Erwin Rommel Posing in His Staff Car

This picture was taken by war correspondent Ernst Alexander Zwilling of Kriegsberichter-Kompanie Luftwaffe 7 on 24 November 1941, and it shows a tired and dispirited General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel (Kommandierender General Panzergruppe "Afrika") who stands in the front seat of his Kfz. 15 Horch 901 (Typ 40) staff car, with elements of 15. Panzer-Division between Tobruk and Sidi Omar during the retreat after his momentary defeat by the British during the Crusader offensive. Sitting in the back seat at right is Rommel's Chief of Staff, Generalmajor Alfred Gause, while the driver's name is Leutnant der Reserve Hellmut von Leipzig, the future Ritterkreuzträger (Knight's Cross holder). The vehicle in the background is an Sd.Kfz.260 armoured radio vehicle from the HQ signals unit. After Operation Battleaxe failed to relieve the siege of Tobruk in June 1941, British General Archibald Wavell was replaced as Commander-in-Chief Middle East by General Claude Auchinleck. Lieutenant General Cunningham, fresh from victory in East Africa, was given command of the new 8th Army, comprising 13th Corps, supplemented by a New Zealand division, and 30th Corps, incorporating South African troops. The Australian division garrisoning Tobruk was replaced by 70th Division, incorporating Polish troops. Rommel now headed the expanded Panzergruppe Afrika, incorporating the Deutsches Afrika Korps; he also had operational control over three Italian divisions. On 18 November, 30th Corps advanced through the southern desert, aiming to engage and destroy enemy tanks before turning north west to rendezvous with a breakout at Tobruk. By 21 November, both 30th Corps and 70th Division were pinned down by the artillery of Rommel's 90th Light Division. The situation was saved by the advance of 13th Corps, which began engaging enemy positions along the coast on 22 November; by 26 November 13th Corps' New Zealand Division had cleared a corridor between Tobruk and 30th Corps. Auchinleck now replaced Cunningham with Ritchie. The Deutsches Afrika Korps withdrew on 6 December, creating a new front line at Gazala, west of Tobruk. In December further skirmishes in western Cyrenaica, with heavy British losses, were followed by German withdrawal to Tripolitania. However, this apparently favourable British position was undermined by inadequate forward defences and an unrealistic assessment of Rommel's intentions. A massive and apparently unexpected counter attack in January destroyed British positions in the south and west, bringing Rommel back to Gazala. The gains of Operation Crusader had proved to be painfully limited.

Source :
"Deutsche Afrikakorps (1941-1943)" by Ricardo Recio Cardona
"Gazala 1942: Rommel's Greatest Victories" by Ken Ford
"Rommel's Afrika Korps: Tobruk To ElAlamein" by Pier Paolo Battistelli
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