When the 1914 war broke out, Lieutenant Jürgen von Arnim, from an old aristocratic military family, was twenty-five years old. He will earn his captain's stars by fire and serve in the Imperial Guard. An officer by tradition with a brittle look, he succeeded in entering the Reichswehr of 100,000 men authorized by the Treaty of Versailles.
After having fought as a troop officer during the war, he is now a staff officer. A few months after Chancellor Hitler took power, he was appointed colonel. His career went smoothly until the conflict and he quickly rose through the ranks of the hierarchy (Brigadier General in 1938 and Major General in 1939).
The new German army, which is preparing for battle, needs leaders.
General von Arnim will fight on the Eastern Front at the head of an army corps shielded. He then revealed himself, against the Soviets, to be a good specialist in panzers and their coordination with other arms.
When the Anglo-Saxons landed in Morocco and Algeria on November 8, 1942, the Reich leaders must react very quickly to prevent Rommel's forces from being taken from the rear.
For the Italian-German Fifth Army which is being formed in Tunisia, a high-class leader is needed, and above all a man who is totally insensitive to failure and discouragement. Von Arnim is designated for this mission of sacrifice. He succeeded in blocking the Allies on the road to Bizerte and Tunis, narrowly restoring a situation close to disaster.
Raids by reconstituted French troops threaten to cut off von Arnim's army from Rommel's:a counter-attack must be launched. On January 30, 1943, for the tenth anniversary of Hitler's seizure of power, General von Arnim won one of the last German victories in Africa at the Faïd Pass.
Other counter-attacks will however fail. Desert panzers cannot retake either Kasserine or Medenine. Rommel was ordered to return to Europe on May 8, 1943.
Von Arnim became the last commander-in-chief of Axis forces in Africa. The Mareth line is sunk. It does not even have 100,000 men left, who are fighting, surrounded, with their backs to the sea. On May 7, 1943, the Allies manage to take Tunis and Bizerte. Five days later, von Arnim was taken prisoner.
The last German general in Africa died in Bad Wildungen in 1962.