Alfred Gause with German and Italian Officers

 

 

Generalmajor Alfred Gause with German and Italian officers in the North African theater. He was initially sent to Africa with a large staff by Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH), the German Army High Command, to act as a liaison officer with the Italian High Command, Comando Supremo. Gause had specific instructions not to place himself under the command of Erwin Rommel, but did so when Rommel told him categorically that the command of all troops in Africa were vested in him. This was not correct, but Gause acceded to Rommel's authority, and served as his Chief of Staff. He proved invaluable to the famous desert commander, who was well known to direct his forces from the front and who frequently would lose touch with his command staff during operations. Gause spent two and a half years serving Rommel in the Afrika Korps. Though initially sent by OKH to keep an eye on the independent commander, they soon developed an excellent working relationship. On 13 December, 1941 Gause was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes. In early May 1943 he was rotated into the officer reserve force, and thus was off the continent when the Axis forces in Africa surrendered.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Gause
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=2317427#p2317427