Field Marshal Erwin Rommel exerted an almost hypnotic influence not only over his own troops but also over the Allied soldiers of the Eighth Army in the Second World War. Even when the legend surrounding his invincibility was overturned at El Alamein, the aura surrounding Rommel himself remained unsullied. In this classic study of the art of war Rommel analyses the tactics that lay behind his success. First published in 1937 it quickly became a highly regarded military textbook, and also brought its author to the attention of Adolph Hitler. Rommel was to subsequently advance through the ranks to the high command in the Second World War. As a leader of a small unit in the First World War, he proved himself an aggressive and versatile commander with a reputation for using the battleground terrain to his own advantage, for gathering intelligence, and for seeking out and exploiting enemy weaknesses. Rommel graphically describes his own achievements, and those of his units, in the swift-moving battles on the Western Front, in the ensuing trench warfare, in the 1917 campaign in Romania, and in the pursuit across the Tagliamento and Piave rivers. This classic account seeks out the basis of his astonishing leadership skills, providing an indispensable guide to the art of war. AUTHOR: Erwin Rommel was a highly decorated officer in WWI, and was awarded the greatest honours for his exploits on the Italian front. In World War II, he distinguished himself as commander of the 7th Panzer Division during the 1940 invasion of France, and his leadership of German and Italian forces in the North African campaign earned him his legendary status as the 'Desert Fox'. Gary Sheffield was educated at the University of Leeds (BA & MA) and King's College London (Ph. D). He began his academic career in the Department of War Studies, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. In 1999 he moved to King's College London's Defence Studies Department, based at the Joint Service Command and Staff College. Awarded a Personal Chair in 2005, in 2006 he was appointed as Professor of War Studies at the University of Birmingham. In 2013 Sheffield was appointed Professor of War Studies at the University of Wolverhampton. Gary Sheffield has published widely on military history, including the best-selling Forgotten Victory - The First World War: Myths and Realities (2001; new edition 2018), and The Chief: Douglas Haig and the British Army (2011; new edition 2016), both of which were acclaimed in scholarly and popular circles alike. Sheffield is President of the Western Front Association and a past President of the Guild of Battlefield Guides.
