the year neared its end Rommel was becoming increasingly disgruntled with his Latin partner.
December 26: / must go upfront for a few days to stabilize the lines. Cruewell is down with jaundice. / hope he can hold out. Officers are being used up at an enormous rate, and we cannot get reinforcements for the time being.
December 27: On the move again with [Alfred] Gause [Rommel's new chief of staff]. Situation is still very black, for we lack all kinds of combat equipment and fuel, while the British have everything.
In the last days of the year he foiled the British attempt to encircle his troops and force them back against the sea. It rained, and the nights were cold and windy. To his wife, and to his son whose birthday was on Christmas, he wrote that his thoughts were with them, that more than ever they were his happiness in this world.
December 30: Gause will fly to Rome one of these days. There they have no conception of our difficulties out here, and they just go about their business and enjoy themselves.
The next day he praised `the superhuman efforts made by ourbrave troops. The fighting of the last three days, which we conducted offensively, cost the enemy Ill tanks and 23 armored cars. I cannot describe the arduous conditions under which this was accomplished. The success was a good conclusion to 1941 and gives rise to hope for 1942." He mentioned that his two chickens, one a hen and the other a young rooster, had adjusted to their gypsy life and had ran loose around his van.
January 1, 1942: At the moment the enemy is retreating to A . But it is obvious he will return with stronger forces.
But with the turn of the year Bardia and Sollum, attacked in conjunction with a heavy bombardment by the Royal Navy, fell to his opponent. Referring to Bardia:
Without rations, ammunition, and heavy weapons the place cannot be held against the mighty enemy onslaught that has already penetrated to the inner part of the fortress. Soon I shall have the enemy forces thus released on my neck. I am preparing for this eventuality. We work feverishly day and night.
With the fall of the two ports, Rommel sent General Gause to see Hitler and continued the withdrawal of his forces. By January 10 he had withdrawn them 300 miles, in spite of the fact that the bulk of his troops were not motorized, and with less detriment to their combat efficiency than he had feared. He hoped to build a new line. He wrote his wife:
I also dated yesterday's letter the /0th. Lost track of time. The operation is proceeding according to plan. Our mines and our air force give the enemy trouble. Just think of it: The bulk of our forces are still intact and ! was able to lead them hack to good positions after a withdrawal of 300 miles without their being greatly weakened. I can understand why the armchair strategists screw up their faces. Criticism is cheap. Cruewell has a very severe case of jaundice. I don't know whether he will be able to hang in. I am now almost the only officer of the German forces who has held up from beginning to end.
He told his wife that Guenther kept him to his diet and that his stomach was in good shape again. He defended himself against the cold and damp nights by wrapping himself with woolens.
His operations officer also came down with jaundice, but in the ensuing days his spirits rose, partly due to the Japanese successes against the British in the Pacific, and he reported that his head was 'full of plans which I dare not even mention to those around me. They would think I am crazy. But I am sure I am not."
The plans aborning in Rommel's head were plans for a counterattack.
January 19: Gause wrote from Rome. The Fuhrer was apparently in full agreement with all the action taken and was lavish in his praise and admiration.
His supply situation had improved a bit. Cheered and feeling his oats again, he hoped the British would attack. He wrote: "Weeks of serious worries and troubles are past and forgotten. The troops feel the same too! The unexcelled fighting efficiency of our soldiers gives me the courage to risk the battle."
January 21: Two hours from now the army will launch its counterattack. After thoroughly weighing the pros and cons I decided to risk it. I firmly trust that the Lord will hold his protecting hand over us and give us victory.
January 22: How did you like the award of the Swords to the Oak Leaves of the Knight's Cross? I was very pleased. It showed me that the Fuhrer fully approved of my actions during the past grave weeks. And what do you think of the counterattack we launched yesterday? Our opponents took off as though they had been stung by a hornet!
Rommel was the first officer to be that highly decorated. He could not sleep in the early morning hours, but found them highly productive, since he did his planning during this time.
His operation was proceeding better than he had expected, but Mussolini was not pleased that the Fox had counterattacked. Nonetheless, Rommel's spirits were high and matched those of his troops. Twenty-four hours later his letterhead changed from Panzer Group to Panzer Army, but he was badly hamstrung by Rome and would have to fly to the Fiihrer's headquarters.
January 25: We had four days of absolute success. Our blows struck the enemy between the eyes! Another two weeks and I'll be able to leave here to report and receive the Swords! It's wonderful for a general to have his capabilities recognized and to have an opportunity to make a contribution for Fuhrer, Country, and Idea.
Rommel's counterattack had rocked the British to their heels, winning him a promotion to Generaloherst (full general). The next days found him mopping up the battlefield, picking up guns, armored cars, tanks, rations, and ammunition. The vehicles he captured enabled him to motorize many of his formations, thereby reducing one of the inequities in his combat with the Briti
sh.
In the first five days he had shot up 300 enemy tanks and armored vehicles and captured 147 guns and almost a thousand prisoners, all at a cost to himself of only three officers and eleven men killed and three tanks destroyed.
January 31: We are in pursuit of an enemy who has been severely decimated as the result of our recent successful engagements. On Mother's birthday I shall be promoted to full general.
He had regained Cyrenaica. Benghazi was again in his hands and his advance had placed him within thirty-five miles of Tobruk. He expected to see his family in ten days. Dampening his jubilation, however, was another period of friction with Rome.
February9: Our operations at present are very much hampered by restrictions imposed on us by the Duce. This ways one cannot make lasting progress.
February 10: Friction with Rome. They do not agree with the way I'm running the show and would like to cede Cvrenaica again. Will f y to Rome on the 15th and then to Germany.
February 13: The Italians took one corps away from me, because I don't sit behind as far as they would like me.
In the latter part of February and the first weeks of March, there was a lull in the fighting and Rommel spent some time in Italy and Germany with the high commands ironing out differences in strategical concepts. "Our mission has been changed according to my desire," he wrote on his return. "It is absolutely necessary for us not to stay put, but to take aggressive action against the enemy even if it is only patrol activity."
The British continued to fall back before Rommel's blows. Often the energetic commander, his fluttering scarf announcing his approach from afar, covered 400 miles in one day's inspection of his 300-mile front. His difficulties with his supplies and with his allies never ended. He could not decide which was the more bothersome.
He attended a birthday party for General Cruewell, for whom he had developed a high regard. Cruewell, he reported, would be leaving for medical treatment. Rommel said he would miss him if he did not return, describing Cruewell's deputy as "a cold fish."
Discovering the Rommel Murder Page 8
