Erwin Rommel, the most decorated general of Germany, died as a traitor
A black car rolled into the home of a Nazi commander. Out of it came two SS officers both dressed in black attire.
The SS officers saluted to the commander and whispered something to his ears. The commander turned to his wife and daughter and bid a final goodbye. He will never see them again. The commander was taken to a dense forest and forced to drink poison, which he did and died instantly. He was honored with a state funeral though everyone in the high command knew the reason for his downfall. The commander was Rommel or commonly referred to as the Desert Fox. What caused his destruction- He tried to kill Hitler.
Early life:
Erwin Rommel was born on 15 November 1891 in the South of Germany. He joined military service at the age of 18 in the Wurttemberg regiment. Rommel served in the German army during World War I. He fought in France and Italy. After Germany lost World War I, Rommel was in charge of maintaining order in various parts of Germany. He came under the radar of the Nazi regime and got promoted as commander of the Stuttgart region.
World War II:
Rommel rose in command of the German army very fast and got the promotion to command a Panzer division in the invasion to France. His swift dash through the Ardennes surprised both the German and French army. He excelled as a commander and was given the authority of the North African campaign conducted by Mussolini. Rommel’s arrival boosted morale, which was already diminishing.
Rommel’s initial success in the battle against allied forces was a significant boost to the axis power. He got coined as “Desert Fox” by allied command for his cunning ploy against enemies. Rommel luck was short-lived as allied forces started to slowly wiped out Axis forces in the North African front. Nazi high command was never really interested in the North Africa campaign and joined it to support Mussolini. As imminent Allied forces landing into Europe was visible, Rommel got the new assignment to strengthen France’s Northern shores in case of an attack.
Back to Europe:
Rommel took his job of securing France’s northern border and formed a virtual wall that he inspected to check its credibility.
He studied allied landing crafts and designed various levels of defense to stop an invasion. However, the British spy agency MI6 already infiltrated German spy ring in Britain and turned them into double agents. The double agents allowed the British to pass on false information to German high command. One such report was that the landing in the Normandy beach is a diversion attack. The main attack will happen through the Calais sector.
This information came from Nazi high command to Rommel, and he didn’t completely believe in it. On the day before the D day, Rommel was in Paris partying all night. In the morning, when he received the information, he rushed to the beaches to Normandy, but it was too late. A spitfire that sneaked through the anti-aircraft gun targeted on Rommel’s car. The spitfire noticing the car might belong to a high ranking official started firing. The vehicle hit on a bump, and Rommel was seriously injured.
Operation Valkyrie:
Rommel returned to Germany to recover. During this time, there was a plot hatched to assassinate Hitler.
The plan was called Operation Valkyrie, and several high ranking military officers participated in it. The operation failed as Hitler escaped the assassination attempt. The coup members were rounded up and interrogated, and someone spilled the name of Rommel.
No one was clear of Rommel’s participation in the plot. Still, a high ranking Nazi official always has an enemy in government. Rommel was not given a chance to speak on his side but drank poison in the dense black forest. Rommel got a state funeral. The official reason for the cause of his death was concussion due to the accident in Normandy.
Conclusion:
Scholars still argue that Rommel said no for this participation in assassinating Hitler. But can’t justify why Rommel didn’t inform the assassination plot to Hitler. Rommel has taken the answer to this question to his grave.
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