nt, and joined the Alpenkorps, to deal with the Romanian threat. Rommel used surprise tactics to spur victory in Romania. His troops would do extra climbing to get behind enemy lines to catch the enemy off guard. Possibly, his greatest accomplishment came with the capture of Mount Matajur, in Italy. After fifty hours of quick and decisive attacks, his forces were able to capture 150 officers as well as 9,000 men. During the assault, his forces suffered losses of six dead and 30 wounded. For his actions to this point, Rommel was promoted to the rank of Captain. In January of 1918 Rommel was given leave and was assigned a staff posting for the reaminder of the war. For his accomplishments in the First World War, he was rewarded with the Pour le Merite (equivalent to the Victoria Cross).
             Figure 3: Below left: Knight's Cross, Below right: Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
             Due to the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was forced to scuttle it's military. Rommel was lucky when he received his staff position near the
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