The war in the North African desert is one that saw a great deal of innovation. As much due to the strangeness of the environment over what the combattants were normally used to. Both Germany and the British/Allied forces had planned for a European war, so there was little in terms of equipment and training to prepare their armies for desert battle. The Italians, on the other hand, were used to the environs, as much due to their African colonies as anything. They had equipment that was suited to desert warfare, but they did not always have the leadership needed to be successful.

It probably is no surprise that the majority of the book is dedicated to the British and their Long Range Desert Groups (LRDG). The only other real player on the Allied side was the Free French who were operating out of Chad, and while their initial forays against the Italians in southern Libya were successful, other operations were not and they were soon out of the picture for most of the North African campaign.

The book mostly covers the development of the LRDG from its beginnings as a patrol and the lessons learned in operating these groups. It was soon discovered that they did not have the fire power to overwhelm fixed Italian positions. Through the usual trial and error as well as a series of unsuccessful operations, lessons were learned and the LRDG was trimmed down to less than half its usual size. The missions were then either reconnaissance or delivery and pick-up of special SAS commando groups. In this way, the LRDG was able to use its speed and mobility to its best advantages.

The Germans were surprisingly unable to take similar advantage of these sorts of activities. Only one mission was successfully completed and that to place spies in Cairo via an arduous journey through southern Libya and Egypt.

The author has chosen to divide the book into several salient sections including the combat mission, the unit organization and how it changed, doctrine and training, and the weapons and equipment that were used. It also goes into the area of C3 and intelligence before choosing several battles to show some of the successful and less than successful missions in which the LRDG and British Commandos were used.

In all it makes for fascinating reading and tends to explode a few myths along the way. It s a book that I found enlightening and entertaining and I'm sure you will as well.

July 2007

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