Winston Churchill, in The Second World War, Vol. 3: The Grand Alliance (1950), pp. 176-177.
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He was a splendid military gambler, dominating the problems of supply and scornful of opposition ... His ardour and daring inflicted grievous disasters upon us, but he deserves the salute which I made him — and not without some reproaches from the public — in the House of Commons in January 1942, when I said of him, "We have a very daring and skilful opponent against us, and, may I say across the havoc of war, a great general." He also deserves our respect because, although a loyal German soldier, he came to hate Hitler and all his works, and took part in the conspiracy of 1944 to rescue Germany by displacing the maniac and tyrant. For this, he paid the forfeit of his life. In the sombre wars of modern democracy chivalry finds no place ... Still, I do not regret or retract the tribute I paid to Rommel, unfashionable though it was judged.

— Winston Churchill

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "He was a splendid military gambler, dominating the problems of supply and scornful of opposition ... His ardour and daring inflicted grievous disasters upon us, but he deserves the salute which I made him — and not without some reproaches from the public — in the House of Commons in January 1942, when I said of him, "We have a very daring and skilful opponent against us, and, may I say across the havoc of war, a great general." He also deserves our respect because, although a loyal German soldier, he came to hate Hitler and all his works, and took part in the conspiracy of 1944 to rescue Germany by displacing the maniac and tyrant. For this, he paid the forfeit of his life. In the sombre wars of modern democracy chivalry finds no place ... Still, I do not regret or retract the tribute I paid to Rommel, unfashionable though it was judged." in the context of "Winston Churchill, in The Second World War, Vol. 3: The Grand Alliance (1950), pp. 176-177." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Erwin Rommel" (Quotes about Rommel: Alphabetized by author ) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Erwin Rommel

About Erwin Rommel

Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German Field Marshal and commander of the Deutsches Afrika Korps in World War II, widely referred to as The Desert Fox (Der Wüstenfuchs). Linked to a conspiracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler, he was ordered to commit suicide with a cyanide pill, in return for assurances that his family would not be persecuted following his death.