Gazala Line
Erwin Rommel’s Determined Assault on Tobruk
During the early morning hours of May 27, 1942, the men of the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade braced themselves for another mundane assignment in the broiling heat of the Libyan Desert. Read more
Gazala Line
Philippe Leclerc: The French Desert Fox
By André Bernole & Glenn BarnettOn November 28, 1947, a converted North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber crashed in the Algerian desert, killing all aboard. Read more
Gazala Line
Rommel’s Failed Gamble: The “Six Days’ Race”
By Arnold BlumbergAn old cliché admonishes, “Bad things always come in threes.” Whether it was thought of as a law of nature or merely coincidence, a rapid succession of events in North Africa during the summer of 1942 seemed to confirm this widely held notion among the officers and men of the British Eighth Army. Read more
Gazala Line
Eric Dorman-Smith: Churchill’s Scapegoat in North Africa
By Jon DiamondWhen one gazes upon the bookshelves in the Military History section of a well-endowed library, one cannot help but notice the number of volumes dedicated to the battles for North Africa during World War II and particularly to the Battle of El Alamein in October 1942. Read more
Gazala Line
Frank Messervy: Britain’s Frontline General
By Jon DiamondThe style of leadership practiced in Britain’s Eighth Army during the early years of the Desert War left much to be desired. Read more
Gazala Line
Sergeant Major Stan Hollis: The Victoria Cross on D-Day
By Michael D. HullA chill breeze cut through the early morning haze, and the storm-swollen sea was rough off the coast of northern France on Tuesday, June 6, 1944. Read more
Gazala Line
Auchinleck of the Indian Army
by Jon DiamondMany students of World War II history know General Sir Claude Auchinleck as the Commander-in-Chief Middle East, who, after taking over for General Sir Archibald Wavell in late June 1941, oversaw the fluctuating fate of Britain’s Eighth Army while combating German General Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps during Operations Crusader and Gazala. Read more
Gazala Line
Sir Claude Auchinleck: The Overshadowed Equal to Erwin Rommel
By Joseph M. HorodyskiBritish Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery has gone down in history as the victor of El Alamein and the relentless nemesis of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, Nazi Germany’s famed “Desert Fox.” Read more
Gazala Line
Italy’s North African Misadventure
By Walter S. ZapotocznyWhen most people think of the Italian Army in North Africa during World War II, they tend to believe that the average Italian soldier offered little resistance to the Allies before surrendering. Read more
Gazala Line
Rommel’s Relentless Attack on the Gazala Line
By Joshua Shepherd
During the early morning hours of May 27, 1942, the men of the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade braced themselves for another mundane assignment in the broiling heat of the Libyan Desert. Read more
