Rommel's Desert War
Waging World War II in North Africa, 1941–1943

A comprehensive history of the Axis campaign in North Africa within the broader strategic context of the Second World War.

Martin Kitchen (Author)

9780521509718, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 3 September 2009

618 pages, 25 b/w illus. 24 maps
23.2 x 16 x 3.4 cm, 1.09 kg

'Thanks to Kitchen's meticulous research, there is now a compelling account of the battles from a German perspective, with a well-rounded and not altogether flattering picture of Rommel. The book gives due weight to both his operational brilliance, especially in retreat, and his poor strategic judgment.' Foreign Affairs

At the height of his power in January 1941 Hitler made the fateful decision to send troops to North Africa to save the beleaguered Italian army from defeat. Martin Kitchen's masterful history of the Axis campaign provides a fundamental reassessment of the key battles of 1941–3, Rommel's generalship, and the campaign's place within the broader strategic context of the war. He shows that the British were initially helpless against the operational brilliance of Rommel's Panzer divisions. However Rommel's initial successes and refusal to follow orders committed the Axis to a campaign well beyond their means. Without the reinforcements or supplies he needed to deliver a knockout blow, Rommel was forced onto the defensive and Hitler's Mediterranean strategy began to unravel. The result was the loss of an entire army which together with defeat at Stalingrad signalled a decisive shift in the course of the war.

Introduction
1. Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy
2. Germany intervenes in North Africa
3. Tobruk: the first round
4. Counterattack
5. Withdrawal
6. On the offensive again
7. Tobruk
8. El Alamein: the first round
9. El Alamein: defeat
10. Torch
11. The retreat from Mersa el Brega
12. Tunisgrad.

Subject Areas: Second World War [HBWQ], Military history [HBW], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD]