The Crucible of War: Auchinleck's Command: The Definitive History of the Desert War - Volume 2 [Paperback]

Barrie Pitt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 2001 | Series: Crucible Of War

In the second volume, Churchill replaces Sir Claude Auchinleck as commander-in-chief with Field Marshal Harold Alexander, and places Bernard Montgomery over the Eighth Army. Prior to the changes of command, Auchinleck stopped Rommel's Afrika Korps for the first time at the first battle of Alamein in July, 1942. Still, the Axis forces remained dangerous. The pair's new commands coincided with the arrival of matériel sufficient to give the Allies overwhelming superiority in the field. Montgomery duly planned for a second battle at Alamein six months after the first. The eventual encounter gained a decisive second desert victory, the first since O'Connor's against the Italians nearly two years before. The victory signaled the beginning of the end of the Axis in North Africa.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Barrie Pitt saw active service in both Europe and the Middle East. He edited the partwork History of the Second World War and was Editor-in-Chief of Ballantine's Iluustrated History of World War II. Barrie Pitt now lives in Taunton in Somerset.

Product Details

• Paperback: 390 pages
• Publisher: Cassell (December 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0304359513
• ISBN-13: 978-0304359516
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,494,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Disaster in the Desert Averted by Auchinleck, January 9, 2002

By 

Charles F. Hawkins - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Crucible of War: Auchinleck's Command: The Definitive History of the Desert War - Volume 2 (Paperback)

"Auchinleck's Command" is the second volume of a three-volume set by Barrie Pitt published by Cassell & Co. in London. Pitt is no stranger to war or the theater about which he writes, having served in both the European and Middle East theaters in World War II.

Pitt gives the reader first hand accounts of fighting in North Africa from a soldiers' view point as well as that of the generals. Highly readable, accurate and with well-researched detail, this definitive work brings the reader to the crucial battle of First Alamein in July 1941. Gen. Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps had consistently outfought the British since Rommel's appearance in theater in early 1941. However, thanks to Auchinleck's personal intervention at First Alamein, disaster was averted and Egypt remained in the hands of the British.

Although Auchinleck was forced into retirement after First Alamein, on June 20, 1943, he was back in the good graces of Winston Churchill and placed in command of the Indian Army.

In the end, one has to give credit to Cassell & Co. for introducing all three volumes of their "Crucible of War" series on North African fighting-you won't want to buy one without purchasing the other two.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fine Account of the Desert War, March 20, 2003

By 

Michael Oppenheim (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Crucible of War: Auchinleck's Command: The Definitive History of the Desert War - Volume 2 (Paperback)

The 1940-43 desert campaign is probably the most satisfying of WWII. Civilians were scarce, so one can admire German military prowess without the usual atrocities. The British revealed their best qualities: magnificently stubborn in defense, fearless but slow in offense, hobbled by inferior equipment but more by cautious generals.

This middle volume of Pitt's definitive history begins after Operation Battleaxe, Wavell's disastrous June 1941 offensive that persuaded Churchill to replace him. Solid, if unchiarismatic, the new general, Auchinleck, fended off Churchill's demands for quick action, reorganized the army, and launched operation Crusader in November. Rommel, obsessed with besieging Tobruk and misled by spies (caught and turned by the English as usual), assumed this was a feint until almost too late. During the confused fighting that followed, both sides suffered heavily, and Auchinleck showed more offensive spirit than many of his generals. On the verge of victory after a week, Rommel abruptly turned and retreated 500 miles into Libya. His long, fragile supply line had dried up. Both sides were exhausted when the front finally stabilized, but after only a month the Afrika Korps recovered and took the offensive. The battles and retreats in spring 1942 marked the nadir of Eighth Army morale. Discouraged soldiers and junior officers often admired Rommel more than their own leaders. Taking over direct command of the fighting, Auchinleck performed well in stopping the Germans inside Egypt, but Churchill was determined to make another change. Auchinleck's successor, Montgomery, enjoyed great success, but that happens in the next volume.

Three volumes on the North African campaign might seem too much for anyone outside a staff college, but Pitt (who served in the Middle East) is a fine writer: lucid, witty, and opinionated. Besides providing clear descriptions of complex unit actions, he brings the major figures to life and gives a vivid picture of the problems and miseries of soldiering in the desert.
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