Desert Rats The Desert War 1940-3 in the Words of Those Who Fought There

by Sadler, John

• ISBN13: 9781848683372
• ISBN10: 1848683375
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-12-15
• Publisher: Amberley Publishing

Summary

Includes numerous unpublished veterans accounts, collected by the author from personal interviews. Includes unique contemporary photographs collected from veterans. 'Voices' books are incredibly popular with military history book buyers. From 1940-3 Britain was engaged in a life and death struggle with the Axis powers in North Africa, a titanic, swaying conflict that surged back and forth across the barren wastes of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. This desert war encompassed many of the epic battles of the Second World War, Halfaya Pass, Gazala, Tobruk, and El Alamein. Those British servicemen who were to form the legendary 'Desert Rats' were, for the most part, not professional soldiers; they were drawn from all walks of civilian life and almost without exception, had never set foot in the Western Desert, few had ever left the shores of England. Yet upon them the burden of the war would rest for nearly three long years and their final victory cleared the whole of North Africa, opening the door for the invasions of Sicily and Italy. They were ordinary men who did extraordinary things in most extraordinary circumstances.

Author Biography

John Sadler has had a lifelong interest in Scottish military history. He now combines writing with lecturing in History at Newcastle University and working as a battlefield tour guide, living history interpreter, and heritage consultant. He is a keen re-enactor and a long time member of the Sealed Knot Society. He lives in mid-Northumberland.