Gazala 1942: Rommel's greatest victory

Description

Following a lull in the desert war which saw the Germans and British reinforce their armies, Rommel suddenly attacked British fortifications with an assault on the northern sector of the British line near Gazala. Pinning down the British in the north and outflanking the 1st Free French Brigade, Rommel succeeded in encircling the main British positions, trapping them in what became known as 'The Cauldron'. With thousands of British soldiers killed or taken prisoner, this was a devastating defeat for the Allies. Accompanied by contemporary photographs and maps depicting the movement of both armies, Ken Ford provides a masterful study of Rommel, the 'Desert Fox', at the height of his powers as he swept the British army back to the site of their final stand at El Alamein.

Ken Ford trained as an engineer and spent almost 30 years in the telecommunications industry before a change in career led him to become a full-time military historian. He is the author of over 20 books on various aspects of World War II, including Campaign 158: El Alamein 1942. Ken now lives in Southampton, UK. John White is a commercial illustrator with many years' experience of working with advertising agencies, design firms, publishers and large corporate accounts. He has received awards from The Broadcast Design Association and The National Naval Aviation Museum, and his paintings have appeared in Aviation Art magazine, Aviation History magazine, and on the History Channel. John and his wife Margery live in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"The author covers the usual sections of a book in Osprey's Campaign series. It has a build up to the battle, a look at opposing commanders and their armies. Then it covers both the Allied and German plans at the time before going into the battle itself. This part consumes much of the book and provides significant detail of each day of the fighting. This is all followed by the results of the battle and how it affected future actions, which in the desert war, often resulted in major change." --Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com (July 2008) "Ken Ford's Gazala 1942: Rommel's Greatest Victory provides an in-depth, technical survey of the Rommel military campaign and battle experiences, studying him at the height of his powers and surveying his strategy. Color maps and vintage black and white photos throughout enhance a moving account." --The Bookwatch (September 2008) "Ford's book is a brief but masterful study of Rommel at the height of his power as he swept the British Eighth Army back to the site of their decisive stand at El Alamein." --World War II History (March 2009)