Which World War II military leader was nicknamed "The Desert Fox"?

Answer 1

Erwin Rommel

ERWIN ROMMEL, (1891-1944), German general, known as the "Desert Fox for his brilliant military exploits in WORLD WAR II battles in North Africa.

Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel was born in Heidenheim, Wurttemberg, on Nov. 15, 1891. He joined the 124th Infantry Regiment as an officer cadet in 1910, and two years later was commissioned a 2d lieutenant. During World War I he served in France and on the Romanian and Italian fronts. After the war he held regimental commands and was instructor at the Dresden Infantry School (1929-1933) and the Potsdam War Academy (1935-1938). His textbook on tactics, Infanterie greift an, was published in 1937.

In 1938, Colonel Rommel was appointed commandant of the War Academy at Wiener Neustadt. Shortly thereafter he was placed in command of the battalion responsible for Adolf HITLER's safety during the march into the Sudetenland and the entry into Prague. Promoted major general on the eve of World War II, he was again responsible for Hitler's safety during the invasion of Poland.

In 1940 he commanded the 7th Panzer Division in the advance into France. In 1941, with the rank of lieutenant general, he was given command of the German troops in Libya. On June 21, 1942, he was made a field marshal, the youngest in the German Army, in recognition of his success in forcing the British back from Cyrenaica into Egypt as far as El Alamein. However, he was unable to advance to capture Alexandria. In the months that followed, during which he commanded all Italo-German troops in North Africa, he was driven back into Cyrenaica and across Tripolitania into Tunisia, where he encountered fresh Allied forces. After the battle at Medenine on March 5, 1943, he returned to Germany because of ill health.

In July he was given command of Army Group B in northern Italy, and in November he was ordered to report on the coastal defense in the west, from the Skagerrak to the Spanish frontier. He was made commander in chief of all German armies from the Netherlands to the Loire River in January 1944. Despite his great efforts, the Germans were unable to prevent the Allies from landing in Normandy in the following June. On July 17, while Rommel was motoring near Livarot, he was severely wounded by fire from Allied aircraft, and he returned to his home in Germany to convalesce.

Never a member of the Nazi party, he had become increasingly outspoken in his criticism of Hitler's leadership. On Oct. 14, 1944, he was visited by two German generals investigating the cases of officers suspected of complicity in the July 20 plot against Hitler's life. He was given, on orders from Hitler, the choice between taking poison and having his death reported as resulting from his wounds, or facing trial by the People's Court. He elected the former course, ending his life in the generals' automobile near Ulm, Germany, on Oct. 14, 1944.

Hitler ordered national mourning, and Rommel was buried with full military honors. A man of the greatest personal bravery, he earned the deep respect of his adversaries for his brilliant achievements.

Answer 2

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel

Answer 3

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel

Answer 4

Erwin Rommel

Answer 5

"The Desert Fox" is a nickname for Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel (November 15, 1891 – October 14, 1944) who was one of the most distinguished German Field Marshals of World War II. He was the commander of the Deutsches Afrika Korps. He was nicknamed "The Desert Fox "(Wüstenfuchs) for the skillful military campaigns he waged on behalf of the German Army in North Africa. He is often remembered not only for his remarkable military prowess, but also for his chivalry towards his adversaries - being one of the German commanders who disobeyed the commando order.

Answer 6

Erwin Rommel

Answer 7

Erwin Rommell

Answer 8

You want leaders who actually fought and not just plotted schemes? That rules out Churchill, Hitler and Stalin. Rommel was a soldiers soldier, he fought in battles and personally led the attack, though later he was persuaded to drop back a little. He never fought in Normandy, because the Gestapo forced him to commit suicide over his involvement with the assissination attempt on Hitler. He did have some role in laying out of defenses though. He also won the most prestigious medal in the first world war. Compare that to Hitlers iron cross, second class. Now, I'm a bit stumped over who to choose for an allied commander. Monty was probably a cigar, brandy and armchair leader, but he was important in raising the morale of his troops over their whupping at the hands of Rommel because he spoke directly to his troops and explained the motives of everything. Maybe russian like Zhuhov. Going to do research on some russian generals...

Answer 9

Rommel was called the Desert Fox because of his ability to attack from and disappear to the unknown. Later vastly outnumbered during the North Africa Campaign when the Allies reported that they had finally surrounded him and expected his surrender and day, he suddenly showed up in Germany!

Rommel was in fact a brilliant general and was very much against Hitler and very much liked by the people, however determined to rid Germany of the lunatic he was a co-conspirator in the failed plot to kill Hitler and was so given the option of death by suicide.

Answer 10

Erwin Rommel, leader of Germany's Afrika(Africa) Corp.

Answer 11

Rommel