Discovering the Rommel Murder

by Charles F. Marshall

  For Rommel it was imperative that he capture El Alamein, overrun the rest of the Eighth Army, and get to Alexandria, Cairo, and the Suez Canal before the enemy could receive troop reinforcements and new supplies from Britain and America. While the table of organization for the Afrika Korps called for 371 tanks, it had only 50. To discourage British attacks and to deceive the enemy as to his diminishing strength, he made extensive use of decoys, especially dummy tanks, and the highly effective multipurpose 88mm guns.

  In the days that followed the marshal barely managed to escape encirclement from the south. Desert logistics had caught up with him. His troops had to be refitted, but for reasons he could not fathom, the ships employed in transporting his supplies from Italy did not dock at the nearby recently captured ports of Tobruk and Mersa Matruh. Instead they carried their cargo to Tripoli and Benghazi. This meant the supplies had to be hauled by trucks or small coastal vessels for a distance of either 750 or 1,400 miles. The coastal road was in bad shape, deeply rutted and with potholes as much as eighteen inches deep, making vehicle maintenance a nightmare. Gasoline, the elixir of life for his operations, was available only intermittently and then in driblets. Trucks bringing fuel to him sometimes consumed their cargo in the process. In contrast, his opponent's road and rail net was in excellent shape, and the hauling distance was negligible.

  The few days in which there had been a window of opportunity to significantly influence the course of the war-when Tobruk had fallen and the Eighth Army was near collapse, and the road to Alexandria lay open and virtually undefended-had now passed. With flagging supplies and resources overtaxed, backpedaling would soon be in order.

  Crisis followed crisis. Holes were torn into his line everywhere. Writing home on July 11, he moaned:

  No day passes here without a grave crisis. The Italians are completely unreliable in combat, and suffer one defeat after another. German troops must always be interspersed with them. I could weep! I hope this condition won't last. My health is good. In this condition sickness would be unthinkable.

  July 12: The very grave crisis of the last few days is slowly abating. But holes are torn into our lines everywhere.

  July 17: 1 am in a pretty bad way at the moment. The enemy, superior especially in infantry, is swallowing up one Italian unit after the other. The Germans are much too weak to hold by themselves. I could weep!

  Although the vigorous, resolute marshal had driven deep into enemy territory, the objective tantalizingly close to his grasp, his offensive plans were in limbo and the premonition of impending disaster seeped into his letters.

  July 18: The whole day was especially critical. Once more we pulled through. But it must not go on like that for long, or the front will crumble. These days are, of course, the very hardest of my life.

  July 19: Grave hours have passed again and it looks as if fortune is not going to abandon me. Perhaps I shall still be able to overcome all the difficulties. Thank God the front in Russia is advancing again. Perhaps that pressure can make itself felt over here.

  July 20: No material change, but also no deterioration of the situation. Soltmann will join me with his little group. Elements have already arrived. I am infinitely grateful for every German soldier.

  During this month 5,400 men were flown over to Rommel. They arrived without transport, except for some who landed with bicycles, as much needed in the desert as sunlamps. But they were mostly Germans, trained and disciplined, and he funneled them into his defensive lines. Italians who arrived he dismissed as "virtually useless."

  July 21: Thank God the front is quieter. We now have a chance to stabilize the situation. The crisis will last a long time yet, since they get more supplies than we. Kesselring is flying to the Fuhrer's headquarters. Unfortunately, / can't go myself.

  July 22: The front became more active again, I AM SORRY TO SAY. It seems that the enemy has received reinforcements. I can't wait until the day when we too receive substantial forces. Until then the crisis will continue!

  His spirits were raised a bit when his troops, fighting defensively, took 1,400 prisoners and demolished much enemy armor.

  July 25: Things are a little better since reinforcements have reached us. The difficult fighting during the last few days is almost indescribable. Of course, we are stillfarfrom being out of the woods. The enemy is numerically very much superiorto us. Yet the 146 tanks which we destroyed two days ago in and behind our lines cannot be easily replaced. The enemy won't be able to take such losses many more times.

  The tenor of the next letters differs little. He believed "we are the second front on which England wants to achieve victory at any price." Hitler sent General Walter Warlimont, deputy chief of the Armed Forces, to see Rommel. "He will report to the Fuhrer," wrote the marshal, "and I hope for definite help in the near future."

  While Rommel waited for reinforcements, the bitter fighting continued, and it was not until the last days of July that he was able to stabilize the lines. He was exasperated by the disagreements with the Italians:

  Those people won't make any big effort to help us. We are all on our own here, and the battle with headquarters in the rear is only a little less exhausting than the battles at the front.

  August 2: Quiet with the exception of intense air activity against our supply lines. I am grateful for every quiet day. It gives us a chance to recuperate. Many men are sick. Unfortunately, many of the older officers cannot bear the strain. I too am very tired and worn out, but at the moment I can take it a little easy. Unfortunately, the British railroad from Tobruk to the front is not running. We need locomotives.

  August 4: Still quiet over here. Our supply lines, however, are under constant attack and so supplies do not reach us in the quantities needed.

  August was a race between both sides to refit and regroup. Of the 124,000 men in Rommel's Panzer Army, one-third were Italian. Of the German element, about 17,000 were men who had been engaged since the Fatherland entered the African picture. Many of them were burned out and the Fox felt he could not in good conscience ask more of these men. He asked for their relief, much as he regretted losing these battle-tried veterans.

  Among Rommel's other problems was the desultory unloading of ships coming to Tobruk, causing some to drop anchor for days before being unloaded and putting them at risk of being sunk by enemy bombers. Had it not been for his use of captured vehicles, armor, guns, materiel, and foodstuffs, he would long ago have had to throw in the sponge. To a significant degree he fought the enemy with its own equipment.

  Rommel calculated that by September 15 his opponent would be supplied afresh from British and American sources. Also, the British would be drawing troops from the Near East and India, close at hand, and in the interval would be feverishly laying more mines on their front. It was imperative that he move fast. While London and Washington responded to the Eighth Army's needs with crashing programs, Rommel's pleas to Rome and Berlin yielded more promises than results.

  The British reshuffled their top command, as they had done several times before, searching among their top generals for one capable of outfoxing the Fox. There had already been Wavell, Wilson, Cunningham, Ritchie, and Auchinleck. Now Ritchie was to be replaced by Lieutenant General W. H. E. Gott, known as "Strafer," an audacious tank warrior who had fought elements of Rommel's forces earlier. He had been on leave in England when he was summoned to take command of the Eighth Army, but was killed in the crash of his Africa-bound plane. Hastily the Imperial Staff substituted a small shy man who was known to be cold and methodical. Considered an insufferable prima donna by his subordinates, he was impervious to the dislike he aroused by often tactless criticism. In black-bereted Lieutenant General Sir Bernard L. Montgomery the foxy Rommel faced an opponent with an all-consuming desire for another crack at the Germans ever since he had brought his division back from the beaches of Dunkerque.

  Montgomery was fresh and rested. Rommel, though, was now tired, worn out. Ordinarily he was a man of hardy constitution who quickly rebou
nded from weariness. But the strain of leading troops for eighteen months under the grueling conditions of the desert, where the broiling days, freezing nights, thirst, dust, and flies quickly sap men's strength, eventually claimed the rugged, indefatigable Swabian. His doctor found he was "suffering from chronic stomach and intestinal catarrh, nasal diphtheria, and considerable circulation trouble." To complicate matters further, he was often faint, managing to stay on his feet only with the greatest determination, seemingly propelled by his own kinetic force. His futile pleading with Rome and Berlin for supplies and reinforcements and the internecine quarrels with his Italian allies had not helped any.

  Now on August 22: Yesterday I underwent a thorough physical checkup. The result: my heart does not function properly, much too low blood pressure, state of exhaustion, six to eight weeks rest cure recommended. I have asked the High Command to send a substitute. This news will have the effect of a bombshell in Rome. They have given us Germans quite a runaround lately. It would be best if they had to paddle their own canoe. The British would skin their hides in the first couple days.

  The marshal's many negative comments about his partners would give the impression he considered them hopeless as soldiers, minus all fighting spirit. When, however, after he had left Africa and had more leisure to reflect, he was to say that much of the trouble lay with the Italian command, which was incapable of making lightning decisions followed by the fast action required by armored desert warfare. The infantryman he considered poorly trained, not nearly up to the standards of the German footsloggers. In addition he was poorly fed, not supported by field kitchens as were the Germans and British. The officers, on the other hand, lingered over several-course meals. They had no military tradition and were in no rush to acquire one, often failing to appear during battle, hardly inspiriting examples to their men, who, nonetheless, he felt, often performed courageously.

  For the Duce's antediluvian weapons, many of World War I vintage, he had little respect. The tanks, which the Brits referred to as sardine cans and self-propelled coffins, he found thin skinned, technically defective with insufficiently powered engines and mounting guns of too short a range. In addition they lacked radios, so that tank commanders were forced to signal with flags.

  August 24: My state of health is such that I can be up from time to time. However, I won't be able to get around that six weeks' treatment in Germany. This blood pressure business must be taken care of once and for good. I will certainly stay on the job here until a substitute arrives. I don't know yet who will replace me. I am having another checkup today. The only redeeming feature of it is that the problem can be completely corrected. Considering the turnover of five generals per division in these one and a half years in Africa, it is not surprising that my time for an overhaul has come.

  As both sides sought to recover from their mutual pummeling, the British were able to draw for manpower on their territories. Replacements came from India, South Africa, New Zealand, Syria, and Iraq. Their lines of communication were short and secure. Rommel, on the other hand, was handicapped by the paucity of German and Italian replacements, forcing him to rely on his declining number of tired Afrika Korps veterans. He was further severely handicapped by his long supply lines. Transports from Italy dared not come into the small ports of Bardia and Mersa Matruh, near the battle zone, but had to discharge their cargoes far to the west, and at risk even there, for the British controlled the sea and dominated the air. The consequence was to force Rommel to truck his fuel, food, and ammunition over a long coastal road, and that mostly during the night hours. Even then the road, lit up by dropped flares, was subject to low-flying air attack.

  Serious as these handicaps were, there was one that was even more serious, and that was the state of the Swabian's health. He was suffering frequent fainting spells and was having difficulty remaining on his feet. His physician, Professor Dr. Horster, a renowned stomach specialist, wired the High Command that Rommel was not fit to conduct the planned offensive.

  Rommel asked that General Heinz Wilhelm Guderian, the father of German tank warfare and the only officer he considered capable of handling the current situation, be sent as his temporary replacement. The reply was that Guderian was not available.

  In a letter to Mrs. Rommel at this time by the marshal's liaison officer, Lieutenant Alfred Berndt, he informed her of her husband's condition and said that a long medical report had been sent to the High Command. He cautioned her that this would start all kinds of rumors, but added that all her husband really needed was a lengthy rest without the tremendous responsibilities he was bearing, and that everything possible was being done by his staff to maintain the marshal's health and strength. Fresh fruits and vegetable were being flown in daily and fish were being caught, pigeons were being shot, and chickens and eggs were available. Care was being taken that her husband didn't detect this "mothering," because, "being the man he is, he would decline any extra rations."

  In response to the High Command's refusal to send Guderian as his relief, Rommel decided, in collusion with Dr. Horster, to conduct the offensive himself. A telegram was sent to the High Command saying that his condition had greatly improved and that, under constant medical supervision, he would be able to conduct the upcoming battle.

  The wizard of the sands made his last try for Egypt on August 30, only to be brought up sharply. It was the turning point of his North African career. Two letters, one written at the start of the attack and the other at its conclusion, outline the reasons for his decision to attack, what he hoped to achieve, and why he failed.

  August 30: This day comes at last. How eagerly 1 have waited forand how much !have worried about this day, wondering whether I would be able to gather my forces to strike again. Many problems were not solved in a satisfactory manner, and there are major defects here and there. Nevertheless, / took the risk, because I am not likely to have another chance like this insofar as the moonlight and ratio of forces is concerned. Personally, / want to do my utmost to contribute to the success. I feel very well physically. So much is at stake. If our stroke succeeds, it may be of decisive influence in deciding the course of the war. If it fails, I still hope to weaken the enemy considerably. [Consul-General and son of the former Foreign Minister] Neurath saw the Fiihrer and relayed his regards. He fully understands our anxieties.

  Of the 5,000 tons of gasoline he had been promised by September 3, 2,600 tons had been sunk and 1,500 had not yet left Italy. Pummeled by vastly superior numbers, his attack was stymied and he was forced to call it off. The RAF, with virtually complete command of the air, lit up the night with parachute flares and loosed saturation bombing upon Rommel's massed armor, vehicles, and guns. Relays of flights unloaded their explosives over his command post, and one vehicle caught fire ten yards from the slit trench into which he had thrown himself.

  September 4: Very hard days lie behind me. The army's offensive had to be halted because of supply difficulties and enemy air superiority. I'm at the CP today for a short time, the f rst since the beginning of the attack. I even managed to get the boots off my feet and to take a bath. I hope the situation can be cleared up.

  What Rommel learned during that six-day battle, and was never to forget, was that there was no answer to an enemy's air dominance other than an equally powerful air force of his own. "In every battle to come," he was to write, "the strength of the Anglo-American air force was to be the deciding factor."

  Ordinarily a man of invincible stamina, the marshal was now ill and weary but continued to spend long periods at the front. His health worsened. At times, aide Herman Aldinger told me, he gave his orders from bed.

  September 15: Yesterday was a day with a great deal of excitement in the morning hours: "Landing of enemy troops in the vicinity of Tobruk. " Everything went well though, and the British were beaten off with heavy losses. The British report for a change that lam sick and have fallen into disgrace. The source is supposed to be Rome, "Vatican. " They pick up a lot of gossip.

  Se
ptember 16: / returned from Tobruk last night. You must have been very pleased with the special announcement regarding the failure of the British landing. Stumme [Rommel's replacement] will arrive in Rome today. / hope to be able to leave here in a week. The battle for Stalingrad seems to be a very hard one and ties up large forces that could be better used here in the South. Field Marshal List, l hear, is retiring. As you know, l thought especially highly of him.

  List, as chief of the training section of the Wehrmacht, had been Rommel's superior during his postings at the teaching academies and was the chief planner of the German blitz in France.

  The German High Command dispatched General Georg Stumme, who had been Rommel's predecessor as commander of the 7th Panzer Division, to relieve the exhausted Swabian, who, ill with liver and blood pressure ailments and desert sores, flew off to the Fiihrer's headquarters for conferences before going on to a mountain resort in Austria for a rest cure.

  At one conference with Hitler, the Fiihrer promised Rommel a considerable increase in supplies in the next weeks. They would be ferried over the Mediterranean by Siebelfaehren, a German development, flat ferries with a draft of such little depth that torpedoes passed below them. To reduce their vulnerability to air attack, they were mounted with antiaircraft guns.

  Also attending the meeting, as related to me by Captain Aldinger, was Hermann Goering, chief of the Luftwaffe and second in command to Hitler, who minimized Rommel's difficulties. Rommel pointed out that American aircraft were superior to the German and that British pilots flying Americanmade fighter-bombers had destroyed some of his tanks with 40-mm armorpiercing shells.

  "Impossible!" shouted Goering. "The Americans can't make planes! All they can make is razor blades!"

  "I wish, Herr Reichsmarschali," retorted Rommel, "that you would come over to Africa and see these American razor blades. I wish I had such razor blades!"