On the evening of February 17, 1943, Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) was in a great mood.
He feels "like a cavalry gaul who hears the trumpet," said one employee, describing the mood of his boss, who had even ordered a bottle of champagne.
The Field Marshal General, who had been Commander-in-Chief of the German-Italian Panzer Army in Africa since 1942, was planning an operation in which he had assigned his best man in command: himself.