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Tobruk Commando
"Gentlemen, we are going to capture Tobruk and destroy it."'Operation Agreement' started as a fairly simple plan to destroy Rommel's bomb-proof oil-storage tanks at Tobruk on the eve of Alamein. But, catching the imagination of GHQ, the plan snowballed alarmingly. As well as a commando unit led by the plan's originator, Colonel Haselden, it came to include the RAF, the Royal Navy, the Marines and two of the largest destroyers in the Mediterranean.It was a daring attempt to rob Rommel at one stroke of the three essentials to success in North Africa - oil, a supply port and shipping. But the calculated risks began to out balance the chances of success when it seemed that every dockyard worker in Alexandria and every cocktail-party-goer in Cairo knew about the raid before the officers and men set out. The operation went on, and became a tragedy of slaughtered men and sunken ships.Tobruk Commando is a classic adventure story of the Second World War. The fast-moving action centres on the small commando of men which set out secretly through the deserts towards Tobruk. After a long journey across the desert sand, they arrived disguised as a group of POWs and their German captors. Expertly written, this is a wonderful tale of heroic bluff and a venture to test the courage and nerves of the toughest men.
188 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
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About the author
Gordon Landsborough
74 books9 followers(1913-1984)
Landsborough was a publisher, author and bookseller. Writing tales about the exploits of gun-toting cowboys fighting out on the arid sands of the Wild West, Landsborough was himself a pioneer in the English paperback publishing world of the 1950s.
Landsborough was a publisher, author and bookseller. Writing tales about the exploits of gun-toting cowboys fighting out on the arid sands of the Wild West, Landsborough was himself a pioneer in the English paperback publishing world of the 1950s.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 8, 2018
- No Spoiler Alert, I'm not telling you how this ends -
Bought this book years ago as part of research for a WWII novel I'm working on during this period and location of the Second World War.
In North Africa, Rommel's famed Afrika Korps wreaks havoc against the British armies. The threat from this korps is so great that England has dispatched nearly half its overall operational strength (giving them a nearly 4 to 1 advantage over the Germans---thus was so great the threat posed against them.
Rommel's weakness was supplies. They needed fuel, food and water for sustained battles. With the fall of Tobruk in June 1942, Rommel acquired thousands of gallons of petrol, ammunition, supplies, enough to begin a push to Alexandria and Cairo, with the ultimate goal of seizing the Suez Canal.
So a man named Colonel John Haselden concocts a plan to take a score of British commandos behind enemy lines dressed as German soldiers escorting British prisoners behind enemy lines. Once there they are to blow up the German fuel depots, thus depriving Rommel of the very thing he needs to advance on the British. With the help of German Jews serving in Britain's Special Interrogation Group, and highly trained commandos, the plan must might work!
This is a detailed book of one of the most spectacular raids ever conducted. Movies such as 'Tobruk' with Rock Hudson and George Peppard depicted this battle. The planning and logistics are amazing, and the ordeal of the commandos' travel through the desert and entering the German lines is breath-taking. If you are a military historian, a lover of action novels based on true events, this novel is the one for you. I've kept this in my c0llection and plan on reading this again someday.
Bought this book years ago as part of research for a WWII novel I'm working on during this period and location of the Second World War.
In North Africa, Rommel's famed Afrika Korps wreaks havoc against the British armies. The threat from this korps is so great that England has dispatched nearly half its overall operational strength (giving them a nearly 4 to 1 advantage over the Germans---thus was so great the threat posed against them.
Rommel's weakness was supplies. They needed fuel, food and water for sustained battles. With the fall of Tobruk in June 1942, Rommel acquired thousands of gallons of petrol, ammunition, supplies, enough to begin a push to Alexandria and Cairo, with the ultimate goal of seizing the Suez Canal.
So a man named Colonel John Haselden concocts a plan to take a score of British commandos behind enemy lines dressed as German soldiers escorting British prisoners behind enemy lines. Once there they are to blow up the German fuel depots, thus depriving Rommel of the very thing he needs to advance on the British. With the help of German Jews serving in Britain's Special Interrogation Group, and highly trained commandos, the plan must might work!
This is a detailed book of one of the most spectacular raids ever conducted. Movies such as 'Tobruk' with Rock Hudson and George Peppard depicted this battle. The planning and logistics are amazing, and the ordeal of the commandos' travel through the desert and entering the German lines is breath-taking. If you are a military historian, a lover of action novels based on true events, this novel is the one for you. I've kept this in my c0llection and plan on reading this again someday.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2017
Written in the style of an "adventure story" in a 1950s "men's magazine," perhaps like Argosy or some such, with no attribution for all of the many details of this British commando exploit. Still, quite interesting and even exciting . . . but one wouldn't want to swear that it's totally accurate. But it's at least believable!
One wonders why the Brits were so willing to launch these semi-hairbrained schemes . . . probably searching for any good news at this point in the war, with no victories on land to this point -- a few weeks before the victory at El Alamein.
One wonders why the Brits were so willing to launch these semi-hairbrained schemes . . . probably searching for any good news at this point in the war, with no victories on land to this point -- a few weeks before the victory at El Alamein.
November 19, 2021
in this book, the word "commando" refers not to an individual, but to a specially tasked military group directed to carry out a particular mission. The mission for the Tobruk Commando is to break into German the occupied North African port, destroy Rommel's crucial fuel supplies, damage the port facilities and get out. That was the original plan, but it was undercut by add-on missions such as finding and releasing British POWs held there, securing documents and equipment, and destroying coastal artillery. Laid on to the original plan was an all-night heavy bomber raid on Tobruk town, a massive landing by Army troops, another landing by Royal Marines, and a shoot-up of shipping in the harbor by the two destroyers landing the various troops.
The forces of the first plan Commando were led across 1,800 miles of desert by a small contingent of the Long Range Desert Group, a famed special operations force that essentially lived and raided across North Africa, gathering intelligence and doing damage to German and Italian forces. The trip was grueling in the desert heat and limited water supply. German aircraft scouting the desert reaches for LRDG patrols made the trip dangerous, as well.
Author Landsborough has researched the operation thoroughly, interviewing many of the participants. His account of the audacity of the LRDG and the Commando is riveting. Many brave men were heroes, but many died in the effort. War is a complex enterprise in which many things can go wrong. In the Tobruk operation many things--security, communications, jerry built landing craft among them-- did go wrong. Their accretion proved costly.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in World War II. Landsborough's lucid prose makes clear why the North African campaign was a war within a war.
The forces of the first plan Commando were led across 1,800 miles of desert by a small contingent of the Long Range Desert Group, a famed special operations force that essentially lived and raided across North Africa, gathering intelligence and doing damage to German and Italian forces. The trip was grueling in the desert heat and limited water supply. German aircraft scouting the desert reaches for LRDG patrols made the trip dangerous, as well.
Author Landsborough has researched the operation thoroughly, interviewing many of the participants. His account of the audacity of the LRDG and the Commando is riveting. Many brave men were heroes, but many died in the effort. War is a complex enterprise in which many things can go wrong. In the Tobruk operation many things--security, communications, jerry built landing craft among them-- did go wrong. Their accretion proved costly.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in World War II. Landsborough's lucid prose makes clear why the North African campaign was a war within a war.
July 12, 2025
This book was written three years after I was born.
It was an interesting read about a failed but very brave operation to destroy the Port of Tobruk during the Second World War.
The author well describes the soldiers, sailors and airmen involved in this large mission.
The accounts of the Long Range Desert Group was fascinating. How they were able to exist in the worst desert conditions.
War is terrible especially when at that time you are not the victor.
It was an interesting read about a failed but very brave operation to destroy the Port of Tobruk during the Second World War.
The author well describes the soldiers, sailors and airmen involved in this large mission.
The accounts of the Long Range Desert Group was fascinating. How they were able to exist in the worst desert conditions.
War is terrible especially when at that time you are not the victor.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews