Book Description
Rommel was but a lieutenant in 1917, assigned to one of the German mountain units sent to Italy for the new offensive. As the German and Austrian troops launched their surprise attack at Caporetto, Rommel often found himself in command of many times the number of troops normally led by one of his rank. Rommel led mountain infantry and machine-gunners in many daring advances over some of the world's roughest terrain, on one occasion taking 9,000 prisoners in a single day. Rommel came away from the campaign with Germany's most coveted decoration, and had laid the foundation of a legend. John and Eileen Wilks have been studying the Caporetto campaign for many years, and have drawn upon official records to reveal the influential early days of one of history's greatest military commanders.