Rommel's Greatest Victory
YA?By early 1942, although the Germans were victorious on almost every battlefield in Europe, their drive in North Africa to seize the Suez Canal had been stopped in its tracks. More importantly, the Germans and their Italian allies were in such a perilous position that they were in danger of being pushed out of Africa altogether. Hitler sent General Erwin Rommel, soon to gain fame as the Desert Fox, to Africa to reverse the situation. Within two months, in a series of brilliant counterattacks, Rommel had forced the British back to Egypt, inflicting massive casualties and destroying or capturing thousands of tanks, armored vehicles, trucks, and artillery pieces. The success of his efforts allowed the Germans to keep their toehold in Africa for another year and prevented the Allies from using the troops on another front. Mitcham's readable narrative blends first-hand accounts with official histories to capture the confusion and chaos of the campaign. The numerous maps and illustrations enable readers to follow the narrative. The book closes with a short synopsis of what happened to the officers mentioned. This is a quick read that will appeal to casual readers, but it has enough detail to sustain the interest of history buffs.?Robert Burnham, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield,Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.