Rommel

By Kenneth John Macksey

1979

First Published

3.68

Average Rating

224

Number of Pages

6H50M

Audio Length

Although—like Hannibal, Napoleon, and Robert E. Lee—German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (1891–1944) met ultimately with defeat, his daring, tactical skill, charismatic leadership, and brilliant string of victories succeeded in placing him in the pantheon of great commanders. By 1942 Rommel and his Afrika Korps had converted a "side show" of World War II into a major offensive for the Axis powers. The British had been thrown back across the frontiers of Egypt until, at E1 Alamein, Rommel's army threatened Cairo, Alexandria, and the rich oil fields of the Middle East. Rommel: Battles and Campaigns provides a perceptive and incisive analysis of his entire military career, from his fighting in Rumania, Italy, and France during World War I, through his North African campaigns, to his command in Normandy and his fatal (though false) implication in the July 20 bomb plot against Hitler. Written by an expert in tank warfare, and illustrated with nearly two hundred photos and maps, this book presents a revealing, critical portrait of one of the most celebrated soldiers of World War II.

Avg Rating

3.68

Number of Ratings

5 STARS

16%

4 STARS

42%

3 STARS

37%

2 STARS

1 STARS

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Author

Kenneth John Macksey

Author · 16 books

British author and historian who specialized in military history and military biography, particularly of the Second World War. Macksey was commissioned in the Royal Armoured Corps and served during the Second World War (earning the Military Cross under the command of Percy Hobart). Macksey later wrote the (authoritative) biography of Hobart.Macksey gained a permanent commission in 1946, was transferred to the Royal Tank Regiment in 1947, reached the rank of major in 1957 and retired from the Army in 1968. Amongst many other books, Macksey wrote two volumes of alternate history, one, entitled Invasion, dealt with a successful invasion of England by Germany in 1940 and the other describing a NATO–Warsaw Pact clash in the late 1980s. The latter book was done under contract to the Canadian Forces and focuses on the Canadian role in such a conflict. He was an editor and contributor to Greenhill's Alternate Decisions series since 1995. In Macksey's Guderian – Panzer General, he refuted the view of historian Sir Basil Liddell-Hart regarding Hart's influence on the development of German Tank Theory in the years leading up to 1939.