THE TRAIL OF THE FOX The Search for the True Field Marshal Rommel the trail of the fox This edition ISBN ––– The editor of this work was master craftsman Thomas B Congdon, who had previously edited Peter Benchley’s novel Jaws David Irving’s The Trail of the Fox was first published in 1977 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, in London; by E P Dutton Inc as a Thomas Congdon Book in New York; and by Clarke, Irwin & Company Ltd in Toronto. It was reprinted in 1978 by Avon Books, New York. In Italy it appeared in 1978 as La Pista Della Volpe (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milano); in Spain as El Rastro del Zorro (Editorial Planeta, Barcerlona). In Germany it was a major bestseller, published in 1978 by Hoffmann & Campe Verlag, Hamburg, and serialized in Der Spiegel. In subsequent years it appeared many countries including Finland (published by Kirjayhtymä, of Helsinki); in Ljubljana, by Drzavna Zalozba Slovenije; and in Japan (published by Hayakawa of Tokyo). Subsequent German-language editions included a paperback published by Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, of Munich and a book club edtion by Weltbild Verlag, of Augsburg. First published Electronic Edition Focal Point Edition © Parforce UK Ltd. – An Adobe pdf (Portable Document Format) edition of this book is uploaded onto the FPP website at http://www.fpp.co.uk/books as a tool for students and academics. It can be downloaded for reading and study purposes only, and is not to be commercially distributed in any form. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be commercially reproduced, copied, or transmitted save with written permission of the author in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act (as amended). Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and to civil claims for damages. Readers are invited to submit any typographical errors to David Irving by mail at the address below, or via email at [email protected]. Informed comments and corrections on historical points are also welcomed. Focal Point Publications London WJ SE the trail of the fox “The most thrilling war book I have ever read. It yanks Rommel out of the hazy aureole of legend and flings him down before us: Hungering for medals, escaping unscathed while a shell blows his comrade’s back off, restaging whole battles for propagandists. I could no more stop reading this book than the French could stop Rommel’s panzers.” david kahn, author of the codebreakers “A fascinating study of the brilliant Rommel. It enables the reader to experience the emotions of a warrior in battle.” general mark w. clark “I am tremendously impressed. A superb character study and a fine work.” —general matthew b. ridgway “I myself learned a lot. I am convinced this book will find many readers and be discussed everywhere.” manfred rommel, lord mayor of stuttgart “A brilliant biography, almost a great one.” christian science monitor “Superb narrative history, rendered with an intimacy that tran- scends print. The central character is drawn with a skill no novel- ist would disdain. Mr. Irving has pictured Rommel in a harsh light, but he has combined his qualities, strengths, weaknesses, and vanities in such a way that he breathes life on every page.” thomas lask, the new york times “One of the finest, freshest and most vigorous military biogra- phies to appear since the war.” —the times, london praise, where praise is due david irving writes: It is nearly thirty years since I completed this Rommel biography for Tom Congdon (above, in ) and William Morrow Inc. He was one of Madison Avenue’s most gifted editors. He had just finished editing a book called “Jaws” for author Peter Benchley, who had never written a book before in his life. After Rommel, Tom also edited my book The War Between the Gen- erals, and then my Hermann Göring biography. Any editor has to be the author’s best friend. His brain is plugged in throughout the period of gestation, and it provides extra think- ing power where it is so vital – it asks the awkward questions, and refuses to tolerate sloppiness in any form. In fact Tom Congdon taught me all over again just how to write – and I was by then halfway through my writing career. He was a demanding editor, and not easily satisfied. A few weeks after I had delivered the Rommel manuscript, cleared my desk in London, and prepared to turn to a new subject, a letter came from him congratulating: “David, that is the finest first draft of a book I have ever read.” He was right, of course, and I wrote it all over again. He and Connie retired to Nantucket in . I want my readers to know how much of the credit for these pages belongs to him. the trail of the fox David Irving is the son of a Royal Navy commander. After visiting Imperial College of Science & Technology and University College London, he spent a year in Germany working in a steel mill and perfecting his fluency in the German language. Among his thirty-odd books, the best-known include Hitler’s War; Churchill’s War, vol. i: “Struggle for Power,” vol. ii: “Triumph in Adversity”, and vol. iii: “The Sundered Dream”; Accident, the Death of General Sikorski; The Destruction of Dresden; The Mare’s Nest; The German Atomic Bomb; The Destruction of Convoy PQ17; The Rise and Fall of the Luftwaffe; Göring: a Biography, and Nuremberg, the Last Battle. He has also translated several works by other authors including Field- Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Reinhard Gehlen, and Nikki Lauda. He lives in Mayfair, London, and has raised five daughters. David Irving The Search for the True Field Marshal ROMMEL F FOCAL POINT the trail of the fox what will history say in passing its verdict on me? If I am successful here, then everybody else will claim all the glory. But if I fail, then everybody will be after my blood. From the unpublished Rommel diary, April , Contents ’ ’ ’ the trail of the fox List of Illustrations between pages ‒ Rommel’s parents. In Rommel and a school friend built a glider. Lucie Mollin, and a photo of Rommel in the uniform of the Officer Cadet School at Danzig. Marital portraits taken before and after winning the Pour le Mérite. Rommel and his pet fox at the Western Front in . Rommel’s only legitimate child, Manfred, born in . September , : the first meeting between Hitler and Rommel. In the Polish campaign, Rommel commanded Hitler’s headquarters. Rommel finds himself between Hitler and Martin Bormann. Rommel at Saint-Valéry, on the English Channel, with a captured British commander, Major General Victor Fortune. Karl Hanke reports to Hitler during the French campaign. On March , , Rommel and General Gariboldi inspect the Afrika Korps. Lieutenant Alfred Berndt. the trail of the fox Rommel’s diarists: Interpreter Wilfried Armbruster, Albert Böttcher, and Hellmuth Lang. Rommel and Fritz Bayerlein confer between the Mammut and a Panzer III. Rommel, General Alfred Gause, Colonel Siegfried Westphal and Major Friedrich Wilhelm von Mellenthin. Bayerlein with Rommel during the fighting at Kasserine. Major Wilhelm Bach, the ex-pastor who directed the heroic defence of the Halfaya Pass. General Georg von Bismarck, with Rommel. General Johannes Streich. Lieutenant General Ludwig Crüwell, Rommel’s successor. Afrika Korps commander General Wilhelm von Thoma surrenders at El Alamein. Hitler bestows the field marshal’s baton upon Rommel in September watched by Army Adjutant Gerhard Engel, Chief Adjutant Rudolf Schmundt, Navy Adjutant Karl Jesco von Puttkamer, Wilhelm Keitel, SS Adjutant Richard Schulze, and Rommel’s aide Alfred Berndt. The same day, Rommel is the hero of a Berlin rally. Next to him is Keitel. Rommel’s own sketches of his plan to seize Cairo and the Suez Canal. The rutted desert. Low ridges were of importance during the battles. The crew of a German half-track watch an enemy vehicle burning on the horizon. The Panzer III was the backbone of Rommel’s battle tank force. A Panzer IV, with Rommel aloft, advancing through the scrub. German infantrymen in desert foxholes wait for an attack. between pages ‒ The flak eighty-eight was Rommel’s best hope against British tanks. Rommel sits in the roof hatch of his Mammut on the Via Balbia. Rommel was renowned for his ability to sense the approach of the enemy. Rommel was fascinated by motor engines. Recalled to Germany in March , Rommel feared his career was over. Uncomfortable in civilian clothes, he lived with Lucie and her friends. list of illustrations Rommel used his spare time that spring to review local Hitler Youth units. Rommel moved in March into this château in La Roche-Guyon, France. The Hall of Ancestors became the staff’s table tennis room. Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt visited the château in May . Rommel welcomed him with his Chief of Staff Hans Speidel. Speidel had just received the Knight’s Cross. After the war, Speidel appeared with Rommel’s widow at a ceremony at Rommel’s grave; the year was and Speidel was by then commander of all NATO land forces in Europe. Rommel inspects the defenses of France against invasion, in his powerful Horch automobile. His driver Corporal Daniel is later killed; behind him are aide Hellmuth Lang and operations officer von Tempelhoff. General Feuchtinger shows Rommel multiple rocket launchers. Devices developed by Rommel to thwart the Overlord invaders: spikes, steel tetrahedra, “can openers,” and mines. Poles were planted in fields to prevent glider landings, but in Normandy Rommel’s pole planting had had not made much progress. General Wilhelm Meise was Rommel’s expert in explosives and mines.