British commandos wanted to abduct Rommel: War diary
September 23rd, 2011 - 6:27 pm ICT by IANSLondon, Sep 23 (IANS) Crack British commandos had chalked out a plan to kidnap German commander Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, revealed a war diary.
The SAS War Diary includes the mission to kill or capture Rommel at a French chateau in 1944. It also tells yet unheard accounts of the exploits of the elite special forces units during the Second World War, reported the Daily Telegraph.
A document marked “Secret” said: “If it should prove possible to kidnap Rommel and bring him to this country the propaganda value would be immense and the inevitable retaliation against the local inhabitants might be mitigated or avoided. Such a plan could involve finding and being prepared to hold for a short time, if necessary, a suitable landing ground.”
“To kill Rommel would obviously be easier than to kidnap him and it is preferable to ensure the former rather than to attempt and fail in the latter.”
But, just a day before the commandos were to parachute in, Rommel returned to Germany having been seriously injured when his staff car was hit by RAF planes.
The war diary has been called an extraordinary treasure trove for historians.
The diary was put together by a former SAS soldier shortly after the original regiment was disbanded in 1945. Barring the soldier, nobody else was aware of the existence of the diary that is bound in leather “liberated” from the Nazis. Shortly before his death a decade ago he handed it over to the SAS Regimental Association.
- Hitler's heroic exploits in World War I 'were a Nazi propaganda myth' - Mar 14, 2011
- Poles outraged over demand for Nazi memorial at UK soldiers' gravesite - Apr 20, 2011
- Confessions of Nazi soldiers reveal their thirst for innocent people's blood - Apr 06, 2011
- Lost WWI diary reveals horrors of battle - Feb 24, 2011
- Hitler's World War One comrades called him a 'rear area pig' - Aug 18, 2010
- Exhibition showing Nazi-era Berlin reopened - Aug 24, 2010
- Revealed: RAF's bizarre plot to kidnap Hitler through his pilot - Jan 31, 2011
- Nazi soldiers given highly addictive crystal meth to fight longer, harder - Mar 31, 2011
- Winston Churchill's first painting after WW2 up for grabs - Apr 18, 2011
- Rare Hitler colour photos found - Jan 12, 2012
- Brit plumber finds WWII prisoner of war camp for Nazi soldiers in back garden - Sep 07, 2010
- Hitler had a love child, says war soldier's diary - Mar 15, 2012
- Entrance to tunnel used for 'The Great Escape' revealed - Jan 19, 2011
- Rommel's ex-driver recalls exchange of cigs, small talk between Germans, Brits in African desert - Jun 17, 2009
- Prince William appointed Colonel of Irish Guards - Feb 11, 2011
Tags: british commandos, daily telegraph, exploits, field marshal erwin rommel, french chateau, german commander, historians, inhabitants, marked secret, nazis, propaganda value, raf, regimental association, retaliation, sas, second world war, special forces, staff car, treasure trove, war diary