proud of him, that he gave Rommel a three pound baton, eighteen inches long, made of solid gold. His 7th panzer tank division became known as the "Ghost Division," for his advances were so swift no one could find him. The panzer tanks he had, were some of the best tanks in World War ll. One shell could penetrate and blow up one of our best tanks, (the M4 Sherman). This was in France and Belgium long before he was sent to Africa.

He was born on November 15, 1891, in a small town called Heidenheim, in the region of Wurttemberg, Southern Germany. At the age of 19, he joined the 124th Infantry Regiment as an Officer Cadet. In World War 1, he stood out as the perfect officer, cunning, ruthless, quick of decision and very brave. Soon he was promoted to Lieutenant and transferred to a new mountain battalion the "Wurttembergische Gebirgsbataillon." With this unit he first became famous.

On October 26, 1917, Lt. Erwin Rommel led his men on a 50 hour non-stop march, 12

miles through tough mountainous country, and climbed 7,000 feet. He captured Mt. Matajur, which included 150 Italian officers, 9,000 soldiers, and 81 big guns! This was southwest of the Italian town of Caporetto. For this feat, he was promoted to captain and awarded a medal of honor.

When the war ended, Rommel stayed in the German Army and became an instructor for the Infantry School in Dresden, Germany. There  he wrote a book on battle tactics that soon became a text book. This caught the attention of Adolf Hitler, who had also been in the army during World War 1. Hitler was so impressed with Rommel, that he was put in charge of the "Furerbegleit-battaillon!" (This was Adolf Hitler's own bodyguards).

So what caused the mysterious and sudden death of the 53 year old famous Nazi hero, Field Marshal Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel?. He was at home recuperating from a strafing attack on his command car. He had barely escaped death from this attack. Suddenly there came a knock on the front!! Rommel looked out and saw two Gestapo officers standing there. He gathered his family around him, to tell them goodbye. Within an hour from now I shall be dead, he lamented, but that is all I can tell you now! He was escorted to Gestapo Headquarters .... under arrest!

He was given two choices, you may stand trial where all your property will be taken and your family will be run out of Germany penniless, or ... you can swallow a Cyanide capsule and in five minutes you will be dead! Now Erwin Rommel was a family man, he dearly loved his family, so he had only one choice. What caused this tragic event to happen? A plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler had just been attempted and failed. And although Rommel did not have an active role, he knew about it and did nothing to prevent it from happening. Now this was kept secret for many, many years.

Even Rommel's own family did not know the truth about his death until many years later.