With Rommel in the Desert

I found this just as riveting and enjoyable as when I read it decades ago, so maybe I should give this 5 stars. What holds me back is the plentiful unit and commander detail that, I think, introduces an unnecessary granularity more distracting than helpful; to wit frequent footnotes and long lists of proper nouns.

Surviving supporting Italian allies in Eritrea, the author walked into a position as Rommel's aide and transitioned from there to commanding a combat unit during the Axis North African Campaign.
Thus, he was a first-hand witness to the hard struggle to brief supremacy over the British-led Allies with the 1942 defeating of the Allies at Gazala in June and the capture of Tobruk. From here there was a long, bitter decline for the show more Axis. Ever under-manned and under-supplied (Rommel responded with fake tanks and urgent attacks), the added weight caused the Axis powers to succumb. Although Rommel was back in Europe by then and out of the picture on the ground, the author was still there and recollects here. Fortunately, there is a wedding at the end... show less

5837. With Rommel in the Desert, by Heinz Werner Schmidt (read 12 Mar 2024) This book by a German officer was first published in 1951 and tells of actions of Rommel and of the author's time with him and of the years after till the end of the German time in Africa--the author got out of African just before the end and got married and was not captured. I kept hoping he would be captured but he never was.

A first-hand account offering a perspective on Rommel's African campaign. Schmidt was close to Rommel throughout the two years of the campaign and provides details of the military action alongside personal perspectives of fellow-officers.

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