Erwin Rommel
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Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), known as the Desert Fox (Wüstenfuchs), was a German field marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) during World War II. He served in the Imperial German Army, the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic and the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. A highly decorated officer in World War I, he was awarded the Pour le Mérite for his actions on the Italian Front, and in 1937 published the tactics book Infantry Attacks. In 1940 he commanded the 7th Panzer Division during the invasion of France. His leadership of German and Italian forces in the North African campaign made his reputation as one of the ablest tank commanders of the war and earned him the nickname "the Desert Fox"; among his British adversaries he was noted for a reputation for chivalry. He later commanded the German forces opposing the Allied cross-channel invasion of Normandy in June 1944. After the Nazis gained power Rommel pledged allegiance to the new regime, and historians differ over his motivations; at least until near the war's end he was loyal to Adolf Hitler, though not to the Nazi party or the SS. In 1944 he was implicated in the 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler and was given a choice between suicide and a trial; he took cyanide. A state funeral was held, and it was announced that he had died of injuries from the strafing of his car in Normandy. His son Manfred Rommel was long-time mayor of Stuttgart.