Erwin Rommel in Color

Siegesparade (Victory Parade) of German troops from 8. Armee in Warsaw, Poland, which were held on October 5, 1939. Standing in the podium, from left to right: Generaloberst Walther von Brauchitsch (Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres), Adolf Hitler (Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht), Generalmajor Friedrich-Carl Cranz (Kommandeur 18. Infanterie-Division), General der Artillerie Emil Leeb (Kommandierender General XI. Armeekorps), Generaloberst Wilhelm Keitel (Chef der Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), General der Kavallerie Maximilian Reichsfreiherr von Weichs (with glasses, Kommandierender General XIII. Armeekorps), Generaloberst Johannes Blaskowitz (Oberbefehlshaber 8. Armee), Generaloberst Walther von Reichenau (blocked by Blaskowitz, Oberbefehlshaber 10. Armee), and General der Flieger Albert Kesselring (Chef Luftflotte 1). Standing directly below Hitler is Generalmajor Erwin Rommel (Kommandeur Führer-Begleit-Bataillon). Photo by Hugo Jaeger, one of Hitler's personal photographer.

 

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 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 Bech (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. Other pictures from this occasion can be seen HERE.





Original color portraits of Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel (Oberbefehlshaber Panzerarmee "Afrika") which was taken by Hitler's personal photographer Heinrich Hoffmann on 30 September 1942 when Rommel was presented his marschallstab (Marshal baton) by Hitler at Neue Reichskanzlei, Berlin. These would be 100% agfacolor color 35mm slide film taken by Hoffmann. Then the agfacolor film would have been converted to the standard color printing process of the time. A lot of the rich colours and debt from the agfacolor film would have been lost in the printing process. Much after 1943 most of these portraits were all photographed using color film.

Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel (Oberbefehlshaber Panzerarmee "Afrika") was seen listening seriously as an unknown Hauptmann explained the current, critical situation. To the right stood Oberstleutnant Otto Heymer (Stabs-Offizier der Luftwaffe beim Afrikakorps) who is holding a map. These two people (Heymer and Rommel) were known for not getting along and not liking each other. In the end, Heymer left the African front not long after. This photo itself was taken at the El Alamein Front, Egypt, in late October 1942. Rommel left North Africa on sick leave on 22 September 1942, and only returned on 25 October. During his absence, British troops from Montgomery's Eighth Army carried out a surprise attack on German and Italian defense positions around El Alamein on October 23, and succeeded in making breakthroughs on several fronts. The condition of the German troops worsened the next day when Rommel's temporary replacement in Africa, General der Panzertruppe Georg Stumme, died suddenly of a heart attack. All of these unfortunate events forced "The Desert Fox" to rush back to North Africa to stabilize the situation.

German military leaders at the El Alamein Front, late October 1942. From left to right: an unidentified Hauptmann, Oberstleutnant Otto Heymer (Stabs-Offizier der Luftwaffe beim Afrikakorps), and Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel (Oberbefehlshaber Panzerarmee "Afrika"). These two people (Heymer and Rommel) were known for not getting along and not liking each other. In the end Heymer left the African front not long after.

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