Tobruk 1941: Rommel's opening move (Campaign) [Paperback]

Jon Latimer (Author), Jim Laurier (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 25, 2001 | Series: Campaign (Book 80)

Osprey's examination of one of the epic battles of the desert war of World War II (1939-1945). In March 1941, with Wavell's British troops having routed the Italians from Cyrenaica, General Erwin Rommel arrived in Tripoli to command the Deutsches Afrikakorps. Over the next two years the Afrikakorps and its commander would become legendary. In his first offensive, Rommel swept across the desert, driving the British back to the Egyptian frontier and capturing much of the 2nd Armoured Division in the process. One thorn remained in his side - the vital port of Tobruk continued to resist. If it could hold out Rommel's offensive might be halted. Wavell instructed General Morshead and his garrison of 30,000 determined Australians to hold at all cost.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Highly visual guides to history's greatest conflicts, detailing the command strategies, tactics, and experiences of the opposing forces throughout each campaign, and concluding with a guide to the battlefields today.

About the Author

Jon Latimer lives in Swansea where he studied Oceanography, and after a varied career in environmental science is now a full-time writer. Jon also served for 17 years in the Territorial Army, including an attachment to the Australian Army Reserve. He has already written Campaign 73: Operation Compass 1940 for Osprey. He is also the author of The Art of Deception in War.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing; 2001 edition (January 25, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841760927
• ISBN-13: 978-1841760926
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.3 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,881 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Truncated Account of the Desert Siege, March 7, 2001

By 

R. A Forczyk (MD, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tobruk 1941: Rommel's opening move (Campaign) (Paperback)

Jon Latimer picks up in this volume on the Siege of Tobruk where he left off in his previous volume in the Osprey Campaign Series, Operation Compass 1940. Although the style is similar to the first volume, this work is better written and better edited. However, it is important to note that this volume does not cover the entire siege of Tobruk, only the period from Rommel's initial offensive on 24 March to the end of Operate "Battleaxe" on 17 June 1941. Since the siege continued until late November 1941, this period will presumably be covered in another volume on "Operation Crusader". Nevertheless, the story of the siege seems oddly truncated in this account.

The section on commanders is far too brief. Rommel is the only Axis commander given serious attention and even the Allied commanders are mostly glossed over. Generalmajor Streich, commander of the 5th Light Division, had a poor relationship with Rommel and this should have been discussed since it contributed to the failure of the first German attack on Tobruk. The section on opposing armies is totally superficial, focusing on a general discussion of anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns, rather than discussing the units involved in the siege. The German 5th Light was a very ad hoc force cobbled together from various bits and pieces in late 1940. More information on the 9th Australian Division should have been provided. Virtually no information on the Italians was provided - Latimer missed a chance here to comment on their recovery, of sorts, from the Beda Fomm disaster. The Order of Battle provided is quite thorough, although there is no list of Axis aircraft available. Latimer should also have made some mention of the reinforcement schedules for both sides. The campaign summary is solid, if unexceptional. Latimer covers all the main points, but a review of his bibliography reveals that he has not dug much past standard secondary sources. There has been a wealth of new information about the Desert War, including a lot of specialized studies on the panzer units of the Afrika Korps, as well as information about Enigma, that have not been incorporated in this volume. Excellent sources, such as the Royal Armored Corps histories and the Tank Museum do not appear to have been utilized. Perhaps in his next volume, Latimer can attempt a bit more research. Finally, there is no attempt at analysis, asking why couldn't Rommel take Tobruk? Obviously inadequate resources played a key factor, but Latimer sheds little light on the question of whether Rommel had any other options.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Brief Account, May 28, 2001

By 

Tim O'Neill "Bibliophilius" (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tobruk 1941: Rommel's opening move (Campaign) (Paperback)

Latimer has done an outstanding job of compressing a large amount of information into the limited format of an Osprey volume. The reviewer (below) may have wanted a far fuller account, but if he has a way of including all of the information Latimer has conveyed *as well as* all the material he believes was missing in just 20,000 words then I suggest he contact Osprey immediately. Such an achievement would be remarkable. I wonder whether some reviewers are more interested in showing off their knowledge than in a reasonable assessment of the work in question.

Given the limited scope of the Osprey format and the general nature of the series' reading audience, Latimer has done a superb job of outlining most of the important aspects of this campaign and of pointing the interested reader in the direction of further, fuller accounts. Highly recommended.

3.0 out of 5 stars An okay book, June 8, 2011

By 

Carl (U.K.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tobruk 1941: Rommel's opening move (Campaign) (Paperback)

I liked this book when I first read it however I did notice what seemed to be whole chunks of text lifted directly from the British Official Histories by I.S.O. Playfair that had not been given credit via a footnote on that particular page (the book lacks footnotes on the pages that's not the problem however with such amount of text lifted I would have expected to have seen one to give credit where it is deserved).

With that said I still like the book and it is supported by excellent diagrams, paintings and photos in particular I liked the diagram of what a typical defensive point in the Tobruk perimeter looked like.

This book is worth a look and does appear to give a good overview of the battle and operations fought to relive the garrison.