Erwin Rommel (1891-1944)

Rommel was the best general at incorperating the panzerand tank warfare into the modern world, even better than George Patton and Heinz Guderian(creator of the panzer tanks). If Hitler didn't waste supplies in Russia and send them to Rommel in Africa, then WWII would have turned out quite different.

Very good, but benefitted greatly from excellent publicity (both Allied and Axis) Very good tactician, and an able student of Manstein and Guderian, I would place him slightly behind his mentors.

he was an ok field commander with creditable tactics however his defense of europe (atlantic wall) was flawed as it was a fixed line, a flexible defense would have been more logical

Erwin Rommel - The Greatest Commander Ever Lived In The Tide Of Time!

The best general of world war II.Despite the scarcity of everything(including food,cloths,supply lines and adequate army)he had nearly conquered the norh africa which was one of the major battlefields of war.A great general and also a great human being.

Rommel was universally admired by every major figure on all sides of the war at the time, and that's good enough for me.. probably the only general Patton really respected. A magnificent bastard.

Rommel was a leader of great talent, and it's really too bad he had to get involved with the suggestion to overthrow Hitler, which ultimately was his demise.

Everyone has a right to their opinion, even those who don't think much of Rommel, for whatever the reasons. Rommel, however, was an amazingly capable general by any measure, especially in view of the fact that he often fought against seemingly insuperable odds, without enough supplies (he turned capturing enemy supplies to feed, clothe, and fuel his troops in the Desert into an art form), and he had to deal with a horrible command structure in North Africa (Germans and Italians totally mixed up in conflicting, overlapping, or competing chains of command), not to mention asinine orders from Hitler himself. It's no wonder that the Brits were sensitive to the respect their own troops had for Rommel. Sure, he had his share of what we call photo ops today, but he deserved all of the accolades he got. I just read somewhere (can't remember which book - I've been on a WW II kick lately again!) that Rommel was lining up German commanders in Europe to surrender to the Allies because he thoug... Read more

I am rating Rommel based on his ability as a leader, not the side he was on. From what I could see Rommel was an excellent tactition who could think for himself but was not too low to learn from and observe others. Fortunately hor us (the Allies) he was not well supplied enough and he had a falling out with Hitler (who went crazy) so we were able to win.

Everyone says he was a genius in the field of tanks! Why do you say this? He read Achtung Panzer and watched Manstein in France! The only reason people think he was such a great commander was because he had fellow German commanders to watch and learn from, Guderian and Manstein! The only reason he is seen as a great commander was because German and British propaganda made it that way. The German's made Rommel look invincible to get the citizens of Germany's eyes away from the horror that was the Soviet Union. The British did it to make up for their incompetent leaders. He was a great commander but doesn't deserve to be talked as highly about as commanders like Guderian, Manstein and Von Rundsted

Probably the best General ever. Too bad he was on Hitler's side. And Hitler was responsible for his death, too.

A really good military strategist. Unmatched bravery and quickthinking in his era. He deserves to be high on the list of great military leaders. Working for the Germans was a disappointing part of him. However, he was feared by all of this period. He was good.

My leadership role model...Absolutely brilliant.

From France to Africa, a bold leader. The Africa Campaign says it all - far from home and unsupported; yet he gave the Allies a run for their money. Imagine if he had been given the reinforcements? Read the Rommel Papers for a great insight.

Together with von Mannstein the most gifted general during the War. I shudder to think what would have happened if Hitler let his generals do the tactical planning instead of himself. Furthermore he was a leader by example and the inspiration and leader for the greatest tank commander of WWII: Michael Wittman. Not only could Rommel turn a disadvantageous situation into an advantage he knew when to retreat and regroup quickly in order to launch a counterstrike. A shame that Hitler had him commit suicide, the world lost a brilliant general and a true gentleman that day. p.s. Monty sucked!

Yet further proof of the supeiority of German military leaders of others. If he had ebough supplies, he would've routed the Allies in North Africa..

Disclaimer: I am not defending him on his stance, but on the way he led his troops to battle. Now that thats taken care of, Rommel was an absolute genius. He was incredibly great in tank warfare. The way that the Afrika Corps and British kept wquaring off in the desert around Tunisia, he kept winning. Great military leader

too bad that butthole hitler had to have him

Rommel was one of the greatest commanders of tank warfare ever. If only he could have gotten more support and supplys. Who knows how the war could have gone?

I'm about to read "Knight's Cross," a biography of Rommel, so I'll come back and update this comment when I'm done. But there's little question that Rommel deserves five stars as a military leader (ignoring, of course, the fact that he served one of the most evil men of the 20th century). The exploits of his Afrika Corp as they battled the British in the deserts of North Africa are legendary. When he was anywhere close to being even with the opposing forces in supplies, equipment, and men, he crushed them. His tactics and strategy in using mobile armor were groundbreaking, and it's frightening to think how much more difficult he could have made the Normandy invasion if his superiors had given him more authority. You also have to respect the fact that he finally chose to support the opposition to Hitler (a decision that led to his forced suicide).