Desert/Tunisia book recommendations

[Bigduke6]

Hey there conflict literature fans! I have decided I don't know enough about the desert war, so I'm looking for recommended books.

However, for reasons I don't quite fully understand myself, I'm more interested in the later portions of the campaign, more Tunisia and Americans included, Kasserine and so on, rather than than just DAK and 8th Army, oh and the Italians.

I'm looking for:

1) An operational campaign history or two, as non-country-specific. I don't need diplomacy as much as a picture of the terrain, units, operational priorities, etc.

Note: I'll read Commonwealth-specific or Yank-specific, but ideally I want to understand the whole campaign.

Question: Is it worth getting Monty's memoirs?

2) Commonwealth first-hand accounts, just because I really enjoy the witty British writing style a la Masters, Slim, etc. Usually this is over-educated officers, but I'll read whomever.

3) Unit memoirs might well work, although I am very suspicious of anything on DAK because of the fan boy factor. I want to learn about real human beings, not heroes.

Note: I'm not exactly big on special ops, so stuff on Sterling and his lads need not apply.

Suggestions (about other books in the subject are I mean) appreciated.

[Andreas]

The unit history of the US 18th Infantry "American Iliad" is a good read, with a long treatment of Tunisia.

I have heard good things about "An Army at Dawn".

All the best

Andreas

[John Kettler]

Bigduke6,

Haven't read any of the Atkinson books, hence, can't comment on them other than to say I've read that they're good. I can, though, comment on George Howe's THE BATTLE HISTORY OF THE 1st ARMORED DIVISION, about half of which bears directly on your topic of interest. If you can find a copy, read it!

Full of juicy stuff, including an OR type analysis of one engagement between the American tanks and the Germans in Tunisia. Might've been Tebourba, but am not sure.

The main Lone Sentry site is full of great info on both sides, but this seems especially pertinent to your inquiry--American tankers' lessons learned in Tunisia.

http://www.lonesentry.com/manuals/tankers/index.html

The U.S. Green series (available online) and the various involved CW force official histories are good starting points, but may no longer be right as to certain particulars. Half a century of scholarship and declassification will do that!

I'm sure I have more, but simply don't recall at the moment.

Regards,

John Kettler

[John D Salt]

Originally posted by Bigduke6:

I'm looking for:

1) An operational campaign history or two, as non-country-specific. I don't need diplomacy as much as a picture of the terrain, units, operational priorities, etc.

I'd recommend Charles Messenger's "The Tunisian Campaign", Ian Allan, 1982. It's slightly marred by some dodgy proof-reading (General Fredendall's name is misspelt "Fredenhall" throughout), but is a clear and concise description of who went where and did what in what order. Amazon have cheap second-hand copies available.

"An Army at Dawn" is good, but much longer, and focused very much on the Americans (and marred for Mr. Picky by the author's bizarre belief that VT fuzes were available in 1943). For an interesting comparison, another book -- though narrower still in focus -- written at the time about the US Army learning on the job is Ralph Ingersoll's "The Battle is the pay-off". As far as I know it has never been re-printed, so good luck finding a copy -- mine cost me quite a bit.

Originally posted by Bigduke6:

2) Commonwealth first-hand accounts, just because I really enjoy the witty British writing style a la Masters, Slim, etc. Usually this is over-educated officers, but I'll read whomever.

Alan Moorehead's "African Trilogy" is I think still good reading, and the best writer of that period of the war was probably Keith Douglas, whose "Alamein to Zem-Zem" is available in paperback.

All the best,

John.

[JonS]

Concur with the above, and would like to further suggest the NZ OHs, available from http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/subject-000004.html

# Bardia to Enfidaville by Major William George Stevens

...is the campaign history, and each of these units ...

# 21 Battalion by Joseph F. Cody

# 23 Battalion by Lieutenant Colonel Angus Ross

# 24 Battalion by Randal Mathews Burdon

# 25 Battalion by Edward Puttick

# 26 Battalion by Frazer D. Norton

# 27 (Machine Gun) Battalion by Robin Langford Kay

# 28 Maori Battalion by Joseph F. Cody

# 2nd New Zealand Divisional Artillery by W. E. Murphy

# 4th and 6th Reserve Mechanical Transport Companies by Jim H. Henderson

# Chaplains by J. M. S. Ross, Reverend Michael L. Underhill, Sydney David Waters, N. E. Winhall

# Divisional Cavalry by R. J. M. Loughnan

# Divisional Signals by Major C. Allan Borman

# Medical Units of 2 NZEF in Middle East and Italy by J. B. McKinney

# New Zealand Engineers, Middle East by Joseph F. Cody

# Petrol Company by A. L. Kidson

# Supply Company by P. W. Bates

... has a chapter or so dedicated to that period of the war. Furthermore, these ones ...

# War Surgery and Medicine by T. Duncan, M. Stout

# Wounded in Battle by J. B. McKinney

... will have some coverage of that campaign as it relates to their respective fields. Finally, this one ...

# Takrouna by I. McL. Wards

Covers one particular battle in considerable detail (and [shameless plug] my conversion of that battle is available from The Scenario Depot II as "Takrouna - Op Oration" [/shameless plug])

Pretty much all of the authors above were members of 2(NZ)Div at some stage during the war, and a few of them were with the Div pretty much from go to whoa. So despite being Official Histories, they are also personal.

It may not be exactly what you're after in fact, by and large the coverage is very deep on NZ activities rather than particularly broad on overall Allied activities, even "Bardia to Enfidaville". Still, they're freely available, and the writing is generally pretty good.

Regards

Jon

[von Lucke]

"The Battle for North Africa, 1940-43" by General Sir W.G.F. Jackson is quite good. Eminently readable --- yet full of the why's and wherefores of the various Ops --- plenty of maps (I love maps!), and written by someone who served in theater during the war.

Best part is, there are several used copies for sale on Amazon for $1.50. What a steal!

[Bigduke6]

Thanks guys, I knew I could depend on you. If you need something similar on the Soviet side, I owe you one.

[Redwolf]

Brazen Chariots by Robert Crisp.

[Aragorn2002]

What about Exit Rommel: The Tunisian Campaign, 1942-43 by Bruce Allen Watson? Anyone ever read it? Does it focus on the German side, or does it also describe Allied operations? Nicely priced at Amazon.com (by Stackpool books), but is it worth reading?