How did Rommel implement Hitler's "Victory or Death" order during the Battle of El Alamein?

At 1:30 in the afternoon, a staff officer got into his command car and handed a piece of telegram to Rommel. Hitler's famous telegram arrived.

The end of the telegram is: "You can point out to your subordinates that there is no other way than victory or death."

Rommel was confused as he read the telegram. . Sometimes he was furious, sometimes panicked. He understood that although the current situation of the German army was not good, he still had hope of making a comeback as long as he preserved his strength, evacuated his troops to Matruh Port, and used the favorable terrain to confront the British army.

But now Hitler has explicitly prohibited him from retreating, which is undoubtedly tantamount to suicide.

"What should I do?" Rommel asked himself over and over again.

Rommel drafted a reply: "My Führer, I will always obey your orders. But I am at a loss between blind obedience and sense of responsibility." However, this reply was not sent.

He believed that as Hitler's favorite general, he must obey orders.

He picked up the phone: "General Thomas, listen, the head of state has called and ordered us to do our best to hold on, 'No victory or death, there is no other way.'"

Thoma replied: "Your Excellency, Marshal, a full retreat is the only wise choice."

"No," Rommel interrupted him rudely, "You must spare no effort to fight and This order is carried out among the soldiers. The troops must persist until the last soldier." "So, Marshal, should we take down the tanks and reorganize them first?" "No! "Retreat!" Rommel shouted into the microphone: "The head of state ordered us not to retreat, but to hold on to the end."

"Yes, obey the order"

Then, Rommel said again. Order the armored troops to fortify themselves in place and resist resolutely.

He gently put down the phone, sat at the table, and began to write a text message to his beloved wife: "Dear Lucy, I do not believe, and almost no longer believe, that we will end in victory. . Our life and death are all in the hands of God. Farewell, Lucy, farewell, my child..."

He spent all his savings - 25,000 Italian lire, about 60 US dollars - He stuffed the envelope into the envelope and asked Lieutenant Bernd, who was about to go to Vienna, to deliver it to Lucy safely. Also brought along were some secret documents.

He was prepared to die.

At 7:25 in the morning on November 4, Marshal Kesselring, commander-in-chief of the German Southern Front, flew to Camp Rommel. He came to cheer up the troops.

As soon as Rommel saw Kesselring, he reported: "The orders of the Führer have been implemented to the best of our ability."

"Very good," Kesselring praised: " Naturally, the head of state has learned a profound lesson from the Russian battlefield: sticking to the existing strong position has always been the best strategy."

"How many tanks do you have now?" Kesselin then asked with concern. road.

"There are only 22 left." Rommel replied coldly.

"Are there really only 22 cars left?" Kesselin immediately frowned, sweat beads on his forehead, "It seems that we can no longer persist. I have always followed the orders of the head of state." I think we should be flexible."

Rommel replied stubbornly: "No, military orders must be carried out resolutely."

"But the head of state will never want you and your soldiers to die here. , the Third Reich still needs you," Katherine retorted.

"I think the best way to keep the North African Army is to adopt the tactic of fighting and retreating at the same time," Rommel said sadly, "but the head of state must make clear revisions to his orders. I "

"You call the head of state back immediately and say that the troops have suffered heavy casualties and can no longer hold the line of defense. The only way to preserve strength in Africa and make a comeback in the future is to fight and retreat at the same time. "Katherin said eagerly, "In addition, I will also telegraph this matter to the head of state." Rommel did send a telegram to Hitler.

Meanwhile, he continued to carry out his orders for hours on end.

Not long after, the Italian army began to flee desperately.

At noon, Bayerlein ran into the underground shelter and reported to Rommel out of breath: "Your Excellency, Marshal... General von Thoma... something happened."

Rommel jumped up like a spring and asked urgently: "What's going on? Tell me quickly."

"General von Thoma thought the Führer was crazy, so he decided to hold on. Order. He hung up all his medals and rode the tank towards the place where the fighting was fiercest." Bayerlein picked up the cup, took a sip of water, and continued, "I immediately drove to pursue him after learning about this. All he saw along the way were piles of flaming tanks, corpses and anti-tank guns. When I saw him from a distance and was about to catch up with him, the British tanks came up. I saw clearly. General Thomas was holding a small canvas bag in his hand. "

"I clearly see that Thomas intends to vote for the British, otherwise his family will suffer." Weiss. Tefal closed his eyes and shook his head.

On the evening of November 4, at the headquarters of the British 8th Army.

Montgomery and the captured Afrika Korps commander von Thoma were having dinner in ***. Together they talked about the fighting in September and the ongoing war.

After dinner, Montgomery immediately ordered the table to be cleared, then took out a map of the Egyptian desert and spread it on the table. He said to von Thoma: "My troops will approach Fouquet tonight. What do you think? General von Thoma?" But von Thoma just said: "It's very serious, indeed." (According to Westphalia.) I later recalled that in a subsequent battle, Rommel's troops seized some British military documents, including an intelligence summary report of the British 8th Army that said: Thomas accepted Montgomery's invitation, and *** after dinner , revealed Rommel's future plans in full.)

On the same night, Rommel no longer waited for Hitler's order and gave the order to retreat.

In the early morning of the next day, Hitler's order to agree to retreat was sent to Rommel, but it was too late.

In this way, Rommel's 70,000 troops began a difficult retreat and began a 2,000-mile expedition.

Montgomery finally won the Battle of El Alamein. This was a brilliant victory. It was a turning point in the African battlefield and one of the major turning points in the entire Second World War. From then on, the British army began to enter a counter-offensive. The demise of the German Afrika Korps is not far away.

Alamein is both the birthplace of Rommel and the place of his sadness. However, his sad moment is a day of great joy for people all over the world, because the death knell of the devil and fascism has sounded.