ing charge of a division, the surly, tight-lipped
aristocrat assumed control of a supply dump—
a distinct demotion. Arnim, true to form, sim-
ply carried on as ordered, much to the conster-
nation of high-ranking associates back in
Berlin. By the advent of World War II, Arnim’s
friends ended his political exile and arranged
for him to command the 27th Infantry Division
as a lieutenant general. It was an inauspicious
debut for such a fine battle captain, but Arnim,
as usual, made little comment.
Arnim failed to see any fighting in Poland
and France yet was still considered an out-
standing leader. For this reason, in October
1940 he was entrusted with the 17th Panzer
Division, an arm in which he had no training.
Nonetheless, during Adolf Hitler’s invasion
of Russia in June 1941, Arnim accompanied
Gen. Heinz Guderian’s Second Panzer Group
and fought with distinction. He stormed
Slonim, his initial objective, in only two days
and was seriously wounded. Returning to the
front by September, Arnim proved instrumen-
tal during the Kiev encirclement by seizing
bridges over the Desna River intact. Their
capture sounded the death knell of the Sovi-
ets’ Yyazma-Bryansk pocket, which surren-
dered 700,000 prisoners on October 17, 1941.
Lunging forward, Arnim was then promoted
to general of panzer troops and headed up the
39th Panzer Corps with Army Group North.
However, in December 1941, Soviet forces
launched a major winter offensive that threw
the Germans back 100 miles. Arnim per-
formed well in the face of this disaster, stabi-
lizing the line and blunting Russian advances
in his sector. In the spring of 1942, he was
summoned to mount a desperate relief opera-
tion to save German troops trapped at Kholm.
Braving stiff resistance, his men linked up
with the garrison on May 5, 1942, rescuing
them intact. By now Arnim was widely hailed
as a tactical virtuoso, and in November 1942
he was tapped to lead the Fifth Panzer Army
in Tunisia, North Africa. While visiting Berlin,
he received Hitler’s personal assurance of re-
ceiving all the supplies and reinforcements
necessary to ensure victory.
The German position in North Africa had
steadily deteriorated in the face of recent
events. After the defeat of legendary com-
mander Erwin Rommel at El Alamein in
Egypt, and the landing of American forces in
Algeria under Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower,
Hitler’s forces were being squeezed between
two large armies. Arnim arrived at his
Tunisian bridgehead on December 9, 1942, and
immediately launched a punishing attack
against British units within 25 miles of the city.
In time, he was joined by the lead elements of
Rommel’s famous Afrika Korps, which were
retreating west one step ahead of the British.
However, once Rommel had united with
Arnim’s Fifth Panzer Army, a counteroffensive
seemed possible. By January 1943, Gen. Al-
bert Kesselring, supreme commander of
German Mediterranean forces, authorized a
two-pronged offensive against American
forces west of Tunis. Arnim and Rommel were
tasked with landing their respective columns
in a coordinated assault through the moun-
tains to capture the port of Bone, on the Alge-
rian coast. This would effectively cut off the
British First Army from its supply base and
send the Allies scurrying back before Gen.
Bernard Montgomery’s Eighth Army arrived
from Egypt. It was an excellent plan and con-
ducted by two seasoned, capable command-
ers, but unfortunately for the Germans things
unraveled immediately.
In truth, Arnim and Rommel had been ac-
quainted since they were young infantry cap-
tains, but they disliked each other intensely.
Arnim—the aristocrat with impeccable family
lineage—and Rommel—the common son of a
schoolteacher—simply did not mesh person-
ally. Furthermore, Arnim, the reserved, de-
tached professional, strongly resented the
outspoken flamboyance and international
fame of the Desert Fox. Rommel, in return,
railed against Arnim’s conservative, stodgy
approach to strategy. Thus, when the battle
commenced, Arnim granted Rommel only
minimal cooperation. This personal animus
boded ill for German fortunes in North Africa.
Given the sheer disparity of men and equip-ARNIM, HANS-JURGEN