Fighting Rommel examines how and why some armies innovate under pressure while others do not. Focusing on the learning culture of the British Imperial Forces, it looks at the Allied campaign during the Second World War against the Afrika Korps of Rommel. The volume highlights the hitherto unexplored yet key role of the British Indian Army, the largest volunteer force in the world. It also introduces ‘learning culture’ as a heuristic device. Further, it goes on to analyze military innovation on the battlefield, in victory and defeat. A major intervention in the study of the Second World War, this book will be indispensable to scholars and researchers of military history, especially British and German, battlefield history, and defence and strategic studies.

In the spring of 1941, Britain's position in North Africa appeared secure. The Italians had been spectacularly defeated, and there was even the possibility that Italy would drop out of the war. The situation changed dramatically with the arrival of Rommel and the Deutsches Afrika Korps. Instead of fighting an incompetent and ineffective Italian High Command, the Allies found themselves up against the latest strategic and tactical concepts, carried through by a dynamic, aggressive leader. For the British this was a time of trial. On several occasions they seemed to be on the brink of total defeat, and by August 1942 the Afrika Korps stood facing the British Eighth Army at El Alamein, a mere 70 miles from Alexandria.

General George S. Patton. His tongue was as sharp as the cavalry saber he once wielded, and his fury as explosive as the shells he’d ordered launched from his tank divisions. Despite his profane, posturing manner, and the sheer enthusiasm for conflict that made both his peers and the public uncomfortable, Patton’s very presence commanded respect. Had his superiors given him free rein, the U.S. Army could have claimed victory in Berlin as early as November of 1944. General Erwin Rommel. His battlefield manner was authoritative, his courage proven in the trenches of World War I when he was awarded the Blue Max. He was a front line soldier who led by example from the turrets of his Panzers. Appointed to command Adolf Hitler’s personal security detail, Rommel had nothing for contempt for the atrocities perpetrated by the Reich. His role in the Führer’s assassination attempt led to his downfall. Except for a brief confrontation in North Africa, these two legendary titans never met in combat. Patton and Rommel is the first single-volume study to deal with the parallel lives of two generals who earned not only the loyalty and admiration of their own men, but the respect of their enemies, and the enmity of the leaders they swore to obey. From the origins of their military prowess, forged on the battlefields of World War I, to their rise through the ranks, to their inevitable clashes with political authority, military historian Dennis Showalter presents a riveting portrait of two men whose battle strategies changed the face of warfare and continue to be studied in military academies around the globe.

In the Second World War, Great Britain, the United States and Germany each produced one land force commander who stood out from the rest: Bernard Montgomery, George Patton and Erwin Rommel. These three armour-plated egos were the greatest generals of the war, and theirs was a very personal contest: the clash of mighty armies perceived as a bout between three men. All three were arrogant and flawed, yet with a genius for the command of men and an unrivalled enthusiasm for combat. All had spectacular success on the battlefield. But their explosive relationships with each other and with their political masters rivalled the pyrotechnics of their tank battles in determining the conduct and outcome of the war. Masters of Battle presents the Second World War as it was experienced by its three most flamboyant, controversial and influential commanders.

"From the moment he first came under fire," Brigadier Desmond Young wrote later, "he stood out as the perfect fighting animal: cold, cunning, ruthless, untiring, quick of decision, [and] incredibly brave." A fellow officer commented later, "He was the body and soul of war."Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel, the man who was to become to known as the Desert Fox, was born in Swabia, a former W�rttemberg district, on 15 November 1891. In 1910 he enlisted as a soldier in the German army, joining the 124th (6th Wurttemberg) Infantry Regiment at Stuttgart.This news was received badly by his father; head of a working-class family with no military tradition, who was acutely aware that ranks were mostly dominated by Prussian aristocrats. Previous trends suggested that the most Rommel could hope for were a modest pension and a low rank. Yet by 1911 Rommel was becoming an officer and was noticed for his conscientiousness and commitment to rank. He had also met and fallen in love with Lucie Maria, a woman who he would remain loyal to for the rest of his life. His military life was, however, unremarkable at this point and whilst it was apparent he took his position seriously, his private life appeared boring. He was an old-fashioned soldier. Yet when fighting in Belgium and France a relentless and astonishing streak emerged in Rommel. He was an exceptional leader who would go on to become as a notorious and highly decorated officer in World War I, rising to the rank of senior German Army officer in World War II, and receiving the Pour la M�rite award following fighting on the Italian front. Still celebrated in Germany today, Rommel's life ended abruptly when he was forced to commit suicide by Nazi emissaries in exchange for his family's immunity -- after being accused of formulating a plot to kill Hitler, a man he had initially admired but later turned against.Samuel Mitcham Jr. tells the fascinating story of one of Germany's most popular Generals and his capture of Tobruk, revealing a tactical and extraordinary military career marked by dedication, hardship, glory, betrayal and vicious Nazi politics. Praise for Rommel's Greatest Victory "This is an extremely well-written, readable book ... Mitcham ably describes events leading to the Tobruk garrison's capitulation on the morning of 22 June 1942 ... Mitcham's balanced treatment of both combatants describes a closely run battle for each side." -- Military Review"This well-researched and well-written volume will delight World War II and Desert War enthusiasts, but readers not well-versed in the North African conflict will find it an excellent introduction to that campaign and to the man who has come to symbolize it." -- Newport News Daily Press "Rommel's Greatest Victory sheds new light on the Battle of Tobruk and combines this with new scholarship on the way Rommel conducted the campaign. Mitcham has given readers an excellent and well-balanced account of one of the most pivotal battles of World War II." -- Stars and StripesDr. Samuel W. Mitcham Jr. was born in 1949 is Louisiana. He is a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot and noted historian of World War II who has written extensively on the 'Wehrmacht' and Nazi Germany. He gained a doctorate from the University of Tennessee and is the author of over 30 military volumes including Retreat to the Reich, Why Hitler?, Rommel's Desert War, Rommel's Last Battle, Hitler's Field Marshals and Their Battles, Eagles of the Third Reich and German Defeat in the East.

Erwin Rommel is the arguably the most well-known German general of the Second World War. Revered by his troops and applauded by his enemies, the so-called Desert Fox achieved legendary status for his daring exploits and bold maneuvers during the North African campaign. In this book, richly illustrated with over 400 images, the author examines the privations and challenges Rommel faced in leading his coalition force. Endeavoring to reach the Nile Delta, we find Rommel's Axis soldiers poorly prepared to undertake such an audacious operation. Much-admired by his men in the front lines, we discover a demanding and intolerant leader, censured by subordinate officers and mistrusted by his superiors in Berlin. Certainly no diplomat, we observe posed interactions with Italian and junior German officers through an official lens. We note Rommel's readiness to take advantage of his enemy's weakness and study his extraordinary instinct for waging mobile warfare. We consider his disregard for the decisive factor of supply and view his army's reliance on captured equipment. We learn how this brave and ambitious commander was celebrated by German propaganda when the Wehrmacht's fortunes in the East were waning. Conversely, analyze why Winston Churchill honored him as a daring and skillful opponent. Finally, we picture this energetic, ambitious, at times reckless, commander as he roamed the vast Western Desert battlefield. This is the story of Rommel in North Africa.

The Desert Fox, Erwin Rommel, was the foremost strategist and tactician of his generation, and his defeat of the British forces at the important Libyan port of Tobruk in spring 1942 was the crown jewel of his military campaigns: a victory so stunning it forced a vote of confidence in the Churchill government. Mitcham Jr. (history, Hendersonville State U.) chronicles Rommel's march to Tobruk, noting the leader's ability to discern the best places and times to strike. He includes several maps and bandw photos. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR