Rommel Pushing a Car

 

This propaganda photo was taken by Kriegsberichter (War correspondent) Clement Valtingojer, and first published on February 9, 1942. It shows an iconic picture of Generaloberst Erwin Rommel (Oberbefehlshaber Panzerarmee Afrika) as the "Common Man", helping to free up his Horch 901 Typ 40 Kfz.21 staff car alongside his men. Bundesarchiv identified the man behind Rommel as Oberstleutnant i.G. Siegfried Westphal, Ia a.k.a. Head of Operations of Panzerarmee Afrika. But I'm (Alif) definitely sure that this identification is wrong, because his face is 100% more like Major Friedrich-Wilhelm von Mellenthin, Ic a.k.a  Head of Intelligence of Panzerarmee Afrika. The Bundesarchiv (German National Archives) made a lot of mistakes in the identification of person and the timeline from his collection of photographs. An example is this photo itself, which is said to have been taken in January 1941, even though in that month Rommel had not yet arrived in Africa! Usually, when I see a difference in the date, place or identification of a person in a photo, I trust the caption from the Bayerische Staasbibliothek (Bavarian Archives) rather than the Bundesarchiv, because it is almost always more accurate.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-B20800,_Nordafrika,_Rommel_und_Westphal_schieben_Auto.jpg

Rommel Posing While His Car Stuck

General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel (Befehlshaber Panzergruppe "Afrika") posing while his command car is stuck to its axles in the Libyan mud. He is wearing the scarf made by his daughter. The picture was taken between July 1941 - January 1942.

Source :
ECPAD Archive (courtesy of Blanluet Christophe)
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10158282744703308&set=p.10158282744703308&type=1&theater

Rommel Wearing Stahlhelm

Generalmajor Erwin Rommel (Kommandeur 7. Panzer-Division) at the "Hoth Tag" event held in front of the Place des Quinconces, Bordeaux, France, 29 June 1940 (other versions mention 1 July 1940 as the date). To the right is his aide, Hauptmann Hans-Joachim Schraepler. On 24 June 1940, 7. Panzer-Division arrived in Bordeaux. Five days later, the division held a victory parade in the streets of the city in northern France under the direct leadership of the Divisionskommandeur Rommel. Until the spring of 1941, 7. Panzer-Division spent a period of rest and refitting at the "Camp de Sougè", located in Martignas-sur-Jalle. All of this information comes from a letter sent by Rommel to his beloved wife, Lucie, dated 6 January 1941. The position of his own division was as a reserve force of the Wehrmacht, prepared for Unternehmen Seelöwe (Operation Sea Lion, the planned German invasion of England). The invasion was later called off after the Luftwaffe was battered in the Battle of Britain. BTW, I believe this is the only picture showing Rommel wearing stahlhelm (steel helmet)!

Source :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2012/03/album-foto-erwin-rommel-sebagai_10.html
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1970-076-43,_Paris,_Erwin_Rommel_bei_Siegesparade.jpg