The “Desert Fox”: Hitler’s Ultimate Weapon of War?

“The “Desert Fox” commanded the Afrika Korps against Allied troops, mainly the British. In May 1943 Germany’s troops were eventually defeated in North Africa by the combined weight of U.S. General George S. Patton and Commander of the British Expeditionary Forces, Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery. But his victories in late 1941 through the spring of 1942, stands as textbook examples of how decisive leadership at the point of attack and the use of creative, unconventional tactics can defeat a larger force.”

byDaniel L. Davis

British Historian B. H. Liddell Hart wrote after the war that in North Africa “if either side is inferior in (tank quality), the quality of their troops and command must make up for the disadvantage. But there is no compensating for the lack of an air force or for shortage of supplies.” Rommel demonstrated how superior leadership can sometimes overcome even material disadvantage. All other things being equal, leadership will trump opponents who might have some advantage in numbers and technology.

On August 2, 1990 Saddam Hussein invaded the oil-rich country of Kuwait. President George H. W. Bush immediately ordered U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia to defend its ally, and demanded Saddam withdraw or risk U.S. invasion. About 2,500 miles to the northwest, I was a cavalry trooper in the tank-heavy Second Squadron, Second Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) preparing for the likely deployment to the Iraqi desert. To prepare for this future battle, we turned to the past for help: German General Erwin Rommel.

(This first appeared in 2017.)

The Second ACR had trained in armored warfare for decades, but for combat against Soviet forces in European terrain. To prepare us for desert warfare, the squadron’s operations officer taught us the fundamentals of the most successful armored commander in a desert environment, General Rommel, focusing on his victories in North Africa.

The “Desert Fox” commanded the Afrika Korps against Allied troops, mainly the British. In May 1943 Germany’s troops were eventually defeated in North Africa by the combined weight of U.S. General George S. Patton and Commander of the British Expeditionary Forces, Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery. But his victories in late 1941 through the spring of 1942, stands as textbook examples of how decisive leadership at the point of attack and the use of creative, unconventional tactics can defeat a larger force.

As has been proven in battles as far back as ancient Greece and Sparta, leadership in combat is usually the decisive factor between victory and defeat. Rommel’s performance in North Africa bear this out. He arrived in Africa when the Axis forces were in disarray and in danger of being driven completely off the continent. The Italian Army had been virtually wiped off the map by the British by February 1941, losing nearly 15,000 killed and wounded, and over 130,000 captured. British losses had been 500 killed, 1,300 wounded and 55 missing.