2-611-951 - Keystone Archives/Heritage Images

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, German soldier, France, World War II, c1944. Inspecting defensive positions on the Mediterranean coast. Rommel (1891-1944) was one of the foremost German generals of the Second World War. After distinguishing himself in command of the 7th Panzer Division in the invasion of France, he was put in command of the German forces in North Africa, the Afrika Korps, where he gained the nickname 'the Desert Fox'. Rommel was promoted to Field Marshal in 1942, but was unable to prevent the Allies from driving the Germans and Italians out of North Africa. In 1944 he commanded German forces in Normandy opposing the Allies after the D-Day landings, but shortly afterwards agreed to commit suicide after he was linked to the July Plot, the unsuccessful attempt by a group of German Army officers to assassinate Hitler.