Georg Stumme (29 July 1886 – 24 October 1942) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during the Second World War who briefly commanded the Axis forces at the beginning of the Second Battle of El Alamein, and died during the Defence of Outpost Snipe.

After the Nazis came to power in 1933 he was promoted to Oberst (Colonel) in 1933 and Generalmajor (equivalent to a one-star or brigadier general in Allied armies) in 1936.

[1] Stumme had achieved the rank of Generalleutnant by the beginning of the war, and he commanded the 2nd Light Division in the Invasion of Poland in 1939.

[3] His letters to his superiors indicate he was not optimistic and agreed with Rommel that the only real prospect of success lay in keeping the enemy wrongfooted with attacks, for which he did not have the resources.

Stumme prohibited the use of German artillery ammunition to bombard the British forward assembly areas, where the troops were vulnerable, preferring to keep his limited resources in reserve.

On 24 October Stumme and Colonel Andreas Büchting, his chief signals officer, drove to the front to review the situation.

[3] Stumme has been described by historian Samuel W. Mitcham as a "competent but pleasure-loving general", who cultivated a convivial relationship with his officers, unlike the hard-driving Rommel.

[9] One of his officers, Friedrich von Stauffenberg, said that Stumme created a "congenial" atmosphere while maintaining a "crack, well-officered division".

[9] According to Mark M. Boatner, The short, good-humored Stumme suffered from chronic high blood pressure that gave his face a permanent flush.

The troops called him "Fireball", and the monocled little general, although old for front line duty even by Wehrmacht standards, had a flair for seizing tactical opportunities.