Infantry Attacks

Infantry Attacks (original: Infanterie Greift An: Erlebnisse und Erfahrungen) is a book on military tactics written by Erwin Rommel about his experiences during World War I.

It was published in 1937, and was at first little-noticed; many German officers were writing books to explain Germany's unexpected defeat in the war. In this case, howerver, Adolf Hitler read it and was impressed enough to give Rommel opportunities in higher commands, even though Rommel was not from an old military family or the Prussian aristocracy.

It is still reprinted from time to time. It is rumoured that Patton was a fan of the book.

The book consists of thirteen chapters, three on the "war of movement" in 1914, three on trench warfare in the Argonne and High Vosges in 1915, and the remainder on his 1917 experiences in Romania and the Carpathian Mountains. Each chapter consists of one or more sections of narrative, followed by several paragraphs of "Observations", which comment on the principles of tactics followed or violated by the events. The style is simple and direct, very much in the form of a veteran telling junior officers what can happen and what to watch out for, and includes some amusing stories about mishaps befalling individuals.

The book has nothing to say about strategy.

It was first translated into English by Gustave E. Kidde of the US Coast Artillery Corps in 1943, and published in 1944 by the The Infantry Journal.

The 1990 English edition (by Greenhill Books, ISBN 1-85367-064-2), includes an introduction by the general's son Manfred with some personal anecdotes.