The death of Oberstleutnant
Fritz Stephan
One of the personalities in our book is Fritz Stephan (page 537), who, as a participant in the secret training courses “Kama” (Panzerschule Kama) in the Soviet Union, was involved in the development of the Kraftfahrlehrkommando II Ohrdruf as a company commander. At the beginning of World War II, he was an Abteilung commander in Panzerregiment 11. In mid-1941 he became commander of Panzerregiment 5 in North Africa. He was killed there on November 25 in a British air raid. The circumstances of his death are remarkable and were reported as follows 40 years ago in the newsletter of Panzerregiment 11:
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“The operating tent is pitched directly behind a three-ton military vehicle. The surgeon, in a white coat and white cap, is Major Ian Aird, a British staff surgeon. His field hospital near Sidi Omar on the Egyptian border has been overrun by German troops. But the wounded, mostly Italians from the Sollum Line and members of the attacking 4th Indian Division, must continue to be treated. Aird has operated on a dozen abdominal injuries during the night and is exhausted. But more and more wounded are being carried in.
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It is November 25, 1941, one week since the British launched the Crusader offensive. The smoldering wrecks of tanks are scattered across the Libyan Desert. Once again, the fighting has spread into Egyptian territory, and Aird and all his hospital staff are prisoners of the Germans.
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Around noon, there is a sudden commotion. A stretcher is used to rush in a wounded man covered in blood and moaning in pain – he is the victim of an air raid. He is the commander of Rommel's 5th Panzer Regiment, Fritz Stephan.
Aird examines him immediately. In his medical report, he writes that the Panzer Oberst has a large, severely bleeding chest wound. Stephan has been hit by shrapnel that has severed the right lung from the heart. The Germans have made a makeshift bandage on the wound to prevent him from bleeding to death. They ask Aird to apply a tourniquet so that they can fly Stephan back to the rear.
Stephan is conscious and brave, but he has suffered severe shock. Aird immediately realizes that the Oberst has no chance of survival if he does not undergo surgery immediately. The German doctor who accompanied Stephan hesitates. Then he rushes outside to speak to the officers waiting by their armored vehicles. Aird performs a blood transfusion and makes all the necessary preparations for immediate surgery.
Fritz Stephan as company commander in Panzerregiment 3 in 1936
Meanwhile, the German vehicles in front of the operations tent are drawing artillery fire. The ground shakes beneath Aird's feet. The German military doctor returns and says, “The General requests that you please be so kind as to begin the operation.”
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The explosions are getting closer. An anesthetist draws attention to the fact that the shelling is unsettling the wounded. However, Aird does not even notice the exploding grenades. During the operation, Aird looks up briefly. He sees that a dozen armor officers have slipped unnoticed into the tent and are silently watching their comrade being operated on. Among them is a general with the blue Pour le Mérite around his neck. It is Erwin Rommel.
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When they see the shell hit particularly close, the anesthetist expresses his displeasure again. The Germans leave in silence and withdraw with their armored cars to a safe distance from the hospital. Rommel's doctor stays for a moment to thank Aird and says, “We'll come back tomorrow on our way to Egypt.”
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But none of them ever saw each other again. And none of them ever forgot this strange encounter in the desert. The colonel died a few hours after the operation. Aird, who was very impressed by Rommel's humanity, later tracked down Stephan's widow and told her about her husband's last hours.
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A year later, Goebbels asked Rommel on the radio whether he had perhaps unnecessarily risked his life. Rommel hesitated and finally gave a completely unexpected answer. “The English fought very fairly in the desert,” he began. I once visited an English military hospital in passing..." Then he gathered his thoughts and added: “Oh, no need to worry about me. I'll take care of myself.”
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Stephan died on the seventh day of the Crusader offensive.
