Lieutenant General Speidel served under Rommel as chief of staff when the latter was German commander in the west during the spring of 1944. According to Spiedel's account, which has every mark of authenticity, Rommel was determined both to get rid of Hitler and to obtain an armistice from Eisenhower in order to save Germany and her army from complete ruin. Only the "accident" to the Field Marshal on July 17, engineered at Hitler's orders, put an end to these plans.