Home > World War II > Erwin Rommel Biography

Born November 15, 1891
Heidenheim, Germany
Died October 14, 1944
near Herrlingen, Germany
German field marshal known as the "Desert Fox"

Erwin Rommel is known for leading Germany's Afrika Korps to victory in the deserts of North Africa. His ability to keep the enemy off balance, using surprise attacks and quick movements, earned him the nickname "Desert Fox." He was admired by friends and enemies alike; for example, British prime minister Winston Churchill told the House of Commons (England's legislative body) that Rommel was "a very daring and skillful opponent and, may I say across the havoc of war, a great general." By the end of World War II, Rommel had fallen out of favor with Germany's leader, Adolf Hitler (1889-1945; see entry), when he told him that Germany could not defeat the Allies (Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and the other countries fighting...