A Wargamers Needful Things

Operation Crusader

Tank Warfare in the Desert, Tobruk 1941

by

Hermann Büschleb

translated by

David Dorondo

  This is an extremely interesting, if short, book at less than 100 pages. Hermann Büschleb was a staff officer in the Germany Army during WWII. The book was apparently written for the United States Army. After WWII, Hermann Büschleb became a Major-General in the West German Bundeswehr. The jacket states:

"Writing in the 1960s, Büschleb framed his account of Crusader as a case study, almost an instruction manual for the leadership and command of armored and mechanized warfare. He intended it to be of practical use to contemporary military personnel, who expected to fight a similar type of warfare against the Warsaw Pact."

 The first thing you will notice when opening the book is that it comes with twenty-one maps of the action before and during Operation Crusader. The background and "Situation in Context" of the battle take up the first twenty-eight pages. The length of the German supply line, and the reduction in the ports available to the Italo-German were only the first two problems.  The active British intervention against their supply lines was the third and most dangerous threat to the Italo-German supply. With the amount that the author tells us of supplies that got through, it is amazing that the Italo-German forces were able to eat let alone fight. 

 The actual course of the battle takes up the next forty-seven pages. This gives an almost minute by minute breakdown for the engagements that took place. The majority of the action follows the Deutsches Afrikakorps, although the author also mentions some of the Italian actions. The author's three page "Conclusion", which is divided into "Historical Considerations" and "Tactical Considerations", are concise but right on target. 

 This book is probably the best German Officer written appraisal of a battle in WWII that I have read. Many that I have read are tough to slog through, but this is written as well as the better histories are. I am not sure if this is because of the translator making it slightly more appealing, or does it come across the same way in the original German. Whichever, it works superbly. Thank you Casemate Publishers in allowing me to read this concise, but well done appraisal of Operation Crusader.

BooK: Operation Crusader: Tank Warfare in the Desert Tobruk 1941
Author: Hermann Büschleb
Translator: David Dorondo
Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Robert