Christer Jörgensen - Rommel: Master of Blitzkrieg (Classic Texts)

Family and background have a great influence on later life since they create the mould that shapes an individual. Erwin Rommel was born in 1891 in the small south German region of Swabia, whose inhabitants were known for their dour, hard-working and tenacious characters. During his long military career, Rommel showed exactly these qualities of endurance, toughness and ingenuity. He also retained throughout his life a strong regional patriotism and his distinct Swabian accent, despite living in other parts of Germany.

Rommels father, a strict and demanding schoolmaster, instilled in the boy good Protestant values such as hard work, discipline, loyalty and patriotism. He was also responsible for his son becoming a soldier, and in July 1910 Rommel joined the 124th Wrtemburg Infantry Regiment (Swabia then being part of the Kingdom of Wrtemburg). A year later he passed out of the Danzig Cadet School, and the commandant noted that officer cadet Rommel was a useful soldier. He had immense willpower, was keen and enthusiastic [and had] a strict sense of duty and a very comradely attitude.

At this time, Rommel met, fell in love with and married the love of his life, Lucie Mollin, a dark-haired German beauty of Italian and Polish descent. She was to be his companion for the rest of his life, and he returned her support with undying affection and devoted loyalty.

Rommels regiment was stationed near Stuttgart where he trained recruits until, in March 1914, he was attached to the 49th Field Artillery Regiment. World War I broke out in August 1914. Rommels regiment was part of the German Fifth Army that invaded eastern France in the region of the southern Ardennes, an area with which Rommel would become very familiar during his later French campaign in World War II.

He relished the mobile phase of the war and conducted operations as if he were a cavalry, not an infantry, commander. On 22 August, he captured the village of Blied with a small detachment, killing 30 and taking 12 French prisoners. For his personal bravery and the dash of his troops, Rommel was awarded the Iron Cross II Class. Like a bloodhound, he had a nose for the enemys weakness. He was always keen to attack, and took charge of operations himself often to the fury of his superiors. He believed in initiative and independence, even at the expense of strict hierarchical discipline.

In September 1915, Rommel joined the Wrtemburg Mountain Battalion. It was while in service with this unit that he became an independent and bold commander of men in the most arduous of circumstances. The Kingdom of Romania, after some indecision, had joined the Allies in late August 1916 and had invaded the Romanian-populated province of Transylvania. Victorious at first, the Romanians, badly led and poorly supplied, were defeated when Germany sent its beleaguered ally, Austria-Hungary, military support. Shaped like a triangular wedge, Rumania was surrounded by enemy territory to the south (Bulgaria) and the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the north. While the Bulgarians crossed the Danube in force, thus threatening the whole southern part of Romania, an Austro-German army under General Falkenhayn invaded Romania from the northwest through the passes of the Transylvanian Alps. It was able to outflank and defeat the enemy, despite Russian support for the Romanians. On 6 December 1916, the capital, Bucharest, fell to Falkenhayn.