> Rated top soldiers in?

*IF* you are actually reading and thinking about the answers that 
people are giving to your questions then there may be some point to 
all this. If you are just asking more without any real thoughtthen 
it's a pretty pointless exercise. I don't know which is true - I hope 
that it's the former.

Bear in mindf that you are dealing with matters that are of great 
importance to some people here. You don't have to hold them to be 
equally important, as long as you respect what others think and feel.

Re you rquestion. I'm not aware that Rommel gave the basis for his 
opinion. But he gave us some clues. IF you are aware of Rommel and 
hold him in high esteeem in all areas of soldierly activity, as many 
people do, then you may place some value on his opinion. As soldiers 
go he would have been one of the best. ALL soldiers have the potential 
job of killing people at some stage or other. If you find that 
unquestionably unnacceptable (and it's entirely understandable that 
some people do) then nothing else will improve on that. I'm not 
personally very comfortable with the idea of anyone killing anyone, 
but I consider that sometimes people need to stand against a great 
evil. Unfortunately, too often you get people on two sides opposing 
each other and BOTH sides think they are standing against a great 
evil. It's often hard to see the other sides viewpoint.

If you don't know Rommel then you may wish to acquaint yourself with 
him a little IF you want to ask more questions about him or his 
opinion.

> compassion, killing people, doing what they were
> told by superiors (that's another question),
> God fearing or what?

All these things in various measure.
NZ soldiers were by no means mummy's boys but were slightly less 
unruly, and were slightly more organised than their antipodean cousins 
the Ozzies but not as tied to authority as eg the English. I think 
Rommel thought they got it about right. Rommel was brave beyond 
measure and a man of honour and duty but also of compassion, common 
sense and more. He was ultimatly killed by his own superiors for 
opposing Hitler.



`    Russell McMahon

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