Customer Reviews

Alamein

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Battle of El Alamein is bound up in considerations of the dominant general on both sides, Montgomery for the British and Rommel for the Germans and Italians. Latimer describes the battle at a level of detail that keeps the reader from becoming confused, while pointing out that the battle itself WAS confusing. Both Montgomery and Rommel are fairly criticized, Montgomery for taking too much credit upon himself and Rommel for deliberately ignoring logistical concerns. Latimer, however, is not out to "debunk" either general, and in fact supports Montgomery against some charges laid against him by Corelli Barnett (DESERT GENERALS.) Latimer makes sure to credit the Italians when they did fight, and shows that while the British manned the tanks, Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans carried the day as the infantry. He also significantly discusses the excellent British logistical preparations, pointing out that the British had been supporting armies overseas since the 18th century and knew the importance of ports, roads, and supply centers. He also describes the contribution of the Desert Air Force, which included US fighter and light bomber units. As far as negatives, this reviewer didn't care for the clustering of maps at the beginning, and would have appreciated a British-to-American glossary as well as some extended discussion about relative equipment scales between the forces; Latimer, like many historians of the Desert Campaign, focusses almost exclusively on tank counts and overlooks the differing numbers of artillery and support vehicles. Nonetheless, hightly recommended.

Alamein by Jon Latimer is a modern study utilizing ULTRA and also exploring the naval and air aspects at the battle of El Alamein. It is primarily focused on the British/Commonwealth effort at the battle, and so it can be faulted in not having more on the Axis, but that is not its aim. It explores the "how" the battle impacted Britain and how the battle was influenced by Montgomery. For a serious study it is highly readable. It also benefits from modern computer graphics for an extensive map section.

Stalingrad was the turning point of WW2 in Europe, but El Alamein (primarily the second battle, the first being a stalemate) was a major inflection point. The Axis were kicked out of North Africa, the Allies gained critical superiority in the Mediterranean, saving the vital oil supply lines in Egypt, and facilitating the Italian campaign.
Churchill rightfully declared, "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." He added, "Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat." [1]
Mussolini, Hitler's ambitious but inept junior partner decided that Italy needed glory, so he ordered his army to invade Egypt (then occupied by Britain), to gain access to the vast oil fields, but was soundly defeated, by a much smaller Allied (British and Commonwealth) force. Hitler was then forced to the rescue for the first, but not the last time (see Mussolini's critical failure in the Balkans in the weeks before Babarossa).
After the first battle (summer of 1942), Churchill ordered wholesale changes to the 8th Army, replacing Auchinleck with Alexander; Ritchie by Gott, but Gott was shot down by the Luftwaffe on his way to the desert, giving Montgomery his serendipitous moment in history. Churchill had felt that the British needed a more charismatic and outstanding general to match Rommel, leading Auchinleck to announce, "Rommel is an ordinary German general..I am not jealous of Rommel."[2]
To his credit, the author acknowledges the self exaggerated role of Montgomery, leading Auchinleck's loyal chief of staff Dorman-Smith to successfully sue Monty for his libelous accounts in Monty's postwar memoirs. Monty often surprised even his supporters by his `tendency to sweeping and unfounded assertions, which were so easy to disprove.' [3] To be fair, Auchinleck and his staff had set the stage for Monty's appearance for the second battle(October 1942).
Latimer also discredits the unworthiness of the Italian soldier, stating that it was the military system that they were under. `Italian officers had several course meals, and even travelling brothels, while the ordinary soldiers starved', Latimer writes. Rommel himself realized that they were poorly equipped and led by officers who did not even appear in battles. [4]
As with many of this genre, (most recently Atkinson's Army at Dawn and Day of Battle) there are way too many quotations from Private Jones and Corporal Murphy in letters to mama or Betty Lou. Who really cares!!!
Ultimately, Rommel was defeated by the intransigence of Hitler, the Italian Commando Supremo and the British Intelligence (Ultra).

[1] Winston Churchill, The Hinge of Fate pg 603
[2] David Irving, Trail of the Fox pg5
[3] Barnett, Corelli, Desert General
[4] Liddell Hart, 'The Rommel Papers'

Probably the best single volume account of Britain's last major battle in which her forces played the dominant role in. Latimer gives the reader a clear, from the frontlines approach to the battle. Well worth reading.

I was astonished to read reviews below complaining that this eminently readable study of a major World War II battle was 'too detailed'. What do people expect from Harvard University Press? Free crayons and a colouring-in guide?

This book brings the desert war to life, explaining the mechanics while allowing the participants to tell the story, including the crucial and often overlooked aspect of logistics. It gives full credit to the Commonwealth contribution to this 'British' victory, even down to bar-room brawls in Cairo between various contingents. It also offers an even-handed analysis of the chief protagonists, Montgomery and Rommel. Sure there are no new revelations, but short of their turning out to be alien lizards, what do you expect? And yes, war really is hell, and this is not a book to buy if you want the Disneyfied version.

This is a very detailed and thorough account of the events leading up to the battle of El Alamein as well as, of course, the battle itself and the aftermath. Latimer offers abundant background detail, and some interesting insights into the nature of the armies involved, especially the Italians, who have historically been sidelined in the records of this event. He does a good job of telling the story in the modern vein, with descriptions and quotes from ordinary soldiers as well as their more well-documented leaders. A few complaints, which is why I give it only 3 stars: 1. It may be a little too detailed, sometimes falling into the trap of many of the war histories written in the 60's and 70's - lots of numbers, figures and details of exact physical movements of troops and equipment. It sometimes reads like a warehouse bill of lading, not a history book, with 1000's of tons of this and 100's of tons of that. 2. NOT ENOUGH PHOTOS! In this respect, it's much like the histories written right after the war, long before the discovery of the many photo archives we have available now. I don't know, maybe he couldn't afford the rights to the images. If you've never read a history of the desert war in WWII, this is a good starting point, since he covers much of the action leading up to Alamein and describes the combatants beautifully. If you've already read about the desert war and especially Alamein, you probably won't discover any revelations here, just more detail.