Armoured Warfare in the North African Campaign

Images of War

by Anthony Tucker-Jones

The North African campaign, the struggle of the Italians and Germans against the Allies in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia between 1940 and 1943, was a war of movement and maneuver, of dramatic changes of fortune, and it was a war in which mechanized forces - tanks in particular - excelled. Compared with the heavily populated landscapes of northwest Europe, the empty open spaces of North Africa appeared to be ideal operating terrain for tanks, yet the harsh desert conditions tested men and machinery to the limit, as Anthony Tucker-Jones demonstrates in this remarkable selection of wartime photographs.

The use of armor during the entire course of the campaign is covered, from the initial Italian offensive, the arrival of Rommel’s Panzergruppe Afrika, the battles fought along the North African shore which culminated in El Alamein, then the Allied advance into Tunisia which led to the final defeat of the German and Italian armies.

The images give a fascinating inside view of combat, but they also reveal the daily routines of tank warfare 65 years ago, and give a vivid impression of what it was like to fight in and live with the tanks of the day – the German Mk IIIs and Mk IVs and the Tiger, the British Matildas and Valentines and the American Grants and Shermans that contributed so much to the Allied victory. Training, maintenance, transportation and supply are shown, as are the daily lives of the tank crews and extreme conditions in which they worked and fought.

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 17, 2011

About the author

Defence analyst Anthony Tucker-Jones spent nearly 20 years in the British Intelligence Community before establishing himself as a defence writer and historian: commenting on regional conflicts, counter-terrorism, intelligence and military affairs.

He is a highly experienced expert with particular strengths in editing, feature writing, report writing, communicating to specialists and non-specialists alike.

Anthony Tucker-Jones has been extensively published in numerous titles and on various news websites. He has also written a number of books.

He is widely travelled with assignments in Africa, Europe, the Far East, Latin America and the Middle East. He lived for a time in Bahrain.

Anthony holds an MA in International Relations & Strategic Studies from Lancaster University.

(Taken from official website.)

Reviews

[Donald Bullard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful

The Images of War series captures an earlier type of WWII coverage. The narrative is one of heroes and deeds. The last good war. Perfect, no. Good, yes. A picture is worth something. Propaganda has a place.

[Michael Romo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent photos of the North African campaign.