Rommel: The Desert Fox
| Author | Desmond Young |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Biography |
|
Publication date
|
1950 |
| Media type |
Rommel: The Desert Fox is a 1950 biography of German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel by Desmond Young. The book was the first biography of Rommel and enjoyed immense popularity, especially in Britain. The book led the Western Allies, particularly the British, to depict Rommel as the "good German" and "our friend Rommel", contributing to the formation of the Rommel myth.
Young had served in North Africa in the Indian Army and was once taken prisoner by Rommel's troops. Young extensively interviewed Rommel's widow and collaborated with several individuals who had been close to Rommel, including Hans Speidel, with the support of British journalist and historian Basil Liddell Hart. Speidel, Rommel's former chief of staff, had already written in 1946 that he planned to turn Rommel into "the hero of the German people" and a role model for them. Rommel was a suitable candidate, since his suicide following the failed 20 July plot had led to the assumption that he had opposed Nazism. Young subscribed to this view, subtly conveying that Rommel served the regime but was not part of it.
The Desert Fox met with enthusiastic reception in Britain, going through eight editions in a year. Following publication, Rommel's former British opponents described Rommel as a brilliant commander and a resistance fighter, with one senior military figure comparing Rommel to legendary commander Belisarius. (The praise led Brian Horrocks, Montgomery's former deputy, to publish an April 1950 article, "The Rommel Myth Debunked", in which he argued that the 8th Army beat Rommel's Afrika Korps "fair and square".)
The book was not without its detractors. A review in Time magazine noted the legendary status Rommel had achieved in his lifetime and quoted another review that described Rommel as "the British army's favorite German general". The Time reviewer concluded that the book was "just this side of hero worship" and, quoting Labour politician Ernest Bevin, alluded to it being an example of the "trade union of generals" in action. Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck wrote a forward to the book honouring Rommel "as a soldier and a man", and Field Marshal Archibald Wavell included him "among the chosen few, among the very brave, the very true." The reviewer noted Young's obvious admiration for the German generals and remarked that the book may well "have been written by [one]".
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