Editing Erwin Rommel (section)

=== Italy 1943 ===
On 23 July 1943, Rommel was moved to [[Greece]] as commander of [[Army Group E]] to counter a possible British invasion. He arrived in Greece on 25 July but was recalled to Berlin the same day following [[Mussolini]]'s dismissal from office. This caused the [[Oberkommando der Wehrmacht|German High Command]] to review the defensive integrity of the Mediterranean and it was decided that Rommel should be posted to Italy as commander of the newly formed [[Army Group B]]. On 16 August 1943, Rommel's headquarters moved to [[Lake Garda]] in northern Italy and he formally assumed command of the group, consisting of the [[44th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|44th Infantry Division]], the [[26th Panzer Division]] and the [[1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler]]. When Italy announced its armistice with the Allies on 8 September, Rommel's group took part in [[Operation Achse]], disarming the Italian forces.{{sfn|Lieb|2014|pp=115–116}}

Hitler met with Rommel and Kesselring to discuss future operations in Italy on 30 September 1943. Rommel insisted on a defensive line north of Rome, while Kesselring was more optimistic and advocated holding a line south of Rome. Hitler preferred Kesselring's recommendation, and therefore revoked his previous decision for the subordination of Kesselring's forces to Rommel's army group. On 19 October, Hitler decided that Kesselring would be the overall commander of the forces in Italy, sidelining Rommel.{{sfn|Lieb|2014|p=117}}

Rommel had wrongly predicted that the collapse of the German line in Italy would be fast. On 21 November, Hitler gave Kesselring overall command of the Italian theatre, moving Rommel and Army Group B to [[Normandy]] in France with responsibility for defending the French coast against the long-anticipated Allied invasion.{{sfn|Hoffman|2004|p=117}}