World War II Desert Tactics (Elite) | 
 enlarge | Author: Paddy Griffith
Creator: Adam Hook
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $18.95
Buy New: $9.71
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Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 93847
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 64
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 7.1 x 0.3
ISBN: 1846032903
Dewey Decimal Number: 940
EAN: 9781846032905
ASIN: 1846032903
Publication Date: April 22, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Perfect condition inside and out! No marks, highlights or underlines,
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Product Description
WWII, Desert Tactics
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| Customer Reviews:
Well-Researched, Full of New Insights, and Too Short June 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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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