Desert Duel

The story begins with the success of Rommel's Afrika Korps in the North African desert in 1941/42, having pushed the British army back to Alam El Halfa. Defeat for the British and Allied forces in North Africa looks inevitable. The text will then take the usual alternating chapter approach to take the action right up to the decisive Battle of Alamein in November 1942. We encounter Montgomery's appointment as leader of the now legendary Eighth Army, and Rommel's fight to press home his advantage by advancing at speed towards Cairo and the Nile. Then comes the battle at Alam El Halfa, with Rommel's army encountering unexpected opposition from British artillery and heavy RAF attacks. His forces are forced to withdraw. Rommel, and many of his men, fall ill at this point, and Rommel is sent back to Austria for treatment. Having met Mussolini, Hitler and Goering to discuss the North African situation, he then decides that it is vital to destroy the Allied supply base in Malta to prevent Montgomery and his men from receiving supplies. Montgomery's planned offensive at El Alamein begins and both sides hold their positions. Only at the start of November do Rommel's counter-attacks begin to fail, with heavy losses. A last stand fails and Montgomery launches a final onslaught, driving Rommel's forces west. Many of Rommel's men surrender