World Famous Comics: Tobruk 1941: Rommel's Opening Move (Praeger Illustrated Military History)
Tobruk 1941: Rommel's Opening Move (Praeger Illustrated Military History)
By: Jon Latimer Publisher: Praeger Publishers Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Praeger Publishers Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 96 Publication Date: February 28, 2004
Product Description: In March 1941, with Wavell's British troops having routed the Italians from Cyrenaica, General Erwin Rommel arrived in Tripoli to command the Deutsches Afrikakorps. Over the next two years the Afrikakorps and its commander would become legendary. In his first offensive, Rommel swept across the desert, driving the British back to the Egyptian frontier and capturing much of the 2nd Armored Division in the process. One thorn remained in his side--the vital port of Tobruk continued to resist. If it could hold out Rommel's offensive might be halted. Wavell instructed General Morshead and his garrison of 30,000 determined Australians to hold at all cost. The scene was set for one of the epic struggles of the desert war. After the disastrous Italian collapse in Libya during Wavell's "Operation Compass" Hitler realized he would have to bolster his ally or risk losing the whole of North Africa. In March 1941 General Erwin Rommel arrived in Tripoli to command the Deutsches Afrikakorps. Over the next two years the name of the "Afrikakorps," and in particular that of its commander, would become legendary. In his first offensive which, began on March 24, Rommel's 21st Panzer Division swept across the desert capturing much of the British 2nd Armored Division and the epic eight-month siege of Tobruk began. Under political pressure from London, two ill-conceived and premature attempts were made to drive Rommel back and relieve Tobruk. Operations Brevity and Battleaxe both failed, with the British back at their start lines. In the meantime the largely Australian and New Zealand garrison of Tobruk were resisting all attempts to capture the vital port. General Auchinleck had taken command of the British forces and was preparing a more formidable attempt to relieve Tobruk and throw Rommel's Afrikakorps back. The scene was set for one of the epic struggles of the desert war.
Good book Like all books in the Osprey campaign series, this volume is meant to be an overview of a specific series of battles. In this, Jon Latimer does excellent work. As always, the format of the campaign series does well to give a feel for the campaign. Latimer even goes into some detail on the role of the antiaircraft artillerymen in Tobruk, a vital but often overlooked aspect of the siege. Overall, a good reference about Tobruk or a light read well worth looking into.
An Excellent Brief Account Latimer has done an outstanding job of compressing a large amount of information into the limited format of an Osprey volume. The reviewer (below) may have wanted a far fuller account, but if he has a way of including all of the information Latimer has conveyed *as well as* all the material he believes was missing in just 20,000 words then I suggest he contact Osprey immediately. Such an achievement would be remarkable. I wonder whether some reviewers are more interested in showing off their knowledge than in a reasonable assessment of the work in question.
Given the limited scope of the Osprey format and the general nature of the series' reading audience, Latimer has done a superb job of outlining most of the important aspects of this campaign and of pointing the interested reader in the direction of further, fuller accounts. Highly recommended.
A Truncated Account of the Desert Siege Jon Latimer picks up in this volume on the Siege of Tobruk where he left off in his previous volume in the Osprey Campaign Series, Operation Compass 1940. Although the style is similar to the first volume, this work is better written and better edited. However, it is important to note that this volume does not cover the entire siege of Tobruk, only the period from Rommel's initial offensive on 24 March to the end of Operate "Battleaxe" on 17 June 1941. Since the siege continued until late November 1941, this period will presumably be covered in another volume on "Operation Crusader". Nevertheless, the story of the siege seems oddly truncated in this account.
The section on commanders is far too brief. Rommel is the only Axis commander given serious attention and even the Allied commanders are mostly glossed over. Generalmajor Streich, commander of the 5th Light Division, had a poor relationship with Rommel and this should have been discussed since it contributed to the failure of the first German attack on Tobruk. The section on opposing armies is totally superficial, focusing on a general discussion of anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns, rather than discussing the units involved in the siege. The German 5th Light was a very ad hoc force cobbled together from various bits and pieces in late 1940. More information on the 9th Australian Division should have been provided. Virtually no information on the Italians was provided - Latimer missed a chance here to comment on their recovery, of sorts, from the Beda Fomm disaster. The Order of Battle provided is quite thorough, although there is no list of Axis aircraft available. Latimer should also have made some mention of the reinforcement schedules for both sides. The campaign summary is solid, if unexceptional. Latimer covers all the main points, but a review of his bibliography reveals that he has not dug much past standard secondary sources. There has been a wealth of new information about the Desert War, including a lot of specialized studies on the panzer units of the Afrika Korps, as well as information about Enigma, that have not been incorporated in this volume. Excellent sources, such as the Royal Armored Corps histories and the Tank Museum do not appear to have been utilized. Perhaps in his next volume, Latimer can attempt a bit more research. Finally, there is no attempt at analysis, asking why couldn't Rommel take Tobruk? Obviously inadequate resources played a key factor, but Latimer sheds little light on the question of whether Rommel had any other options.
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