Curated playlist
Western Desert campaign
- Battle of Alam el HalfaMontgomery knew Rommel's attack plan before the Battle of Alam el Halfa began. Ultra intercepts told him.
- Battle of GazalaRommel used a decoy attack at Gazala, then swung his tanks south around the British line by night.
- Operation CrusaderErwin Rommel was not even in Africa when Operation Crusader began. A deception plan had him expecting December.
- Operation CompassOperation Compass was planned as a five-day raid in the Egyptian desert. It ended with about 133,000 Italian prisoners.
- Second Battle of El AlameinA thousand guns opened fire at once at El Alamein on October 23, 1942. A 13-day battle had begun.
- Operation SonnenblumeRommel was sent to Libya only to defend Tripoli, yet he drove the British back to Egypt.
- First Battle of El AlameinThe First Battle of El Alamein was fought at a railway station with no value of its own.
- North African campaignGerman commanders in North Africa read a US attaché's secret reports.
- Western Desert campaignA raid planned for four to five days ended up destroying Italy's 10th Army. Operation Compass captured 133,298 men.
- Siege of TobrukThe siege of Tobruk lasted 231 days in 1941, and the garrison that endured it became known as the Rats of Tobruk. Most of the defenders belonged to the 9th Australian Division, commanded by Lieutenant-General Leslie Morshead. They were…