Overview

The story of the last surviving 'Desert Rats' in their own words and their experience of war in North Africa. From 1940-3 Britain was engaged in a life and death struggle with the Axis powers in North Africa, a titanic, swaying conflict that surged back and forth across the barren wastes of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. This desert war encompassed many of the epic battles of the Second World War, Halfaya Pass, Gazala, Tobruk, and El Alamein. Those British servicemen who were to form the legendary 'Desert Rats' were, for the most part, not professional soldiers; they were drawn from all walks of civilian life and almost without exception, had never set foot in the Western Desert, few had ever left the shores of England. Yet upon them the burden of the war would rest for nearly three long years and their final victory cleared the whole of North Africa, opening the door for the invasions of Sicily and Italy. They were ordinary men who did extraordinary things in most extraordinary circumstances. The book includes numerous unpublished veterans accounts, collected by the author from personal interviews together with unique contemporary photographs.

Full Product Details

Author:   John Sadler
Publisher:   Amberley Publishing
Imprint:   Amberley Publishing
Edition:   1
Dimensions:   Width: 17.20cm , Height: 3.30cm , Length: 24.80cm
Weight:   0.581kg
ISBN:  

9781848683372

ISBN 10:   1848683375
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   15 December 2012
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Awaiting stock  
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Table of Contents

Glossary Introduction: 'Up the Blue' 1. Prelude 2. 'Compass': June 1940 - March 1941 3. A New Thermopylae: March 1941 - May 1941 4. 'Brevity' & 'Battleaxe': May 1941 - July 1941 5. 'Crusader': August 1941 - January 1942 6. 'Msus Stakes' & 'Gazala Gallop': January 1942- June 1942 7. Mersah Matruh & First El Alamein: June 1942 - August 1942 8. Alam Halfa: August 1942 - September 1942 9. Prelude: September 1942 - October 1942 10. Break-in: 23 October 1942 - 24 October 1942 11. 'Crumbling': 25 October 1942 - 28 October 1942 12. 'Supercharge': 29 October 1942 - 3 November 1942 13. Break-out: 4 November 1942 - 23 January 1943 14: 'Torch' to Tunis: November 1942 - May 1943 Appendix 1: Desert Tactics Appendix 2(a): Orders of Battle Appendix 2(b): Extract From A Tactical Appreciation 27 July 1942 Appendix 3: The Ultra War Appendix 4: The Battlefield Today Notes Acknowledgements Chronology Dramatis Personae Bibliography List of Illustrations Index

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Author Information

John Sadler has had a lifelong interest in Scottish military history. He now combines writing with lecturing in History at Newcastle University and working as a battlefield tour guide, living history interpreter, and heritage consultant. He is a keen re-enactor and a long time member of the Sealed Knot Society. He lives in mid-Northumberland.

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