Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

 MrDwhitey wrote:
Rommel had people go over his head, disobey orders, wasn't given command of the tank reserves, he got fethed.

Yes, but that was an issue endemic to the military of Nazi Germany. Hitler fostered a hostile command environment that would make even a Sith Lord blush. He basically encouraged intra-faction rivalry and pitted his senior officers and staff against one another for favor and rank, and given how highly politicized the German military had become, it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that this was actually the norm rather than the exception. Don't even get me started on what the 'chain of command' and 'command structure' looked like either. Lets put it this way, while allied structures were relatively linear, the German command structure was split and divided along so many different lines that its amazing anything managed to get done, as any single officer was answerable to multiple higher authorities simultaneously, including command authorities from entirely separate units, service branches, and chains of command.

Anyway, I think, personally, that the brilliance of Rommel is exemplified by the fact that he was an outstanding infantry officer who also turned out to be an outstanding armored officer. To me that speaks to a deeper understanding of the fundamental aspects of the profession of arms. Most successful officers and military leaders are successful because they understand their specific subset of the broader art of war to a degree that sets them apart from others, but for the most part if you were to take an acclaimed officer from one 'domain' and give him command of another, you wouldn't get very good results (and this has popped up a few times over the centuries to validate that point). Rommel on the other hand was a career Infantry officer, who was given command of a Panzer unit without any real formal training in armored warfare and sent into battle less than 3 months later to more than impressive results. For all the crap the Allies get over their lackluster performance during the invasion of France, they were by no means inept. For Rommel to have had the success he did there with no real experience in leading an armored unit speaks to a brilliance that isn't often seen.