Legendary German general Erwin Rommel analyzes the tactics that led to his success.

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel exerted an almost hypnotic influence not only over his own troops but also over the Allied soldiers of the Eighth Army in the Second World War. Even when the legend surrounding his invincibility was overturned at El Alamein, the aura surrounding Rommel himself remained unsullied.

In this classic study of the art of war Rommel analyses the tactics that lay behind his success. First published in 1937 it quickly became a highly regarded military textbook, and also brought its author to the attention of Adolph Hitler. Rommel was to subsequently advance through the ranks to the high command in the Second World War. As a leader of a small unit in the First World War, he proved himself an aggressive and versatile commander with a reputation for using the battleground terrain to his own advantage, for gathering intelligence, and for seeking out and exploiting enemy weaknesses.

Rommel graphically describes his own achievements, and those of his units, in the swift-moving battles on the Western Front, in the ensuing trench warfare, in the 1917 campaign in Romania, and in the pursuit across the Tagliamento and Piave rivers. This classic account seeks out the basis of his astonishing leadership skills, providing an indispensable guide to the art of war.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction to New Edition
• Publisher’s Note
• Foreword
• I. The War of Movement: Belgium and Northern France, 1914
  • Chapter 1: Fighting at Bleid and Doulcon Woods
    • I: The Beginning, 1914 – Ulm, July 31, 1914
    • II: At the Frontier
    • III: Reconnaissance in the Direction of Longwy and Preparations for the First Battle
    • IV: The Battle of Bleid
    • V: On the Meuse; Battles at Mont and in the Doulcon Woods
  • Chapter 2: Battles at Gesnes, Defuy Woods and Rembercourt
    • I: The Fight at Gesnes
    • II: Pursuit Through the Argonne; The Fight at Pretz
    • III: Attack on Defuy Woods
    • IV: Battle at the Defuy Woods
    • V: Night Attack from September 9-10, 1914
  • Chapter 3: Fighting Near Montblainville
    • I: Retirement Through the Argonne
    • II: Engagement at Montblainville; Storming Bouzon Woods
    • III: Forest Fighting Along the Roman Road
• II: Trench Warfare in the Argonne and High Vosges
  • Chapter 4: Attack in the Charlotte Valley
  • Chapter 5: Trench Fighting at “Central” and in the Charlotte Valley
    • I: Trench Warfare in the Argonne
    • II: Attack on Central
    • III: Attack of September 8, 1915
  • Chapter 6: Raids in the “Pinetree Knob” Sector, High Vosges
    • I: The New Unit
    • II: Raids in the “Pinetree Knob” Sector
• III: Open Warfare in Rumania and the Carpathians, 1917
  • Chapter 7: From Skurduk Pass to Vidra
    • I: Occupation of Hill 1794
    • II: Attack on the Lesului
    • III: Battle at Kurpenul – Valarii
    • IV: Hill 1001, Magura Odobesti
    • V: Gagesti
    • VI: At Vidra
  • Chapter 8: First Operations Against Mount Cosna
    • I: Approach March to the Carpathian Front
    • II: Attack against the Ridge Road Salient, August 9, 1917
    • III: Attack of August 10, 1917
    • IV: The Capture of Mount Cosna, August 11, 1917
    • V: Combat on August 12, 1917
  • Chapter 9: Further Operations at Mount Cosna
    • I: The Defense, August 14-18, 1917
    • II: Second Attack on Mount cosna, August 19, 1917
    • III: Again on the Defensive
  • Chapter 10: The First Day of the Tomeein Offensive
    • I: Approach March and Preparation for the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo
    • II: The First Attack: Hevnik and Hill 1114
  • Chapter 11: The Second Day of the Tolmein Offensive
    • I: Surprise Breakthrough to the Kolovrat Position
    • II: Attack against Kuk. The Barring Luico-Savogna Valley and Opening of the Luico Pass
  • Chapter 12: The Third Day of the Tolmain Offensive
    • I: The Assault on Mount Cragonza
    • II: The Capture of Hill 1192 and the Mrzli Peak (1356) and the Attack on Mount Matajur
  • Chapter 13: Pursuit Across the Tagliamento and Piave Rivers, October 26, 1917 – January 1, 1918
    • I: Masseris – Campeglio – Torre River – Tagliamento River Klautana Pass
    • II: Pursuit to Cimolais
    • III: Attack Against the Italian Postiions West of Cimolais
    • IV: Pursuit Through Erto and Vajont Ravine
    • V: The Fight at Longarone
    • VI: Battles in the Vicinity of Mount Grappa
  • Plates