Operations in North Africa and the Middle East 1939-1942

The Middle East Command in the SecondWorld War covered a vast region, stretchingacross Egypt, Libya, Malta, Palestine andTransjordan, Cyprus, Sudan, Eritrea, most ofSyria and a small part of Iraq, and includedsome forty different languages. At one pointit also oversaw operations in Greece, Kenyaand British Somaliland. Its campaign area ranfor a thousand miles from the Jordan to theHorn of Africa.Initially under the leadership of General SirArchibald Wavell, Middle East Commandsearly actions were in contending with theItalian forces in Libya and Italian East Africa.He was soon distracted by the Germaninvasion of Greece and the subsequentdefence of, and withdrawal from, the Islandof Crete. With his attention turned fromNorth Africa to the gean, Italian forces inNorth Africa were able to hold their groundand even receive reinforcements in the formof Rommels Afrika Korps...

Initially under the leadership of General Sir Archibald Wavell, Middle East Command’s early actions were in contending with the Italian forces in Libya and Italian East Africa. He was soon distracted by the German invasion of Greece and the subsequent defence of, and withdrawal from, the Island of Crete. With his attention turned from North Africa to the Ægean, Italian forces in North Africa were able to hold their ground and even receive reinforcements in the form of Rommel’s Afrika Korps.

Wavell’s despatches detail all of these campaigns up to July 1941, when he was superseded by General Claude Auchinleck. The ‘Auk’ had to deal with the Anglo-Free French invasion of Syria and Lebanon and the nationalist uprising in Iraq. His main concern, though, was with stopping Rommel’s advances through Libya. The Axis forces were eventually held close to the border of Egypt at El Alamein. It was as far as Rommel would go and it marked the end of the long run of Axis successes in North Africa.

Dispatches in this volume include that on operations in the Middle East August 1939 to November 1940 by General Sir Archibald P. Wavell, Commander-in-Chief, Middle East; the dispatch on operations in the Middle East February 1941 to July 1941, by General Sir Archibald P. Wavell, Commander-in-Chief, Middle East; operations in the Middle East July 1941 to October 1941, by General Sir Claude J. E. Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief, Middle East; operations in the Middle East November 1941 to August 1942, by General Sir Claude J.E. Auchinleck; Operations in Middle East 16 February 1943 to 8 January 1944 by General Maitland Wilson.This unique collection of original documents will prove to be an invaluable resource for historians, students and all those interested in what was one of the most significant periods in British military history.REVIEWS Grehan and Mace present for the first time a collection of unabridged despatches from operations covering Tobruk, Crete, Syria, and East Africa. The Middle East Command was formed in August 1939, under General Sir Archibald Wavell, who assembled a multinational force when Italy declared war on France and Britain in 1940. Wavell s mixed force faced over 200,000 Italian troops in Libya and over 200,000 in Italian East Africa. Outnumbered, he went on the offensive. His first and second dispatches describe his operations in the Western Desert. The third covers British support for Greece and the defence and withdrawal from Crete. The last two are from General Auchinleck and provide a detailed account of the operations in Libya. Grehan and Mace reproduce the despatches as they first appeared some 70 years ago, unedited and unmodified. Protoview"