Erwin Rommel’s Early Life
Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel was born on 15 November 1891 in Heidenheim, Kingdom of Wurttemberg, Southern Germany which was part of the German Empire. His father, Erwin Rommel Senior was an artillery lieutenant and that might have inspired him to take the military route instead of other professions since he joined the Wurttemberg Infantry Regiment No. 124 in Weingarten as a Fahnrich in 1910. He studied at the Officer Cadet School in Danzig and became a lieutenant [Source].
He married Lucia Maria Mollin and had a daughter.
Erwin Rommel’s political career
Because he was born to a militant, Rommel was automatically absorbed into the military department from a young age. His studies at the Cadet school ushered him more into the political arena of Germany and its foreign policy. Political analysts argued that Germany had military schools where its propaganda was being injected into the young generation so Rommel went through this process.
After political education, he became a perfect fit in Nazi Germany and is described as “a propaganda icon during World War II”.
His allegiance was to the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, and Nazi Germany.
Dwight D Eisenhower’s Early Life
Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower was born on 14 October 1890 in Denison, Texas [Source]. He was inspired by his mother’s history books collection to indulge in military history. Military history, arithmetic, and spelling were his core subjects of study and he delved deep into them. He once worked as a junior varsity football coach and cheerleader. He married Mamie Geneva Doud of Boone, Iowa and they had two sons, Doud and John Eisenhower.
He served in the military and excelled in military assignments under several Generals which include Pershing, Mac Arthur, and Krueger. After the war, he became president of Columbia University and was a supreme command over NATO forces.
Dwight D Eisenhower’s political career
He joined the Republican party in 1952 and carried on with his pursuit in politics. As a General of the army, he used the military to launch his political career and served in many posts. The offices he assumed included being the 16th Chief of Staff of the Army and the Military Governor of the US Occupation Zone in Germany.
He entered the presidential race as a Republican and won two elections in landslides. He defeated Adlai Stevenson II twice in both elections.
Dwight D Eisenhower’s later life
After leaving the presidential office, Eisenhower and his wife Mamie moved to their home which was a viable farm. He did not completely drop his participation in US politics. He went to San Antonio where he provided backup for a Republican presidential candidate John W. Goode who was going against a Democrat candidate Henry B. Gonzalez.
He was always involved in national news as he gave advice to president Kennedy and consulted with president Lyndon B. Johnson. He wrote “two volumes of memoirs about his White House years as well as a chatty best-seller, “At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends” [Source].
He suffered a second heart attack which then led him to the final rest on 28 March 1969.
Erwin Rommel’s leadership style
Due to passion and political education at a tender age, Rommel quickly became a household name in the German military wing. In 1937, he published a book on military tactics which was called “Infantry Attacks” and was able to note down all his experiences in the war. As a propaganda icon, he was able to arouse the fighting spirit among his troops and educate them on Nazi ideology. He used both vocal and military skills to train those who were under him.
Because of his leadership skills with both the German and Italian forces, he earned the nickname “der Wustenfuchs” which means “the Desert Fox”. Due to his prowess on the battlefield, his British adversaries believed that he had a reputation for chivalry.
Dwight D Eisenhower’s leadership style
Eisenhower exhibited various leadership skills that intrigued people around him. It is reported that he made himself a likable leader mainly because he cared for his troops and worked tirelessly to instill unity when the troops went into battle [Source]. To others, he was an optimistic leader who was always spreading positivity even when things were intense. Such an attitude was attributed to his time in the army and his period commanding US army forces.
He was also celebrated for taking responsibility when things did not go according to plan as in one incident he was recorded saying “Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold, and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air, and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone”. Political analysts also posit that he was skilled at selling missions to troops before they go out and could help them in controlling their egos.
Rommel’s failures
As an army commander and military tactician, Rommel’s failures came on the battlefield and resistance from other parties. Rommel is despised for being too aggressive and this led to his attempt to “fortify Nazi territory”. He tried to prevent an Allied invasion in France but failed [Source]. Hitler ordered an attack on Cairo and the Suez Canal, so Rommel went on the mission with his troops. But he was stopped by the British, and he launched a second in which he was defeated at El-Alamein and he withdrew and went home after a call up by Hitler.
Eisenhower’s failures
Eisenhower had numerous failures as president which are shown by historical records. These include the failure to improve the plight of the American Farmer [Source] as he had aimed to elevate farmers through his farm policy. Reports note that his personal goal was to moderate the Republican Party and make it more mainstream to American culture but he failed.
Other major disappointments were related to his misfiring when it comes to being a civil rights activist and failure to denounce Senator Joseph McCarthy whom he had condemned in public. Despite exerting a lot of effort to defuse the Cold War, he failed and the Cold War was even more threatening when he left office.
Military Careers
Between Rommel and Eisenhower, the former spent a lot of time on the battlefront as compared to the latter. German World War II Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’ was deemed to be an immortal and even Hitler pinned all his hopes on him. He was successful in the North African campaign of 1941 to 1943.
His book of tactics was regarded as authentic since the recorded military tactics were the ones he used in battles he faced. Due to his military tactics, he was assigned to be the security of Hitler and aided the expansion of the Nazi empire. Rommel lived out World War I on the Italian and French front and headed the Afrika Corps.
Eisenhower, on the other hand, did not experience World War I but he reached North Africa in 1942 as head commander of the Allied forces. He was the supreme commander of troops who was invading France. He successfully invaded Tunisia and forced the surrender of Axis forces. He succeeded in Operation Torch of invading French North Africa and Operation Overlord against Germany who was occupying Western Europe during World War II. He was the man given the authority of “making all final decisions relating to invasion”.
The D-Day with the Desert Fox and Normandy
D-Day on 6 June 1944 is described as “the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare [Source]. On this particular day, the Allied forces launched a massive on Nazi-occupied France, and they had taken every military hardware they had from naval, air, and land in order to defeat the Nazis. It is the day when the head commander of Allied Forces Eisenhower faced off with the Nazi Desert Fox.
The Desert Fox had made preparations but was not sure where the Allied Forces would attack from, and Eisenhower was optimistic about his troops as he carried out Operation Overlord.
Narrations of how the day unfolded depict that Allied airborne forces used parachutes to drop into critical zones across northern France, ground troops landed across five assault beaches, and by night, the Allied Forces had a sufficient army present in the area. The Battle of Normandy erupted from June 1944 to August 1944, in which the Desert Fox lost and retreated leading to the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control.