‘Killing Rommel’ is a tale of guerrilla fighters behind German lines
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BY FRANCIS MOUL / For the Lincoln Journal Star
(“Killing Rommel” by Steven Pressfield, Doubleday, $24.95, 333 pages).
August 1942 was a tentative, dangerous time for the Allies in the throes of World War II. Hitler and the Japanese were everywhere winning, an inexperienced American military was struggling to find itself, and the Mideast oil fields were about to be lost to the German army, a potentially massive blow.
This is the setting for this historical novel, based on true adventures but with the added zip and zest of great dialogue, interesting and dynamic characters and a story line that will fascinate readers. Perhaps the real story of the Long Range Desert Group is as exciting, but this is a great tale, well told.
The idea is audacious. Find and kill Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, commander of German and Italian forces in North Africa. He is their heart and soul and the dynamic tactician who has pushed the British Eighth Army nearly to the sea. Kill Rommel, and the fight goes out of an over-extended enemy.
The small group of Allied guerrilla fighters barely surviving in primitive desert vehicles operating behind German lines goes through desperate battles, insane hardships and bold, nearly suicidal attacks in search of the German leader. This is a story of inhuman suffering and bravery.
Francis Moul, Ph.D., is an environmental historian.
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