A volume in the Casemate Illustrated Special series. When 1941 dawned, the British cleared the last Italian strongholds in Libya after seven months of fighting. The outnumbered British Western Desert Force of 30,000 men had effectively defeated an Italian force of 250,000. The British had captured hundreds of thousands of Italian soldiers, hundreds of tanks and artillery pieces, and several thousand valuable lorries, and had driven the Italians out of Egypt and then across the Libyan coast until they controlled only a small part of western Libya. In response to this collapse, Adolf Hitler intervened and sent the Afrika Korps under General Erwin Rommel to reinforce Mussolini's struggling troops. From March to December 1941, German and Italian troops clashed with the forces of the British Commonwealth in a series of major battles. Despite limited resources, Rommel's tactical skill outmanoeuvred the British and he launched swift offensives that pushed them back to Western Egypt. Determined to protect the Suez Canal, the British launched their own counter-offensive operations Brevity, Battleaxe and Crusader but found it hard to gain the upper hand. A key focus was the port of Tobruk the only major port in the war zone still held by the British. Under siege for much of 1941, the defenders withstood repeated Axis attacks and prevented Rommel from securing a vital supply hub. By year's end, both sides had suffered heavy casualties, and the campaign ended in a stalemate that set the stage for further clashes in 1942. Featuring over 150 photographs, detailed maps, and artwork, this book provides an in-depth look at the soldiers, strategies, and changing tides of the 1941 desert war.
