EIGHTH ARMY'S GREATEST VICTORIES - Alam Halfa to Tunis, 1942-1943 by Stewart, Adrian

London 1999, Leo Coope, first UK edition, hard bound in dust jacket, 6 x 9, Fine/Fine condition, 216 pages, illus, masps, notes, bibliog, index.Whereas the early successes of the Axis powers in North Africa during the Second World War have been loudly praised, the far more conclusive victories of the British Eighth Army during the period August 1942 to May 1943 have received little credit. Most indeed have been ignored or forgotten and even the key El Alamein battle has been denigrated as a victory achieved principally by superior numbers. This informed yet very readable account examines the considerable problems faced and overcome by the commanders and men of Eighth Army. It describes their achievements and assesses their forgotten victories. New information is thrown on the highly significant Battle of Alam Halfa, the reasons for the escape of the bulk of Rommel's defeated forces after El Alamein, the contribution of Ultra and the close co-operation of the Eighth Army and its all too often ignored partner, the Desert Air Force. Even the specialist reader will delight in the analysis of the defensive action at Medenine and the Mareth Line battle where defeat was dramatically changed into victory, not to mention the storming of the Axis positions in the Gabes Gap. This is a stirring and important account of the Eighth Army's North Africa campaign, the turning point of the fight against Hitler's Third Reich.