Forgotten Voices Desert Victory

by Imperial War Museum, Julian Thompson

Overview

‘Between Friday and Monday we never slept at all. Everyone’s face was one mass of sand … The guns were so hot, all the paint had gone’ Bombardier Ray Ellis

Had the Allies lost in North Africa, Rommel’s Afrika Korps would have swept through the Middle East, cutting the vital supply line through the Suez Canal to Australia and India, and taking the oilfields of the Persian Gulf. Britain would have been isolated, without oil, and unable to fight.

These historic battles of 1940–1943 were fought over vast distances on rugged terrain, with supply lines often stretched to breaking point. It was here that David Stirling formed the SAS to perform audacious sabotage missions, and the Long Range Desert Group collected intelligence from behind enemy lines.

This is the story of the Allies’ first victory against Hitler’s army, told in the voices of the men who were there, which proved that the seemingly unstoppable Germans could be beaten.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781409034865
Publisher:	Ebury Publishing
Publication date:	05/12/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Julian Thompson served in the Royal Marines for 34 years, retiring as Major General. He commanded 3 Commando Brigade, which carried out the initial landings in the Falklands conflict and fought most of the subsequent land battles. He is now Visiting Professor in the Department of War Studies, King's College, London and is the author of Forgotten Voices of Burma and the critically acclaimed The Imperial War Museum Book of the War in Burma 1942-1945.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vii

Author's Preface ix

Introduction John Simpson xiii

Forgotten Victory 1

Rommel Takes the Stage 31

Crusader 69

Gazala Gallop 109

Back to Alamein 151

Alamein 183

Operation Torch 239

Tunisia 267

From Alamein to Akarit 297

Capture of the Axis Bridgehead in Tunisia 331

Final Words 349

Glossary 358

Index of Contributors 367

General Index 372

Editorial Reviews

"The Forgotten Voices series...show[s] a completely different side to conflicts...all the more powerful for the ordinary nature of the orators."  —Telegraph

EBOOK COMMENTARY

"The Forgotten Voices series...show[s] a completely different side to conflicts...all the more powerful for the ordinary nature of the orators."  —Telegraph

From the Publisher