Together
with his staff officers, on 2 July 1941 General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (left, Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) made a
visit to the headquarters of I.Bataillon / Schützen-Regiment 104 /
15.Panzer-Division at Halfaya Pass in the Sollum front, which is on the border
Libya-Egypt. During this visit, in particular "Der Wüstenfuchs" (The
Desert Fox) congratulated the commander of the battalion, Hauptmann der
Reserve Wilhelm Bach (walking at the forefront with Rommel), who in the
battle a month earlier managed to withstand the British tank forces who
were trying to break through the Halfaya Pass in order to free their
comrades who were besieged in Tobruk, in a mass attack codenamed
Operation Battleaxe (15-17 June 1941). For three full days Bach and his
men endured wave after wave of enemy tank attacks, with only a platoon
of Flak 88 cannons as their main weapon. Although Rommel himself had
ordered the Bataillonskommandeur to retreat to a more adequate defensive
location "if possible", Bach interpreted his commander's last words in
the opposite direction: a counterattack that succeeded in repelling the
British troops! For this phenomenal achievement, Bach - who is a former
priest (!) - was awarded the prestigious Ritterkreuz des Eisernen
Kreuzes on July 9, 1941, just a week after this photo was taken. The
Flak 88 itself was originally an anti-aircraft gun, but it can be just
as good when it comes to hitting tank targets on the ground. BTW, in
April 1941 - which was only one month after Rommel arrived in North
Africa - German forces managed to defeat the invading British army and
driven it out of Libya, except for one stubborn ANZAC garrison which
remained in the port city of Tobruk (despite being besieged by a
combined force of Italian and German Afrikakorps). Over the next year,
the re-capture of Tobruk became Rommel's biggest obsession, because
without it all German efforts to conquer Egypt would be vulnerable. When
the port city was finally occupied in June 1942, a grateful Hitler
rewarded Rommel with an extraordinary promotion to Generalfeldmarschall.
General
view of the German command post at the Halfaya position. The picture
was taken during the inspection by General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) on 2 July 1941.
During the inspection of the German and Italian troops stationed in the
Halfaya on 2 July 1941, General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (second from right, Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) and Generalmajor
Alfred Gause (right, Verbindungsoffizier beim Italienischen Oberkommando in
Nordafrika) visit the strategic hills overlooking the Halfaya.
During the inspection of the German and Italian troops stationed in the
Halfaya on 2 July 1941, General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) and Generalmajor
Alfred Gause (Verbindungsoffizier beim Italienischen Oberkommando in
Nordafrika) surrounded by a group of Afrikakorps officers near a captured British armored vehicle.
During
the inspection of the German and Italian troops stationed in the
Halfaya on 2 July 1941, General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) and Generalmajor
Alfred Gause (Verbindungsoffizier beim Italienischen Oberkommando in
Nordafrika) listen to a soldier's report. In the background, a
Horch-Commandeur-Cabriolet (Kfz-21) carrying the pennant of an army
corps commander.
During the inspection of the German and Italian troops stationed in the
Halfaya on 2 July 1941, General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) listen to a soldier's report.
During
the inspection of the German and Italian troops stationed in the
Halfaya on 2 July 1941, General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) and Generalmajor
Alfred Gause (Verbindungsoffizier beim Italienischen Oberkommando in
Nordafrika) listen to a report from an unknown officer with the rank of
Leutnant. Between the two in the background is Rommel's aide, Major
Hans-Joachim Schraepler. Behind the group of officers, a cameraman
immortalizes the scene with a 35 mm Arriflex.
During
the inspection of the German and Italian troops stationed in the
Halfaya on 2 July 1941, General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) and Generalmajor
Alfred Gause (Verbindungsoffizier beim Italienischen Oberkommando in
Nordafrika) leave the bunker of an 8.8 cm FlaK gun, surrounded by a
group of Afrikakorps officers. The tall officer second from left is
Major Hans-Joachim Schraepler, Rommel's aide.
During the inspection of the German and Italian troops stationed in the
Halfaya on 2 July 1941, General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) and Generalmajor
Alfred Gause (Verbindungsoffizier beim Italienischen Oberkommando in
Nordafrika) stopped in front of a trench occupied by infantrymen of I.Bataillon / Schützen-Regiment 104 /
15.Panzer-Division. The tall officer at left is
Major Hans-Joachim Schraepler, Rommel's aide.
During the inspection of the German and Italian troops stationed in the
Halfaya on 2 July 1941, General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) and Generalmajor
Alfred Gause (Verbindungsoffizier beim Italienischen Oberkommando in
Nordafrika) listen to a report from a Leutnant.
From left to right: General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps), Generalmajor
Alfred Gause (Verbindungsoffizier beim Italienischen Oberkommando in
Nordafrika), and Hauptmann der Reserve Wilhelm Bach (Führer I.Bataillon / Schützen-Regiment 104 /
15.Panzer-Division). The picture
was taken during the inspection by General
Rommel to the German and Italian troops stationed in the
Halfaya Pass, Libya, on 2 July 1941.
During the inspection of the German and Italian troops stationed in the
Halfaya on 2 July 1941, General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (right, Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) chats with Hauptmann der Reserve Wilhelm Bach (left, Führer I.Bataillon / Schützen-Regiment 104 /
15.Panzer-Division), while surrounded by Afrikakorps soldiers and officers.
During the inspection of the German and Italian troops stationed in the
Halfaya on 2 July 1941, General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (center, Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) and Generalmajor
Alfred Gause (hand in face, Verbindungsoffizier beim Italienischen Oberkommando in
Nordafrika) surrounded by a group of Afrikakorps soldiers and officers from the first battalion of Schützen-Regiment 104 /
15.Panzer-Division, including their commander, Hauptmann der Reserve Wilhelm Bach (with Hitler moustache). The tall officer behind Gause is
Major Hans-Joachim Schraepler, Rommel's aide.
During the inspection of the German and Italian troops stationed in the
Halfaya on 2 July 1941, General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (center, Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) listen to an Afrikakorps non-commissioned officer's explanation of the fighting while surrounded by a group of soldiers and officers
from the first battalion of Schützen-Regiment 104 /
15.Panzer-Division, including their commander, Hauptmann der Reserve
Wilhelm Bach (with Hitler moustache). Behind Rommel is Generalmajor
Alfred Gause (Verbindungsoffizier beim Italienischen
Oberkommando in
Nordafrika), while the tall officer behind Gause is
Major Hans-Joachim Schraepler, Rommel's aide.
A group of Afrikakorps artillerymen surrounds Generals Erwin Rommel and Alfred Gause (not visible in the photo) during their inspection to the German and Italian troops stationed in the
Halfaya on 2 July 1941. In the foreground a trench and sandbags. Helmets, gas mask cans, crates, rifle cases, while in the background is a captured "Mammoth" armored vehicle (the AEC Dorchester command car of British origin is named "Mammoth" in the German ranks).
Graves of German soldiers topped with helmets in Halfaya Pass. They were all killed on 16 June 1941. From left to right: Leutnant Erhard Alfred Slevogt (born 29 August 1919), Unteroffizier Ernst Maiwald (born 29 September 1919), and Obergefreiter Kurt Perschmann (born 20 December 1920). The picture
was taken during the inspection by General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) on 2 July 1941.
During the inspection of the German and Italian troops stationed in the
Halfaya on 2 July 1941, General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) and Generalmajor
Alfred Gause (Verbindungsoffizier beim Italienischen Oberkommando in
Nordafrika) - both standing in the rear seat of a Horch Cabriolet commander's car - talk with Hauptmann der Reserve Wilhelm Bach (back to the camera near the driver, Führer I.Bataillon / Schützen-Regiment 104 /
15.Panzer-Division). In the background we can see Halfaya position.
A column of German Afrikakorps Kfz-15 cars on Via Balbia, a highway that is the only major road that runs along the entire east-west length of the Libyan Mediterranean coastline. The picture
was taken during the inspection by General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) on 2 July 1941.
%20holds%20a%20bunch%20of%20grapes%20in%20his%20hand.jpg)
An unknown Leutnant of the Afrikakorps holds a bunch of grapes in his hand. The picture
was taken during the inspection by General der Panzertruppe Erwin
Rommel (Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) on 2 July 1941.
Source :
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek archive
https://www.bridgemanimages.com/en/search?filter_group=all&filter_region=GBR&filter_text=Erwin%20Rommel
https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/catalogsearch/result/?avec_visuel=1&q=rommel+bach&p=2
%20holds%20a%20bunch%20of%20grapes%20in%20his%20hand.jpg)
