The very popular Images of War series continues to expand with each book achieving a high standard but this is a volume that will prove specially successful because of the interest in the Desert Fox. The Germans were drawn into the North African Campaign as they were drawn into the Balkans, because Italian collapse threatened German war aims. – Much Recommended
NAME: Images of War, The Armour of Rommel's Afrika Korps, Rare Photographs From Wartime Archives FILE: R2787 AUTHOR: Ian Baxter PUBLISHER: Pen and Sword BINDING: soft back PAGES: 127 PRICE: £14.99 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: German Army, Afrika Korps, North Africa, armour, Pkw, gun tanks, assault guns, reconnaissance, armoured cars, half tracks, desert, WWII, World War Two, World War 2, Second World War
ISBN: 1-52672-239-9
IMAGE: B2787.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/ydfcugxb LINKS: DESCRIPTION: The very popular Images of War series continues to expand with each book achieving a high standard but this is a volume that will prove specially successful because of the interest in the Desert Fox. The Germans were drawn into the North African Campaign as they were drawn into the Balkans, because Italian collapse threatened German war aims. - Much Recommended The North African Campaign was always going to be won by the side with the best logistics, rather than the technical superiority of a small number of weapons systems and that was as true in the 21st Century during the Libyan Civil War as during WWII. The narrow coastal strip permits fast advances and even faster retreats. The advancing army appears invincible until it outruns its supply lines. The retreating army gets ever closer to its supplies. At the tipping point, the retreating army becomes the new advancing army. The British had a potential advantage because it could be supplied from the East via the Red Sea and Suez Canal. The Italians and Germans had to supply across the Mediterranean from Italy but proved unable to take Malta which sat across their lines with its submarines, fast attack craft and its growing fleet of maritime attack aircraft. The British advantage was periodically lost because political considerations required resources to be taken away to fight other campaigns. When Rommel arrived in North Africa, his force was relatively small but included up to date aircraft a nd armour. It coincided with demands on the British Army from other campaigns that combined to weaken supply lines. The senior British commanders also took some time to adjust to Rommel's tactics and his 'surprise' attacks continued to surprise them when they should have become obvious. Changes in command and improving supplies priorities put the British is an increasingly strong position as the new commanders came to understand Rommel's 'surprise' tactics and prepare for them. That led to the Afrika Korps being stopped and the British and Commonwealth 8th Army moving onto the attack, driving Rommel back to where he started. Malta became increasingly successful against his supply convoys from Italy and the Anglo-American landings behind him made his defeat almost inevitable. There was only so much that the formidable 88mm anti-gun and the Tiger I tank could achieve. The author has provided concise text to support a very good image selection that puts the German armour in perspective and shows how the poor Pkw I and Pkw II tanks were still a numerous element of the Africa Korps along with the successful Skoda 38t and Czech 4.7cm anti-tank gun. It also shows how these early armoured vehicles were supported by the much more effective, but less numerous, Pkw III and Pkw IV armour and the significantly more powerful, but very much smaller number of, Tiger I tanks. Opposing British armour is also shown including the very well armoured Matilda infantry tank that continued in British service through WWII and became a favourite of the Red Army as supplies reached them. The weakness of the Matilda was its poor armament and slow speed that were a consequence of the intended role, moving ahead of infantry on foot to provide them with a shield and to attack enemy infantry in the open and in machine gun pits.