Erwin Rommel was a German general and later field marshal in the German Army during World War II.
Biography[]
In May 1940, Rommel was one of Germany's commanding generals during the Blitzkrieg against Western Europe. When Adolf Hitler issued Heinz Guderian with an order to halt his Panzer Division's advance on Dunkirk, the encircled British Army was able to escape destruction. Rommel was infuritated by the Führer's order, calling it in his secret diary "utter madness". (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus)
By late 1941, he had been promoted to the rank of field marshal, leading the Afrika Korps the North Africa campaign in the Sahara Desert. He was known for gifting the enemy with medical supplies and his "soft" treatment of his prisoners. In November 1941, his British and Australian opponents made a failed attempt to assassinate him.
In December, Rommel heard the Tuareg had made new friends with extraterrestrial lifeforms. After telling the Twelfth Doctor about these "friends from the sky", the Doctor accompanied him on a mission to meet the Tuareg. The tribesmen began firing at Rommel's men with Sontaran blasters, but the Doctor disarmed one of them with his sonic screwdriver and asked the Tuareg to escort him and Rommel to the camp. The chieftain Bhaki introduced the Doctor and Rommel to the tribe's allies, the Sontarans, on the search for the Warsong. After witnessing the activation of the Warsong, the Doctor and Rommel broke through its defences. The Doctor stopped the Rutan spy Heinz Bruckner from conducting the millennia-old preset programming of the Warsong by using a Sontaran osmic projector to send Bruckner's trigger mechanism through time. Rommel threw Bruckner into the Warsong, killing him, while the Doctor destroyed the "orchestra" of the Warsong by using his sonic screwdriver to blow it up. (COMIC: The Instruments of War)
The Allies were victorious in the North Africa Campaign. Corporal Ned Clarke felt all the hardships faced had been worth it "just to give Rommel a boot up the arse." (PROSE: Deadly Reunion)
Rommel became increasingly opposed to Hitler's "insanity". He became involved in the Valkyrie conspiracy but failed to "remove" Hitler from power. He was given the choice to either commit suicide and keep his honour intact or let his family die. He took his own life. The Nazis made up a story about him dying from his wounds and Rommel was given a state funeral. (COMIC: The Instruments of War)
