The Battle for North Africa

El Alamein and the Turning Point for World War II (Twentieth-Century Battles)

By: Glyn Harper

Narrated by: Douglas R. Pratt

In the early years of World War II, Germany shocked the world with a devastating blitzkrieg, rapidly conquered most of Europe, and pushed into North Africa. As the Allies scrambled to counter the Axis armies, the British Eighth Army confronted the experienced Afrika Corps, led by German field marshal Erwin Rommel, in three battles at El Alamein. In the first battle, the Eighth Army narrowly halted the advance of the Germans during the summer of 1942. However, the stalemate left Nazi troops within striking distance of the Suez Canal, which would provide a critical tactical advantage to the controlling force. War historian Glyn Harper dives into the story, vividly narrating the events, strategies, and personalities surrounding the battles and paying particular attention to the Second Battle of El Alamein, a crucial turning point in the war that would be described by Winston Churchill as "the end of the beginning." Moving beyond a simple narrative of the conflict, The Battle for North Africa tackles critical themes, such as the problems of coalition warfare, the use of military intelligence, the role of celebrity generals, and the importance of an all-arms approach to modern warfare.

This book is published by Indiana University Press.

"A well-researched and highly readable account of one of World War II's most important 'turning point' battles.... Harper provides a 'fresh look' from an unbiased perspective at this decisive battle..." (Jerry D. Morelock, Senior Editor at HistoryNet.com)

©2017 Glyn Harper (P)2018 Redwood Audiobooks

churns up a lot of well traved turf.

largely Anglo centric, doesn't drill down to show inter-relation of strategy and logistic, tactics and technology, personality and conduct. Niether controversial or informative, didn't mistate the obvious but left a lot unanswered to go with the lot unasked.

Subpar writing, research, analysis, and narration.

This book is not worth the time and effort to provide in depth analysis . It fails to meet basic analytical criteria. I couldn't finish it.