An Army At Dawn Rommel Analysis

“Rommel, Rommel, Rommel! What else matters than beating him?” This famous quote by Prime Minister Winston Churchill describes best how Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was perceived by his adversaries in the summer of 1942: “he had an uncanny ability to dominate the minds of his adversaries.” This paper will provide a brief book review of An Army at Dawn before focusing on Rommel – the famous “Dersert Fox” – and his leadership capabilities. Thereby, Rommel´s traits, characteristics and style will presented through the lens of leadership concepts, especially System 1 and System 2 thinking, emotional intelligence and organizational culture.
The former Washington Post correspondent and historian Rick Atkinson published his book An Army at Dawn in 2002 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for his work. His book describes the history of the Allied North African Campaign and focuses particularly on the role of the US military forces. The author follows the early planning stages of the Allied invasion (Operation Torch) of North

Rommel was well liked by the enlisted personnel. He was a bold, daring, courageous leader who led by example. He felt more comfortable relaxing and conversing with the enlisted soldiers. Rommel 's relationships with his superiors were often strained. While commanding the 7th Panzer Division in France, Rommel had a tense relationship with his corps commander, General Hermann Hoth. During one episode, the corps commander felt Rommel had advanced too far forward, and ordered him to detach some of his men to assist another Panzer division. Rommel refused to do this, and with the Army Commander 's support, Rommel pressed forward to exploit a perceived weakness. Rommel was often able to persuade others, junior and senior alike, to accept his plan or his way of thinking. His relationship with Hitler likely aided his ability to influence