Bringing History To Life – 20th Century Desert Warfare 2026 – Bringing History To Life (1)

He established by Rommel, he paused and built up his In doing so, forced Rommel to withdraw from Egypt. Nor Rasmus Kjærbye Petersen Kasserine Pass 1943 It was in North Africa that the United States entered the war against Germany. Despite initial success, the operation was beset by serious leadership issues, which almost cost the Allies victory in the important Battle of Kasserine Pass. Text: TORBJÖRN KVIST Battle of Kasserine Pass uring the spring and summer of 1942, Britain persuaded the US to abandon the idea of a direct invasion of the European mainland.

Instead of Operation Sledgehammer – a landing in northern France – the Americans agreed to what was seen as a detour: Operation Torch, landing in Morocco and Algeria to open a second front in North Africa. The aim was to destroy the German Afrika Korps and gather strength for the move into Europe. Operation Torch began on 8th November 1942, just days after the British victory at El Alamein, over 3,000 kilometres to the east.

The landing marked the introduction of the mighty US military to the war against Germany, and the first step in its campaign towards Berlin. Torch was mainly a US operation; from Casablanca in the west to Algiers in the east, it was only later on that British forces participated. Algeria and Morocco – French colonies under the pro-German Vichy regime – put up only sporadic resistance, and Allied troops were able to advance relatively easily through the Atlas Mountains into Tunisia.

At the end of January, the German and Italian Afrika Korps gathered in the eastern part of Tunisia, sandwiched between US troops from Operation Torch in the west and General Montgomery’s British Eighth Army from El Alamein in the south. With a two-front war imminent, the Atlas Mountains came under the spotlight. Forming a natural defence around Tunisia, the inferior German and Italian troops now had something resembling a fortress to which they could turn.

Allied fortunes of war turned with victory over Rommel in El Alamein £9.99 H 124 DRAMA-PACKED PAGES H EXCLUSIVE CONTENT H AIRCRAFT IN CLOSE SUPPORT RAF proved decisive in battle against the Axis powers in Africa in WWII. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE US NAVY Contents 4 12 18 28 38 58 66 74 94 102 W aging war in the desert presents specific challenges that are different Battling both sand and heat Battling both Battling both sand and heat “And to top it all off, you have an enemy to defeat” US B-25 bombers take off from Berteaux air base in Algeria, 12th February 1943.

2 0 T H C E N T U R Y British adventurer and officer TE Lawrence fought for a free Arab empire during World War I. His tactics in the desert skirmishes became a template for modern irregular warfare. Text: NICLAS SENNERTEG Legendary desert warrior he lone Arab sitting in the middle of the desert was a curious sight in the rain. So thought the Turkish soldiers on the transport train that chugged slowly southwards through what is now Jordan towards the troubled Arabian Peninsula. The soldiers were reinforcements for the Ottoman troops who had run into difficulties in taking cruel revenge on the South Arabian tribes who’d rebelled against the Turkish rulers in the middle of a burning world war.

The rain-soaked figure who waved with embarrassment at the passing train was taken for a harmlessly stupid peasant, and soon the crude jokes flowed about what the man was really doing as he squatted and stared. Little did the Turks on the train realise that by a twist of fate they had escaped being blown up and massacred in an ambush. Beneath the ‘Arab’s’ headdress was the fair hair of the most dangerous man in the Middle East, Lawrence of Arabia, the man on whose head the Turks had placed a huge bounty.

An electric detonator for an explosive charge had given Lawrence and his men trouble, but it was quickly fixed once the Turks were out of sight. The next troop transport train would not be so lucky. Few people today know who Lawrence of Arabia was, but for a period after World War I, when stories of his exploits began to emerge, he was one of the world’s biggest celebrities.

Although guerrilla warfare was by no means a new phenomenon, Lawrence stood out as a pioneer and inspiration for modern irregular warfare.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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