His sense of valor and chivalry were the stuff of King Arthur's knights, but it was his "boldness, use of surprise, readiness to accept risks" and above all his "intuitive sense of the battlefield" that made Rommel one of the greatest generals in military history. "Brilliantly successful in attack, and remarkably resourceful in defense," the "Desert Fox" raced his armies through France in 1940 and then repeatedly outwitted the British in North Africa. (Blumenson, 293). Only a …showed first 75 words of 1423 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1423 total…implied the loss of his family's livelihood. Rommel bid farewell to his wife and son and was driven off in an army car after swallowing the capsule. According to Blumenson, "those who saw his body noted the look of contempt on his face." (Blumenson, 314). Rommel was buried with full-military honors and given a hero's farewell. Bibliography Martin Blumenson, "Field Marshal Erwin Rommel," In Hitler's Generals. Edited by Corell Barnett. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, pp.293-316