Knight's Cross: A Life of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel

In any numbering of the great captains of history, the name of Erwin Rommel must stand in the first rank. He was the outstanding Axis field commander of the Second World War, and was respected, even admired, as well as feared by his opponents. Here, it seemed to the Allies, was a supremely professional soldier: chivalrous, decent, untainted by the crimes of the Nazi regime, carrying out his duty with often dazzling success.David Fraser's book - surely the definitive study - brings to Rommel's career not only the perceptions of an acclaimed biographer, but those of a distinguished soldier too: his insights into Rommel's mind and methods carry the authority of experience. He shows how inspiringly spontaneous and superficially haphazard Rommel's style of leadership could be: 'Rommel believed that war is a reckless, untidy business, and that the habits of mind of a methodical manager are alien to what is required.' Instead, his hallmarks were boldness of manoeuvre, ferocity in attack, and