Customer Reviews

Attacks

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rommel's Attack is a great first person account on the activities of a junior military officer, trained on the concept of problem solving and overcoming the obstacles that he finds as he accomplishes the task that present themselves to him during combat in the Great War. In a war that has been defined as a defensive engagement, Rommel is consistently able to overcome these defenses, attack effectively, and achieve his objectives. This book is a great account on one military officers utilization of his leadership ability, coupled with the effective incorporation of those around him into an effective fighting organization. Rommel also incorporates numerous sketches of troop movements, obstacles overcome, and his battle plan intentions that add to the readers ability to learn from these writings. While many see warfare of today as much different from that of the Great War, it is important to remember that conflict still requires one group to overcome another and the thought process utilized by Rommel (and explained in this book) is still as useful today as it was then. This is a excellent book for those interested in then military, but should also be a must read for those who work with others at difficult task or objectives.

A masterful description of small unit action in WWI. Its amazing how articulate Rommel is in describing preparations for attack, use of terrain, change of plans on the spot and other details involved in executing battalion level orders. At the end of each battle sequence is an Observations section in which the lessons to be drawn are dispassionately stated.

From this book its clear that during WW1 Rommel acquired most of the military characteristics that made him one of the best commanders of WW2. His emphasis on reconnaissance, deception, and surprise as well as his trademark "feel for the terrain" (fingersptizengefuhl) were all developed at the battalion level in this earlier conflict.

Another real plus in this book are the maps (actually Rommel's hand sketches) showing terrain and lines of attack.

Anyone who is interested in Rommel's military operations should start here. As a WW2 follow-on, I'd recommend Ronald Lewin's Rommel as Military Commander...for its detailed battle accounts and excellent maps. Fraser's and Irving's books are also good, but operate at a more general level and suffer from a lack of battle area maps.

This book covers Erwin Rommel's First World War experiences, from August 1914 to November 1917. Rommel served in interesting areas: France 1914-5, Romania 1916-7 and Italy 1917. The book was written in 1937 and is less a memoir than a manual on infantry operations. There is very little human detail. Nor is there any analysis of the big picture (Rommel was only a battalion commander by 1917). German troops are made to look invincible; the French, Italians and Romanians are depicted as second-rate. Rommel was a very aggressive mountain infantry officer and won the Pour le Merit in the Caporetto offensive. The tone is subtlety braggadocio. Rommel's style was overly aggressive and similar to Caesar's in the Balkans and Egypt: bold thrusts and pursuits with handfuls of troops which sometimes got Rommel into some very tight spots. He was almost killed or captured on several occasions. Note, the tactical lessons are too narrow to draw useful conclusions from other than: dig in whenever you stop, conduct reconnaissance while the main body rests/prepares and never stop pursuing a beaten foe. Logistics was evidently not one of Rommel's strengths and would later hurt him in Africa. Excellent sketch maps for most major actions. When I visited the Caporetto area in 1996 I brought Rommel's book and was easily able to relate the sketch maps to the terrain.

The principal players of the Second World War paid their dues in the First, and Erwin Rommel was no exception. The man who would later become "the Desert Fox" and win worldwide acclaim as one of the greatest generals of all time began his combat career as a young lieutenant in the army of Wilhelm II, indistinguishable from thousands of others who crossed the French or Belgian frontier in 1914. Four years later he was one of the most decorated soldiers in the Imperial Army, holder of the "Pour le Merite" (the highest Prussian award for bravery) and a firm believer that "positional [i.e. trench] warfare" was for fools. His credo could be summed up in the old Prussian maxim: "Never ask how strong the enemy is, only where he is -- and march to the sound of guns."

Rommel published ATTACKS in 1937, when he was a lieutenant-colonel in the Reichsheer and commandant of the military academy in Weiner Neustadt. At the time he was already famous in the German army for his 1914 - 1918 exploits, but ATTACKS brought him international acclaim, at least in military circles. In Germany the book made him quite wealthy, and in a sense one can see why: compared to the turgid, half-mystical reminiscences of some of his contemporaries, ATTACKS is entirely without introspection. It is simply a recounting of the innumerable small-unit actions in which Rommel participated in during the Great War. The book's methodical, matter-of-fact style reflects the personality of its author, who was not inclined to philosophizing. The "whys" and "wherefores" of war mattered to him not at all. Unlike Ernst Juenger, who also won the Pour le Merite and wrote postwar accounts of his exploits (THE STORM OF STEEL, COPSE 125, WAR AS AN INWARD EXPERIENCE) Rommel wasn't interested in the "inward experience", just the fighting. He was a soldier's soldier.

During the War, Rommel served extensively in France, Rumania and Italy, and ATTACKS recounts in great detail his many offensive exploits, where he distinguished himself not merely with his aggressive style but by his habit (repeated in World War II) of leading from the front. Utterly fearless, possessing unlimited physical stamina and seemingly immune to pain (his gunshot wounds are described merely as events, like losing the sole of a shoe; the only thing that seems to have caused him real discomfort in the whole war was getting a foot smashed by a boulder in the mountains) Rommel was the ideal junior officer under any conditions, and was rightly worshipped by his men - another trait he enjoyed in the '39 - 45 war. He was further distinguished by his nobility and chivalry, qualities which are more responsible than his military genius for making him beloved among his former enemies. Today, Rommel is the only one of the myriad generals who achieved fame in Nazi Germany who is officially honored by the present day German government.

The strength of ATTACKS lies not merely in the nature of what is being described (battle and more battle) but in the fact that Rommel has no artistic pretentions: he simply records what happened without sentimentalizing or succumbing to the Germanic curse of using 1,000 words when two hundred would suffice. This, however, is also the book's great weakness: all these skirmishes, raids, marches, countermarches, midnight conferences, attacks, retirements, hand-grenade fights, machine-gun duels, artillery bombardments, and climbs up mountain slopes in the rain, snow and blazing sun begin to wear down the reader over time. If it is possible for combat to be monotonous, Rommel occasionally manages to make it so, if only by the staggering amount of it he actually experienced. If Juenger was often turgid and romantic, he was also willing to discuss the lighter side of war - the pranks, the drinking, the philosophical bull-sessions and the endless war against rats, boredom and Prussian discipline. Such humanistic moments would have been welcome in ATTACKS, but Rommel was not inclined to dwell on them. (The closest thing he displays to a sense of humor is contemptuous jokes at the expense of the French and the Italians, neither of whom seem to have impressed him with their soldierly ability.)

So, if you are looking for a pure combat memior, penned by one of the greatest soldiers ever, ATTACKS is the very definition of the bill. But if you want a look "under the helmet" into the mind and soul of a great fighting man, I would suggest supplementing ATTACKS with Juenger's more layered STORM OF STEEL. After all, nothing is more Prussian than obtaining a "total view" of a military situation!

First Lieutenant Erwin Rommel outlines his maneuvers and tactical insights as an Officer in the German Light Infantry during the first World War. A cunning and audacious leader, Rommel illustrates the combat actions of two field units to which he was assigned and an after action review of each incursion. This is a must read for any leader...particularly in the Light Infantry. All Officers should spend the time to study this text over the much overrated historical fiction of The Killer Angels. Rommel was truly a first round pick. 1LT Johnny C. Stewart

This book will teach young leaders the fundementals of small unit leadership and the importance of talking the battle to the enemy. Outstanding descriptions of battlefields and tactics used; will break the minset that WWI was only trench warfare.
You will see the development of Blitzkrieg type tactics being formulated and the basis for modern warfare used to this day.
Great read for military or non-military people.

While the text itself is somewhat dry and analytical, this rates as one of the great studies of military tactics and provides a facinating glimpse into the mind of one of history's great generals. Attacks! is Rommel's first person account of his experiences in WWI. As was his custom, he recorded his military exploits and summarized his findings for his own personal study and the benefit of those military students to follow. Anyone interested in gaining insight into Rommel himself or interested in what makes a great platoon/company level commander should read this book.

As is well known, Erwin Rommel became famous in World War II. Often ignored, however, in any study of Rommel is why Rommel was even selected to remain in the German army after World War II. If you remember the situation, the German army was reduced to only 100,000 officers and men after they lost in World War I.

At this time Rommel was just one of thousands of junior officers that could have been kept. He remained in the army, those others didn't.

This book goes a long way to explaining why.

During World War I Rommel was in the infantry on the Italian front. His actions showed both an agression and tactics that prevented the situation in his area from being reduced to the static trench warfare on the French front. In many ways the techniques he developed became the forerunner of the storm troopers that followed.

This book, published between the wars is Rommel's own story of his time fighting in the First World War.

This book is must! All leaders, from platoons to companies must read this book. Rommel was a great Tank Commander during WWII, but as a young infantry officer in WWI, Rommel sets the stage for all infantrymen of all nations. His ability to describe in detail his encounters with the French illustrates the timeless "field craft" missing in today's army. This book will certainly save our young men's lives. CPT Alex Isaac, A Co, 2-2 IN, 3rd BDE, 1st Infantry Division, Vilseck, Germany.

Rommel writes of his experiences in WWI fighting primarily in Rumania and what is now northern Italy. In each chapter, he details a specific operation, the problems they faced and how he solved them. He uses the stories to show how a commander should deal with certain common situations. For his leadership he won the "Blue Max" not bad for a junior officer! The illustrationa are quite helpful as the descriptions he gives are very detailed. It's probably the finest military book I have ever read, well worth the price. A fine book by a true leader...

Buy it!