Rommel isnt forced into Suicide

there is a few ways this can go if he isn't forced into suicide Hitler he could've rejoined the ranks of the field marshals with some distrust and would be hated by his fellow Nazis or he could defect to the allies giving them valuable information or he could've been imprisoned and could've been saved by the allies and possibly assisted with the west German rearmament as his chief of staff Hans Speidel did as well.
 
I always liked the idea of him surviving WWII and becoming chancellor of West Germany in the late forties or fifties, I don't really know how plausible it is, though.

Rommel was very, very loyal to his country, and I really doubt he would defect to the WAllies in any type of scenario. Other than Stauffenberg succeeding in killing Hitler, I really can't see any way of him working with the US and Britain during the war.
 
I mean he could had defected with the promise of returning to Germany after WW2 but he was a very loyal man indeed i too doubt he would defect, it was just a idea so ya never know
 
Rommel's reputation would certainly suffer post-war compared to OTL since he can't be claimed to have been an anti-Nazi German patriot, because that clearly isn't true without Hitler forcing him to kill himself for dubious reasons (Rommel was never part of any plot against Hitler, to whom he owed his position thanks to his friendship with him).
 
WI Rommel was never accused of involvement in the assassination plot?
How soon could he recover from head wounds - suffered 7 July 1944?
How soon could be return to command?
How much could be frustrate/delay WALLIED invasion of France?
 
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Rommel was good, but unless he manages to avoid the destruction of his forces in the Falaise Pocket there's no way he can stabilise the situation in France. There's no way really to avoid that without retreating earlier, and in the aftermath of the assassination attempt that would at the very least lead to his dismissal if not execution anyway.

If he survived then postwar he may well face trial for the action of forces under his command both in the Battle of France and during his time in command of the Atlantic Wall. The would mean he never gets the reputation as the "Good Nazi". While I'm not aware of any major atrocities committed by men under his command that doesn't mean there weren't incidents and the French would want their pound of flesh. If only because of 7th Panzer's role in the fall of France.

Just a thought and I admit not likely but if he survived to the end and was still fighting his reputation would be hammered if Hitler named his as his successor before shooting himself.
 

trurle

Banned
WI Rommel was never accused of involvement in the assassination plot?
How soon could he recover from head wounds - suffered 7 July 1944?
How soon could be return to command?
How much could be frustrate/delay WALLIED invasion of France?
His main emphasis
(different fro his predecessors or successors) in Western Front preparations was the construction of extensive minefields - mostly in coastal waters.
Actually Allies running into minefield in the primary landing beaches was one of the few scenarios which can potentially defeat the invasion to Normandy. And likelihood of this happening will increase with every day Rommel is in charge.

http://www.mcdoa.org.uk/Operation_Neptune_Minesweeping.htm
 
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I heard several German sources that claim the real reason for Rommel's forced suicide was that he apparently had a letter ready to be sent out over the Wehrmacht communication channels that would dissolve all German soldiers in France from all blame if they choose to surrender to the Allies rather then to put up a suicidal last stance.

In military terms that makes sense because the German military culture has always had a concept called 'Kadavergehorsam': Roughly translated as a obediance to the point of becoming a cadaver. In contrast to the Japanese.Banzai-culture, the Kadavergehorsam was a negative term used for obedience gone too far. A German soldier had not only the right but even the duty to openly disobey any orders that would result in his pointless destruction. The key word there however is 'pointless'. A soldier still must be prepared to give his life for his Fatherland. However if his death will be obviously senseless, he has all right to preserve his life for a worthier occasion.

In Rommel's view, holding on to France against the overwhelming Allied war machine and especially against the will of the local population, would be just that 'Kadavergehorsam'. No word however if he just wanted to preserve his men for a fight against the Russians in the East....
 
His main emphasis
(different fro his predecessors or successors) in Western Front preparations was the construction of extensive minefields - mostly in coastal waters.
Actually Allies running into minefield in the primary landing beaches was one of the few scenarios which can potentially defeat the invasion to Normandy. And likelihood of this happening will increase with every day Rommel is in charge.

http://www.mcdoa.org.uk/Operation_Neptune_Minesweeping.htm

Naval Minefields or massive explosive mining of huge portions of the prospective beaches could have been disastrous for the landings.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mines_in_the_Battle_of_Messines_(1917)
 
Rommel's death by suicide was a convenient event for post-war German leaders to paint him as 'the good German' when pretty much everyone in the Wehrmacht was complicit in Nazi war crimes. Gone was his friendship and favour with Hitler and in came his tragic death and heroic exploits. And it wasn't just the notion of German nationhood after the World Wars that benefitted from the 'Good Rommel' myth. The Allied generals who beat him, Montgomery, Patton, etc. all look greater by comparison as a result of their forays with the 'Desert Fox'.


I think this video sums up why and how Rommel was elevated to this status. A Rommel that is alive would have almost certainly joined his fellow generals at Nuremberg, and maybe even feel unrepentant over his loyalty to Hitler.
 
i still believe through this he'd survive nuremburg and somehow assist in west German rearment but real question is how much would change from OTL
 
Preußische Feld Marshalls meutern nicht. That might be something to consider here.

Yea, he was Swabian, IIRC. Still doesn't excuse him from any dirty business he engaged in building the Western Wall. In fact, his Swabian background worked to his advantage in gaining Hitler's favour when competing with the old Prussian military caste.
 

SsgtC

Banned
Yea, he was Swabian, IIRC. Still doesn't excuse him from any dirty business he engaged in building the Western Wall. In fact, his Swabian background worked to his advantage in gaining Hitler's favour when competing with the old Prussian military caste.
Oh I know he wasn't Prussian himself. But the sentiment still applies. That feeling that a German Field Marshall did not mutiny against his government.
 
Yeah. And people were shocked when he surrendered instead of committing suicide

Well, he was left to die as it is. That he and the Sixth Army fought that long anyway was simply because Stalin had some room in the gulag for them. It took forever to make trying to survive there more appealing than dying in Stalingrad.
 
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