by Paddy Griffith
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Product Description
In 1940-43 North Africa saw the first major desert campaign by modern mechanized armies. The British, Italians, German Afrika Korps and US Army all addressed and learned from the special problems - human, logistical, mechanical and tactical - of the desert environment, most significantly a terrain empty of resources and offering little chance of concealment. Paddy Griffith traces the fast-learning development of armor, artillery and infantry tactics in this exceptional situation and illustrates it using references to the major engagements in the North African theater, which involved some of the greatest tacticians ofWorld War II in one of the pivotal arenas.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
WW II Desert Tactics, 2008-11-26
Very good coverage of why it took the British & Commonwealth forces so long to defeat the Desert Fox. Despite their advantage in supplies and numbers the Allies learned the hard way what not to do. The Americans had to learn these same lessons at Kaserine Pass. Exceeded expectations. A must have in understanding the desert war.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Well-Researched, Full of New Insights, and Too Short, 2008-06-22
World War II Desert Tactics (Elite)
This title gives a wealth of insights into tactics and weapons systems in World War II desert fighting. The book constantly goes beyond the obvious to give new perspectives. For example, it is well known that British armored tactics early in the war put too much emphasis on independent tank actions to the detriment of effective all-arms coordination. Griffith goes beyond this to point out how the Desert Rats' early victories against the Italians, using the looping all-tank flanking movements of Hobart's "pure" armor theories, reinforced the wrong lesson. The disastrous armored losses later in Operation Battleaxe and other engagements could be traced in part to over-confidence from the early victory at Beda Fomm.
Griffith pays superb attention to weapon systems, giving details that were new to me. For example, the slow arrival of the superior 6-pounder antitank gun owed much to Dunkirk. The British decided to replace their huge equipment losses by emphasizing quantity over quality, which meant a larger number of the less effective 2-pounder instead of smaller numbers of the far superior 6-pounder. In general, the British did not lack good anti-tank hardware. Instead, as the author points out, they failed to fully appreciate the role of anti-tank guns, putting too much reliance on their tanks instead.
There are plenty of other fascinating tidbits. Did you know that, statistically, just one tank crewman was killed, wounded or captured for every tank knocked out? Or that German AP shells were much more likely to cause fires after a hit, while British shells sometimes just left a hole?
The book includes summaries of the major campaigns, with an eye toward tactics and weapon systems. Griffith shows how the slow-moving British communication system prevented rapid responses on the battlefield. Rommel's habit of leading from the front gave his staff officers fits, but his quick, on-the-spot decisions and superior German radio communications turned a near-hopeless situation in "the Cauldron" into his famous greatest victory at Gazala.
I could find no major errors. There is a typo on p. 31, where a caption describes an "A-13 Mk II" cruiser tank; the photo suggests the author meant an A-13 Mk IV.
If the definition of good writing is to leave your reader wanting more, Mr. Griffith succeeds well. There are plenty of photographs, with thought-provoking captions, some useful tables, maps, and interesting diagrams. The book covers British, Italian, and German tactics, and also gives some thoughtful insights into the US Army's early experience in Tunisia. The book is too short to be comprehensive in every way, but it is informative enough that even knowledgeable researchers should give it a look. It is also very readable, and thus accessible to anyone with an interest in the arcane subject of World War II desert warfare.
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