Osprey Battle Orders 20 : Rommel's Afrika Korps : Tobruk to El Alamein

In 1940 a British offensive in the Western Desert provoked a major Italian military disaster. By early February 1941 the whole of Cyrenaica had been lost, and German help became necessary to avoid the loss of all of Libya. On 14 February 1941 the first echelons of German troops hurriedly arrived at the port of Tripoli, starting the 27 month German engagement in Northern Africa. This book covers the complex and often changing organisation and structure of German forces in North Africa from their first deployment through to the conclusion of the battle of El Alamein, an engagement that irrevocably changed the strategic situation in the Western Desert. Text by Pier Paolo Battistelli.

Contents

• Introduction
• Combat Mission
• Preparation for War : Doctrine and Training
• Unit Organization
• Tactics
• Weapons and Equipment
• Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence (C3I)
• Unit Status
• Lessons Learned
• Bibliography
• Abbreviations and Glossary
• Index