Customer Reviews

Rommel in Normandy: Reminiscences

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The author, German Admiral Friedrich Ruge, served as the top naval advisor to German Field Marshall Rommel, who was in charge of thwarting any Allied landings along the French coastline during World War II. Adm. Ruge joined Rommel's staff in November 1943 and provided advice regarding how to construct beach barriers that would prevent Allied landing craft from coming ashore along the Normany beaches. Adm. Ruge met almost daily with Rommel to provide a naval perspective as to how he thought the Allies naval tactics would be used along the Normandy coast, and how they would attempt to land. He continued to advise Rommel during the June D-Day landings, and saw Rommel up until just a few days before Rommel was asked to commit suicide -- after plotting against Hitler. As the author notes, while the book is not a comprehensive description of the actual invasion, it provides the rare insight of the German naval offier who advised the "Desert Fox" about the sea -- 250 pages of "I was there" perspectives. The book is enjoyable to read; it is neither ponderous nor tedious. Ruge provides almost a daily view as to how he and Rommel prepared for the Allied invasion -- what types of beach barriers were constructed, where various weapons were to be emplaced, and how various military units were situated along the beaches. I wrote to the author back in 1968, and he was kind enough to send me his autographed photograph and a few comments about his naval career. His comments reflected his book: they made for an enjoyable read. Ruge wrote several other naval-theme books about WWII, also. (...)

I was looking for this book for awhile. The author was very close to Rommel and spend much time with him in Normandy. It is a well written easy book to read. It is also full of reflections on a commander and time when the balance of power in World War II was at a critical point. Anyone that studies warfare, it's commanders, World War II or the Normandy Invasions must read this.
Ruge is not overwhelmed by Rommel. His admiration is present, yet it is his experienced and knowledgeable voice that one can hear. Follow Rommel as he evaluates, improves and than defends the mythical Atlantic Wall. I highly recommend this book. I have read many volumes on Rommel and this book is a must.

Ruge's account is an EXCELLENT source of information for anyone wanting to get into Rommel's head in the six months leading up to the invasion. Very earthy, with enough high-brow material to satisfy the scholars. I would have given Ruge five stars, but three points stick out. His 'log' has a number of days that were not recorded, and he just filled in with general material. Second, a number of details were erroneous - dates, units, etc. Third, the accounts in the diaries and notes from which this book was written were somewhat different than what was published. This though, was according to controversial researchist David Irving, so many may discount this last point. Still, I myself found Irving's work to be painstakingly accurate for so many details in his earlier books, despite the maelstrom his subsequent works on Hitler created. Anyway, Irving claims (and later verbally confirmed to me) that Ruge's earlier writings were later "changed" and cleaned up, for posterity, for history, and because reputations and career's were at stake. Irving claims to have a copy of this "unpublished" diary, which is quite frank in many respects.

Irving confirmst this claim about Ruge, stating: "He wrote a shorthand diary in 1944 which I had independently transcribed. It turned out that his own transcription embellished many parts, and also suppressed others which dented the image of his hero and friend, General Hans Speidel (who later headed land forces in Nato)."

Still, the points above notwithstanding, Ruge's account (though a thin work, considering the material and time span) is in many respects a stunning piece of work. The minutiae in the day-to-day details of their jobs give a truly clear picture of Rommel's day-to-day routine. And the many anecdotal details bring the characters to life.

A must for any historian on Rommel.