Africa Corps

Among all the illustrious fighting units of World War II there is only one which commanded the respect of its enemies and one commander whose fame and honor increased long after his death. The Afrika Korps led by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel fought for only 2.5 years. Taking over a feeble Italian effort in Libya to invade Egypt, Rommel's Afrika Korps swept across the Western Desert and was only stopped 60 miles west of Alexandria. Despite its small numbers and lack of support from Hitler in terms of men and weapons, the defeats of its remarkable fighting units were as famous as its victories: Tobruk, El Alamein, the Kasserine Pass are among the many battle honors on the flag of the Africa Corps. Fighting against the British, American, Australian, New Zealand and South African armies, the story of Rommel's Afrika Korps was a conflict in which both sides respected each other equally. The brief and bloody history of the Afrika Korps is told by Colonel AJ Barker, who fought in Ethiopia and in the Desert and whose 25 books on various aspects of World War II in Africa and Asia rank him among the world's leading authorities on this subject. Colonel Barker has organized the cooperation of hundreds of former comrades-at-arms of Rommel as well as General Count von Schwerin, who introduces this book, in obtaining a rare collection of photographs and memorabilia which has never before been published. It is presented here along with dozens of maps, charts and technical illustrations to make a unique contribution to the historical literature of World War II - the history of the AFRIKA KORPS.