Barbarossa Rommel

I suspect he would go down in history as a competent, but unspectacular general and end up either dead or a Soviet prisoner (unless he joins the Stauffenberg group). Rommel owes his stellar reputation to luck and staging as much as competence. It's not that he was bad, but there were others as good who didn't end up being in sole charge of a major, sexy, exotic and big theatre of war where victories were impressive on the map. He'd be someone WWII buffs recognised: "Rommel, the guy who commanded HG Kaukasus? Didn't he write a tactics book?"
 
rommel could perhaps have risen to command a panzer army with some competence... he could rise to the level of a hoth or raus the real question would be what would happen in africa without his presence

i posed a question a couple months ago sending manstein to africa and putting rommel with the 56th panzer corps

the board seemed to agree that this would be a negative move
 
he was considered originally to be the commander... i would think he would have held more true to hitler's original intention in africa, that it was to be a blocking force and he was the master of defensive warfare

its possible if he conducted a brilliant defence with an economy of force that more resources could be available in russia maybe allowing leningrad or moscow to fall (asb to take both) in 1941

africa corps absorbed a tremendous amount of the total german motorized assets and airpower

manstein would be sorely missed in russia in 1941-43. rommel didnt really have enough staff training to command an army group he might actually perform better in russia as a panzer army commander if he had a good leader above him (maybe runstead or model?)

another thing to consider is that manstein wasnt a complete egomaniac the way rommel was so some of the stupid moves rommel made ie first attack on tobruk might be skipped
 
he was considered originally to be the commander... i would think he would have held more true to hitler's original intention in africa, that it was to be a blocking force and he was the master of defensive warfare

its possible if he conducted a brilliant defence with an economy of force that more resources could be available in russia maybe allowing leningrad or moscow to fall (asb to take both) in 1941

africa corps absorbed a tremendous amount of the total german motorized assets and airpower

manstein would be sorely missed in russia in 1941-43. rommel didnt really have enough staff training to command an army group he might actually perform better in russia as a panzer army commander if he had a good leader above him (maybe runstead or model?)

another thing to consider is that manstein wasnt a complete egomaniac the way rommel was so some of the stupid moves rommel made ie first attack on tobruk might be skipped

This might make a good TL. Could finally rid the world of the Rommel myth.
 
i have a manstein changes the world tl going now but i used it as an alternate barbarossa

i have the necessary the background books to do a manstein in africa tl

would anyone subscribe if written... the brits are still gonna look bad at the start:confused:
 
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