Rommel's Greatest Victory : The Desert Fox and the Fall of Tobruk, Spring 1942

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In May of 1942, Erwin Rommel, already famed as the "Desert Fox," launched an audacious campaign against the British forces defending the road to Alexandria, the Suez canal, and the oil-rich Middle East. The prize was Tobruk, the most important port along the Libyan coast east of Tripoli, the Axis base of operations. Possession of this fortress would give the Afrika Korps a secure base of supply almost a thousand miles closer to the Egyptian border. The spring 1942 battle for Tobruk is a study of Rommel, the foremost strategist and tactician of his generation, at his best, daring but never foolhardy. It also studies Rommel the combat leader at his greatest, discerning the critical moment in time and the critical point on the battlefield, and then being present to personally influence the result.

FROM THE CRITICS

School Library Journal

YA--By early 1942, although the Germans were victorious on almost every battlefield in Europe, their drive in North Africa to seize the Suez Canal had been stopped in its tracks. More importantly, the Germans and their Italian allies were in such a perilous position that they were in danger of being pushed out of Africa altogether. Hitler sent General Erwin Rommel, soon to gain fame as the Desert Fox, to Africa to reverse the situation. Within two months, in a series of brilliant counterattacks, Rommel had forced the British back to Egypt, inflicting massive casualties and destroying or capturing thousands of tanks, armored vehicles, trucks, and artillery pieces. The success of his efforts allowed the Germans to keep their toehold in Africa for another year and prevented the Allies from using the troops on another front. Mitcham's readable narrative blends first-hand accounts with official histories to capture the confusion and chaos of the campaign. The numerous maps and illustrations enable readers to follow the narrative. The book closes with a short synopsis of what happened to the officers mentioned. This is a quick read that will appeal to casual readers, but it has enough detail to sustain the interest of history buffs.--Robert Burnham, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA

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