South Africans versus Rommel

South Africans versus Rommel
Author: David Brock Katz
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2017-11-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 081176608X

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After bitter debate, South Africa, a dominion of the British Empire at the time, declared war on Germany five days after the invasion of Poland in September 1939. Thrust by the British into the campaign against Erwin Rommel’s German Afrika Korps in North Africa, the South Africans fought a see-saw war of defeats followed by successes, culminating in the Battle of El Alamein, where South African soldiers made a significant contribution to halting the Desert Fox’s advance into Egypt. This is the story of an army committed somewhat reluctantly to a war it didn’t fully support, ill-prepared for the battles it was tasked with fighting, and sent into action on the orders of its senior alliance partner. At its heart, however, this is the story of men at war.

20 Battles

20 Battles
Author: Evert Kleynhans
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
Total Pages: 365
Release: 2023-07-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1928248233

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Favouring manoeuvre over attrition and often punching above their weight, South African soldiers have become known for their tenacity, dash and ability to defy the odds. Their unique directive command style has also helped them to excel in defining battles and operations, from the campaign in German South West Africa in 1915 to the cross-border operations in Angola during the Border War. In 20 Battles, military historians Evert Kleynhans and David Brock Katz investigate the evolution of South Africa's armed forces over a century from 1913 to 2013. They track the evolution of the doctrine and structure of the defence force, uncovering historical continuity and the lessons learned from past battles and operations. What is clear is that when South African soldiers have the freedom to operate according to their manoeuvre doctrine, as they had in East Africa in 1916 and southern Ethiopia in 1941, they can achieve stunning results. But when hemmed in by rigid doctrine and a top-down command style, as at Delville Wood in 1916 and Tobruk in 1942, the results can be tragic. 20 Battles combines both battlefield drama and crisp analysis and in the process provides a much-needed perspective on the South African way of war.

Rommel's North Africa Campaign

Rommel's North Africa Campaign
Author: Jack Greene
Publisher: Da Capo Press, Incorporated
Total Pages: 280
Release: 1994-05-21
Genre: History
ISBN:

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In the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East some of World War II's greatest legends were born as Erwin Rommel the "Desert Fox" led his Afrika Korps against the "Desert Rats" of the British 8th Army led by Bernard Montgomery. Both sides recruited local people to their cause, winning stunning victories but planting the seeds of conflicts to come.

With Rommel in the Desert

With Rommel in the Desert
Author: Heinz Werner Schmidt
Publisher: Constable Limited
Total Pages: 240
Release: 1998
Genre: World War, 1939-1945
ISBN: 9780094785908

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Originally published in 1973 by White Lion. A first-hand account offering a perspective on Rommel's African campaign. Schmidt was close to Rommel throughout the two years of the campaign and provides details of the military action alongside personal perspectives of fellow-officers.

Rommel's Greatest Victory

Rommel's Greatest Victory
Author: Samuel W. Mitcham
Publisher:
Total Pages: 304
Release: 1998
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

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The Desert Fox, Erwin Rommel, was the foremost strategist and tactician of his generation, and his defeat of the British forces at the important Libyan port of Tobruk in spring 1942 was the crown jewel of his military campaigns: a victory so stunning it forced a vote of confidence in the Churchill government. Mitcham Jr. (history, Hendersonville State U.) chronicles Rommel's march to Tobruk, noting the leader's ability to discern the best places and times to strike. He includes several maps and bandw photos. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A Military History of South Africa

A Military History of South Africa
Author: Timothy J. Stapleton
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2010-04-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 0313365903

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This work offers the first one-volume comprehensive military history of modern South Africa. A Military History of South Africa: From the Dutch-Khoi Wars to the End of Apartheid represents the first comprehensive military history of South Africa from the beginning of European colonization in the Cape during the 1650s to the current postapartheid republic. With particular emphasis on the last 200 years, this balanced analysis stresses the historical importance of warfare and military structures in the shaping of modern South African society. Important themes include military adaptation during the process of colonial conquest and African resistance, the growth of South Africa as a regional military power from the early 20th century, and South African involvement in conflicts of the decolonization era. Organized chronologically, each chapter reviews the major conflicts, policies, and military issues of a specific period in South African history. Coverage includes the wars of colonial conquest (1830-69), the diamond wars (1869-81), the gold wars (1886-1910), World Wars I and II (1910-45), and the apartheid wars (1948-94).

Fighting the People's War

Fighting the People's War
Author: Jonathan Fennell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 967
Release: 2019-01-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107030951

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Jonathan Fennell captures for the first time the true wartime experience of the ordinary soldiers from across the empire who made up the British and Commonwealth armies. He analyses why the great battles were won and lost and how the men that fought went on to change the world.

Desert Fox

Desert Fox
Author: Samuel W. Mitcham
Publisher: Regnery History
Total Pages: 450
Release: 2019-03-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 162157721X

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Just who was Erwin Rommel? War hero or war criminal? Hitler flunky or man of integrity? Military genius or just lucky? Now, bestselling military historian Samuel W. Mitcham Jr. gets to the heart of the mysterious figure respected and even admired by the people of the Allied nations he fought against. Mitcham recounts Rommel’s improbable and meteoric military career, his epic battles in North Africa, and his fraught relationship with Hitler and the Nazi Party. Desert Fox: The Storied Military Career of Erwin Rommel reveals: • How Rommel’s victories in North Africa were sabotaged by Hitler’s incompetent interference • How Rommel burned orders telling him to commit war crimes • Why it wouldn’t have helped Patton if he really had read Rommel’s book • How Rommel was responsible for the Germans’ defense against the D-Day landing • Why the plot to overthrow Hitler was fatally compromised when Rommel was gravely injured in an Allied attack • The reason Rommel agreed to commit suicide after his part in the plot was discovered by Hitler Mitcham’s gripping account of Rommel’s life takes you through the amazing adventure of the World War II battles in North Africa. Again and again, Rommel outfoxed the Allies—until the war of attrition and Hitler’s blunders doomed the Axis cause. Illustrated with dozens of historical photos, this illuminating biography paints a fascinating and tragic picture of the man known as the Desert Fox.

Rommel in North Africa

Rommel in North Africa
Author: David Mitchelhill-Green
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
Total Pages: 487
Release: 2017-08-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1473892228

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Erwin Rommel is the arguably the most well-known German general of the Second World War. Revered by his troops and applauded by his enemies, the so-called Desert Fox achieved legendary status for his daring exploits and bold maneuvers during the North African campaign. In this book, richly illustrated with over 400 images, the author examines the privations and challenges Rommel faced in leading his coalition force. Endeavoring to reach the Nile Delta, we find Rommel's Axis soldiers poorly prepared to undertake such an audacious operation. Much-admired by his men in the front lines, we discover a demanding and intolerant leader, censured by subordinate officers and mistrusted by his superiors in Berlin. Certainly no diplomat, we observe posed interactions with Italian and junior German officers through an official lens. We note Rommel's readiness to take advantage of his enemy's weakness and study his extraordinary instinct for waging mobile warfare. We consider his disregard for the decisive factor of supply and view his army's reliance on captured equipment. We learn how this brave and ambitious commander was celebrated by German propaganda when the Wehrmacht's fortunes in the East were waning. Conversely, analyze why Winston Churchill honored him as a daring and skillful opponent. Finally, we picture this energetic, ambitious, at times reckless, commander as he roamed the vast Western Desert battlefield. This is the story of Rommel in North Africa.

Seeds of Peace

Seeds of Peace
Author: Rommel Roberts
Publisher:
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2018-05-23
Genre:
ISBN: 9781982932015

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'In South Africa, the struggle for freedom was won largely through non-violent means - 95% of the struggle was non-violent. The non-violent foundations laid in the preceding years are, I believe, what made our peaceful transition to democracy possible in 1994.'Rommel Roberts' words express his conviction which was underlying all his efforts as an activist opposing the apartheid regime in South Africa. In his book 'Seeds of Peace' Rommel Roberts wants to focus on ordinary people who with their courage and commitment have achieved a change in South African conditions but have never been recognised and acknowledged.In all his stories of brave women and men and in all forms of protest and human rights activities in which Rommel Roberts played a key role this incredible spirit of non-violence was prevalent and finally successful.