Scheda del Libro

Autore: Patrick Delaforce

Titolo: Churchill's Desert Rats 2. 7th Armoured Division in North Africa, Burma and Italy

Editore: Sutton Publishing

Anno: 2002 (in lingua inglese)

Illustrazioni: Fotografie e disegni in B/N

Copertina: Rigida con sovracoperta

Pagine: 216

Stato di conservazione: Come Nuovo

Descrizione

R

ecognised as being the most famous British Army formation that fought throughout the Second World War, the 7th Armoured Division wore its famous insignia of the jerboa with pride. As Winston Churchill's favourite division, the Desert Rats provided a much-needed symbol of courage to the war-torn British public. In this second volume, author Patrick Delaforce describes the campaigns fought from the arid deserts of North Africa, in Egypt, Tobruk, Alamein and Tunis, right through to Burma and the invasion of Sicily and Italy.

The 7th Armoured Division's two armoured brigades, the 4th and the 7th, achieved independence from the parent by fighting individual campaigns crucial to the outcome of the war. For the first time, the story of the three jerboas red, green and black - is told in the words of combatant soldiers. The author has interviewed troopers, gunners and infantrymen to describe the training and action exactly as it happened.

The success of initial battles against Mussolini's second-class armies was followed by the raging combat that ensued when Rommel took command of the joint Axis forces. His powerful Deutches Afrika Korps proved difficult to conquer, and victory went alternately to one side or the other. Troops fought under hellish conditions through blinding sandstorms in the remote desert. Navigation was only possible by reference to the sun during the day and the stars at night. The green jerboa went on to fight the Japanese in Burma at the end of 1941, before battling its way up the east coast of while the black jerboa fought in Operation Husky to capture Sicily, and saw action in southern Italy before returning to north-west Europe to fight in parallel with the red jerboa.

This compelling sequel to Churchill's Desert Rats completes the story of the 7th Armoured Division, to give a full history of the formation in action, illustrated with a large selection of maps and photographs.