World War II

Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel ( listen (help·info)) (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) (known as the "Desert Fox", Wüstenfuchs, listen (help·info)), was perhaps the most famous German Field Marshal of World War II.

He was a highly decorated officer in World War I, awarded the Pour le Mérite for his exploits on the Italian front. In World War II he further distinguished himself as the commander of the "Ghost Division" during the 1940 invasion of France. However, it was his masterful leadership of German and Italian forces in the North African campaign that established the legend of the Desert Fox. He is thought by many to have been the most skilled commander of desert warfare in the war. He later commanded the German forces opposing the Allied cross-channel invasion in Normandy.