Customer Reviews

The Crucible of War: Wavell's Command: The Definitive History of the Desert War - Volume 1

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"Wavell's Command" is the first 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 has done a through job of research and presents his findings in a clear, measured and very readable style. The reader is helped along through the use of numerous maps, descriptive sketches and photographs. An ample bibliography (notes for each chapter) and appendices (orders of battle for Operation Compass and Operation Battleaxe) tie things neatly together at the conclusion. At 332 pages, "Wavell's Command" has sufficient space for Pitt to explore the breadth and depth of the opening moves and initial battles of the North African campaigns.

In sum, throughout the first half of World War II, control of North Africa was strategically vital to the Allies, and after the fall of France it was the only theater in which the fight could be taken to the Axis powers. Pitt chronicles the events that lead up to and the successful routing of Italian forces. Then, in early 1941, General Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps entered the conflict, and the smashing victory of the British against the Italians was overtaken by disaster.

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.

Mr Henniger must have been reviewing a heavily bowdlerized
version of Pitt's excellent history (there's at least one
pretty badly produced reprint).
This is bar none the best military history of the N. Africa
campaign 1940-2 with EXCELLENT maps!
However I have a cheap paper reprint by Macmillan (PaperMac)
that is awful by comparison with the recent three volume
trade paper edition on acid-free paper --
Enjoy!

"Wavell's Command" is a good, solid history of the Desert War mostly B.R., that is, Before Rommel. And Before Montgomery, for that matter. The war between England and Italy in North Africa is often glossed over in WWII histories. This book describes the time and does it in a form that's very pleasant to read. I wonder if Mr. Henninger's review is describing a different edition of this book? The book I read, which is the one in the illustration on this page, included quite a few maps and was a real pleasure to read. I loaned it to my mom, who also thought that it was top-notch. I'm currently waiting for the second volume to arrive and looking forward to it.

This is not a coherent account of the campaign in North Africa. There is no maps to indicate the movement of the armies. The author does not do an adaquete job of combining the mitlitary strategy of the North African campaign with the personal narratives. I would reccomend the Desert Generals by Corelli Barnett and the biography of Rommel by David Fraser to understand the North African campaign but defnitely not this book!