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Between the wars

Rommel was 27 years old when the war ended with the defeat of the Germans, but he continued to climb the career ladder - on October 18, 1918, he received the title of Hauptmann. Then political chaos began in Germany. During the November bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1918, he commanded a security company that took part in suppressing the demonstrations of the working people of the Ruhr region.

In January 1918, he was assigned to the post of adjutant at the headquarters of the special forces. In the spring of 1919, Erwin Rommel became the commander of the internal security company in Fredrichshafen, and in January 1921, after commanding a rifle company, he became the commander of a machine-gun company in Stuttgart. Rommel remained in Stuttgart until the end of October 1929, when he was assigned as an instructor at the infantry school in Dresden. Remembering the massacre of the First World War, Rommel trained future commanders to protect their soldiers. This will become his credo in the African theater of operations, for which he will be loved and respected by the soldiers. At the same time, Rommel was writing his book, which was based on his personal experience gained during the First World War and compiled from his front-line diaries and notes.

First World War veteran Erwin Rommel

On October 1, 1933, Rommel received the rank of Major and was sent to the post of commander of the mountain battalion of snipers Goslar Jaegers in the Goslar mountains. Here in 1934 he met Hitler, who attended the Harvest Festival in Goslar on September 30. Rommel accompanied Hitler as he welcomed the Goslar Jaegers in the Imperial Palace. Rommel was still far from politics, a simple officer, not used to civilian clothes. In October 1935, he was promoted to Oberstleutenant and was appointed head of training at the military academy in Potsdam.

In the period from the beginning of his enlistment in military service until 1935, Erwin Rommel was awarded the remaining 3 awards for service in the Wehrmacht: for 12 years of service "Wehrmacht Long Service Golden Medal, III Class" (August 1, 1922), for 18 years of "Wehrmacht Long Service Silver Cross, II Class" (August 1, 1928) and for 25 years of service "Wehrmacht Long Service Golden Cross, I Class" (August 1, 1935).

Rommel's book "Infantry attack"

On October 1, 1937, Rommel was promoted to Oberst, and his book "Infantry Attack" was finally officially published. His book quickly became the most popular textbook on military tactics. In his book, which in the future was translated into many European languages ​​and made his name famous in military circles, Rommel formulated his professional and life credo - never surrender! Rommel never expected that his work would become a bestseller in Nazi Germany, and in the Swiss army they would generally make rules for combat training out of it.

In the same year, the officers' mentor became a cadet. Rommel attended the first course of lectures on Nazi doctrine for officers. From that moment on, he decided that the military must be politically educated to uphold the Fuehrer's policies. Rommel himself now played a role in this policy, even not a major one.

From early to mid-1938, he served as a liaison officer for the War Ministry and the "Hitlerjugend". Soon Rommel had a conflict with the leader of this organization Baldur von Schirach, over the fact that Schirach sought to militarize the German youth. In one of the disputes, Rommel told Schirach, who had not snorted gunpowder, that if he wanted to educate a soldier, then he should try to become a soldier himself. Tact was never Rommel's strong side.

In October 1938, Rommel was appointed head of an infantry school in the Vienna suburb of Wiener Neustadt, in occupied Austria. According to Rommel, this was the happiest period in his military career. Rommel began to take a serious interest in photography.

Hittler's guard batallion under Rommel command

After reading Rommel's book "Infantry Attacks", Hitler was delighted and in the same 1938 appointed him the commander of a personal guard battalion. In the fall of the same year, Germany occupied the Sudetenland, part of Czechoslovakia, with a German-speaking population, and Memel. When Hitler arrived in the Sudetenland, he was accompanied by a battalion commanded by Rommel. This was truly the first serious post of the future great field marshal of Germany. Accompanying Hitler as the commander of the guard battalion, Rommel spent the nights at the door of the Fuehrer's bedroom, taking turns with Hitler's adjutant Brückner.

After the actions to annex territories to the Third Reich, on October 30, 1938 he was awarded the "Commemorative Medal for 1 October 1938" and after the annexation of Czechoslovakia on May 1, 1939 - "Prague Castle" Clasp to "Commemorative Medal for 1 October 1938". Also, on May 1, 1939, Rommel was awarded the "Return of Memel Medal".

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