Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) (also known as the "Desert Fox", Wüstenfuchs), was perhaps the most famous German Field Marshal of World War II. He was the commander of the Afrika Korps and became known for the skillful military campaigns he waged on behalf of the German Army in North Africa. He was later in command of the German forces opposing the Alliedcross-channel invasion at Normandy. He is thought by many to have been the most skilled commander of desert warfare in World War II.
Following the defeat of Axis forces in North Africa, and while commanding the defense of Occupied France, his fortunes changed when he was suspected of involvement in the failed 20 July Plot of 1944 to kill Adolf Hitler, and was forced to commit suicide.
In the wake of the assassination of Adolf Hitler in 1943, Joseph Stalin concluded a peace with Germany, freeing up resources for the West. When the Allied Forces attempted to invade France in 1944, Erwin Rommel had more than enough resources to turn the invasion back.[1]
News of Erwin Rommel's defeat at El Alamein in 1942 made its way into Japanese-occupied Hawaii, despite Japan's best efforts to restrict such information.[4]
