Rommel's Greatest Victory: The Desert Fox and the Fall of Tobruk, Spring 1942 [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Samuel Mitcham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 1998

Ride with the Desert Fox as he leads the Afrika Korps to victory.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

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.

About the Author

Samuel W. Mitcham Jr. is a professor of history at Hendersonville State University. He is also the author of the authoritative study of air power, Eagles of the Third Reich: The Men Who Made the Luftwaffe. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Presidio Press; First edition (March 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891416560
• ISBN-13: 978-0891416562
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,690,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #96 in Books > History > Africa > Libya

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A well crafted story, February 4, 1999

By 

Aussie Reader ""Rick"" (Canberra, Australia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Rommel's Greatest Victory: The Desert Fox and the Fall of Tobruk, Spring 1942 (Hardcover)

Not much can be added to the previous review from Amazon.com. I found this book easy and enjoyable to read. The author offers a well presented and researched account of Rommel's capture of Tobruk in 1942. It shows Rommel at his best although he was hepled at times by the Allies lack of understanding of all-arms combat. It shows Rommel was also extremely lucky on occassion but he was a commander who led from the front and took advantage of these lucky breaks.

The only faults I could find with this book were the maps and some incorrect captions to some of the photos. I felt that the maps could have provided more detail. I hate reading about a location in the narrative but not being able to find it on the relevant map. The author provided numerous maps throughout the narrative but they could have been on a higher standard. I noticed two incorrect captions to the photos, one showing a Panzer MkIV with a 75cm main gun but labled as a Panzer MkIII and another photo listed as a British Valentine tank but which is a Cruiser MkII or MkIII.

Regardless of these minor faults this is still a very good book covering this battle (and only one of few that does!) and was a delight to read. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys military history.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was VERY Impressed by this book, January 13, 2004

By 

Glenn Saunders (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rommel's Greatest Victory (Paperback)

I was really unsure about buying this book based on a review I saw here but decided to take the plunge and am I glad I did! I am a Wargamer and Scenario Designer and I was concerned by the remarks about the map. If it hadn't been mention I wouldn't have noticed the problem. But what I found very important to me was the level of detail about EACH unit available, down to the Battalion level, German tanks available at various stages of the battle by type and Division, and a well organized Index that allowed me to look up direct references to units I wanted to place or locate at various points in time. This book is helping me make a great computer Wargame that other people will enjoy and learn about history through.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent account of Axis luck and Allied folly, November 11, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Edmonton, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rommel's Greatest Victory: The Desert Fox and the Fall of Tobruk, Spring 1942 (Hardcover)

Samuel Mitchum has done an excellent job of leading the reader through the events that have become known as Rommel's crowning acheivement during the North African campaign. In a fairly detailed manner, the author shows how long the odds were, and just how unlikely victory in this battle should have been. In order to forestall the British, Rommel launches his much reinforced Panzer Armee into the attack to rest the fortress of Tobruk from the allies and drive the Eighth Army back across the frontier. With faulty intelligence, and an almost as faulty a plan he should have been defeated, but wasn't. Why? Mitcham shows us clearly the flow of the battles that lead up to the fall of Tobruk. Luck, both good and bad, on one side then the other, constantly influences the outcome of the many engagements. Differing styles of command, failures of intelligence, or failing to respond in a timely manner to good intelligence all played a role during the Gazala battles. Rommel is shown at his most daring, out fighting and constantly outmaneuvering his British counterparts. The British, on the otherhand, are still learning their trade in this new style of warfare. The British commands failures are as much a reason for Rommel's success as Rommel's own tactics and aggressive handling of his numerically inferior armour. This book is a 'must read' for any student of the war in North Africa.