Thomas F. (hardtack) -
This book is essentially a rehash of the World War II Normandy campaign, but without all the details. It basically serves as a means for the author to tell everyone how great a general Rommel was. And, if his superiors, including Hitler, had listened to him the Germans might have won the war. He also claims, perhaps to enhance his hero, that Rommel was more involved with the attempt to kill and overthrow Hitler than most other historians give Rommel credit for.
I have a problem with Rommel's 'greatness." It's not hard to be a "great general" when you have the enemy's plans in front of you, as Rommel did for most of the African campaign. The Italians had stolen the code from the U.S. embassy in Cairo. The U.S. military attache always attended the briefings given by the British army commanders, which he then sent in code to Washington. Of course, the Germans read those dispatches, as they had the code. The British then attacked and Rommel and his army beat them. There's a little more to the story, especially after the British finally realized what the Germans were doing and used the U.S. attache's dispatches to mislead the Germans.
Still, I would agree Rommel was a very good general.
I have a problem with Rommel's 'greatness." It's not hard to be a "great general" when you have the enemy's plans in front of you, as Rommel did for most of the African campaign. The Italians had stolen the code from the U.S. embassy in Cairo. The U.S. military attache always attended the briefings given by the British army commanders, which he then sent in code to Washington. Of course, the Germans read those dispatches, as they had the code. The British then attacked and Rommel and his army beat them. There's a little more to the story, especially after the British finally realized what the Germans were doing and used the U.S. attache's dispatches to mislead the Germans.
Still, I would agree Rommel was a very good general.
