South Africans Versus Rommel

Author : David Brock Katz
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 368 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2017-11-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9780811766081

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South Africans versus Rommel by David Brock Katz Pdf

After bitter debate, South Africa, a dominion of the British Empire at the time, declared war on Germany five days after the invasion of Poland in September 1939. Thrust by the British into the campaign against Erwin Rommel’s German Afrika Korps in North Africa, the South Africans fought a see-saw war of defeats followed by successes, culminating in the Battle of El Alamein, where South African soldiers made a significant contribution to halting the Desert Fox’s advance into Egypt. This is the story of an army committed somewhat reluctantly to a war it didn’t fully support, ill-prepared for the battles it was tasked with fighting, and sent into action on the orders of its senior alliance partner. At its heart, however, this is the story of men at war.

Author : Evert Kleynhans,David Brock Katz
Publisher : Jonathan Ball Publishers
Page : 365 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2023-07-28
Category : History
ISBN : 9781928248231

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20 Battles by Evert Kleynhans,David Brock Katz Pdf

Favouring manoeuvre over attrition and often punching above their weight, South African soldiers have become known for their tenacity, dash and ability to defy the odds. Their unique directive command style has also helped them to excel in defining battles and operations, from the campaign in German South West Africa in 1915 to the cross-border operations in Angola during the Border War. In 20 Battles, military historians Evert Kleynhans and David Brock Katz investigate the evolution of South Africa's armed forces over a century from 1913 to 2013. They track the evolution of the doctrine and structure of the defence force, uncovering historical continuity and the lessons learned from past battles and operations. What is clear is that when South African soldiers have the freedom to operate according to their manoeuvre doctrine, as they had in East Africa in 1916 and southern Ethiopia in 1941, they can achieve stunning results. But when hemmed in by rigid doctrine and a top-down command style, as at Delville Wood in 1916 and Tobruk in 1942, the results can be tragic. 20 Battles combines both battlefield drama and crisp analysis and in the process provides a much-needed perspective on the South African way of war.

Author : Jack Greene,Alessandro Massignani
Publisher : Da Capo Press, Incorporated
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 1994-05-21
Category : History
ISBN : IND:30000042234959

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Rommel's North Africa Campaign by Jack Greene,Alessandro Massignani Pdf

In the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East some of World War II's greatest legends were born as Erwin Rommel the "Desert Fox" led his Afrika Korps against the "Desert Rats" of the British 8th Army led by Bernard Montgomery. Both sides recruited local people to their cause, winning stunning victories but planting the seeds of conflicts to come.

Author : Jr. Samuel W. Mitcham
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 8182743540

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Rommel's Desert War (the Life And Death Of The Afrika Korps) by Jr. Samuel W. Mitcham Pdf

Author : Rommel Roberts
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 229 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2018-05-23
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1982932015

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Seeds of Peace by Rommel Roberts Pdf

'In South Africa, the struggle for freedom was won largely through non-violent means - 95% of the struggle was non-violent. The non-violent foundations laid in the preceding years are, I believe, what made our peaceful transition to democracy possible in 1994.'Rommel Roberts' words express his conviction which was underlying all his efforts as an activist opposing the apartheid regime in South Africa. In his book 'Seeds of Peace' Rommel Roberts wants to focus on ordinary people who with their courage and commitment have achieved a change in South African conditions but have never been recognised and acknowledged.In all his stories of brave women and men and in all forms of protest and human rights activities in which Rommel Roberts played a key role this incredible spirit of non-violence was prevalent and finally successful.

Author : Jonathan Fennell
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 967 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2019-01-24
Category : History
ISBN : 9781107030954

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Fighting the People's War by Jonathan Fennell Pdf

Jonathan Fennell captures for the first time the true wartime experience of the ordinary soldiers from across the empire who made up the British and Commonwealth armies. He analyses why the great battles were won and lost and how the men that fought went on to change the world.

Author : Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr.
Publisher : Stackpole Books
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 0811734137

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Rommel's Desert War by Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr. Pdf

The most famous battles of one of World War II's most legendary commandersTold largely from Rommel's perspective, using his papers and lettersIn a series of battles marked by daring raids and quick-armored thrusts against a numerically superior enemy, Erwin Rommel, the notorious Desert Fox, and his Afrika Korps waged one of World War II's toughest campaigns in the North African desert in 1942. The Axis campaign climaxed in June with the recapture of Tobruk, a triumph that netted 33,000 prisoners and earned Rommel a field marshal's baton. By fall, however, after setbacks at Alam Halfa and the 2 battles of El Alamein, the Afrika Korps teetered on the brink of defeat, which would come in Tunisia 6 months later.

Author : Major General Alfred Toppe
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
Page : 238 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2014-08-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781782893776

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Desert Warfare: German Experiences In World War II [Illustrated Edition] by Major General Alfred Toppe Pdf

Includes 112 photos/illustrations and 21 maps. The German Afrika Korps blazed a trail across the deserts of North Africa under their dashing leader Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox, although finally defeated by far superior Allied Forces they set the gold standard for desert operations. This book is of great historical value and even in the present day it is still considered of great value by the American military who still seek for improvements in their ways of desert doctrine... “Analysts continue to assess the data from Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm as a means of improving the military’s ability to function efficiently in desert terrain...The information gleaned from this effort will enhance the already considerable body of knowledge on the subject derived from the historical record...When contributions in the latter category are located or rediscovered, they should be given the dissemination they merit... “Such is the purpose of publishing Desert Warfare: German Experiences in World War II...Organized by Major General Alfred Toppe and written with the assistance of nine German commanders who served in North Africa, the manuscript...represents a collaborative attempt to determine “as many factors as possible which exerted a determining influence on desert warfare,” Issues addressed include planning, intelligence, logistics, and operations. Described and analyzed are the German order of battle, the major military engagements in North Africa, and the particular problems of terrain and climate in desert operations. Not unlike many of the U.S. units engaged in the war with Iraq, the Germans in North Africa learned about combat operations in the desert only after they arrived on the scene and confronted the desert on its own terms. For this reason alone, as well as for the insights it offers, Desert Warfare requires the serious consideration of those responsible for preparing the U.S. military for any future conflict in desert terrain.”

Author : Steven Robins
Publisher : Penguin Random House South Africa
Page : 418 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2016-02-03
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781776090259

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Letters of Stone by Steven Robins Pdf

As a young boy growing up in Port Elizabeth in the 1960s and 1970s, Steven Robins was haunted by an old postcard-size photograph of three unknown women on a table in the dining room. Only later did he learn that the women were his father’s mother and sisters, photographed in Berlin in 1937, before they were killed in the Holocaust. Steven’s father, who had fled Nazi Germany before it was too late, never spoke about the fate of his family who remained there. Steven became obsessed with finding out what happened to the women, but had little to go on. In time he stumbled on official facts in museums in Washington DC and Berlin, and later he discovered over a hundred letters sent to his father and uncle from the family in Berlin between 1936 and 1943. The women who before had been unnamed faces in a photograph could now tell their story to future generations. Letters of Stone tracks Steven’s journey of discovery about the lives and fates of the Robinski family. It is also a book about geographical journeys: to the Karoo town of Williston, where his father’s uncle settled in the late nineteenth century and became mayor; to Berlin, where Steven laid ‘stumbling stones’ (Stolpersteine) in commemoration of his relatives; to Auschwitz, where his father’s siblings perished. Most of all, this book is a poignant reconstruction of a family trapped in an increasingly terrifying and deadly Nazi state, and of the immense pressure on Steven’s father in faraway South Africa, which forced him to retreat into silence.

Author : David John Cawdell Irving
Publisher : George Weidenfeld & Nicholson
Page : 448 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 1977
Category : Afrikakorpset
ISBN : 0297773704

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The Trail of the Fox by David John Cawdell Irving Pdf

Author : Toyin Falola,Mohammed Bashir Salau
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 439 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2021-12-06
Category : History
ISBN : 9783110678017

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Africa in Global History by Toyin Falola,Mohammed Bashir Salau Pdf

This handbook places emphasis on modern/contemporary times, and offers relevant sophisticated and comprehensive overviews. It aims to emphasize the religious, economic, political, cultural and social connections between Africa and the rest of the world and features comparisons as well as an interdisciplinary approach in order to examine the place of Africa in global history. "This book makes an important contribution to the discussion on the place of Africa in the world and of the world in Africa. An outstanding work of scholarship, it powerfully demonstrates that Africa is not marginal to global concerns. Its labor and resources have made our world, and the continent deserves our respect." – Mukhtar Umar Bunza, Professor of Social History, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, and Commissioner for Higher Education, Kebbi State, Nigeria "This is a deep plunge into the critical place of Africa in global history. The handbook blends a rich set of important tapestries and analysis of the conceptual framework of African diaspora histories, imperialism and globalization. By foregrounding the authentic voices of African interpreters of transnational interactions and exchanges, the Handbook demonstrates a genuine commitment to the promotion of decolonized and indigenous knowledge on African continent and its peoples." – Samuel Oloruntoba, Visiting Research Professor, Institute of African Studies, Carleton University

Author : Richard Steyn
Publisher : Jonathan Ball Publishers
Page : 357 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2020-08-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9781776190362

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Seven Votes by Richard Steyn Pdf

If a mere seven more MPs had voted with Prime Minister JBM Hertzog in favour of neutrality, South Africa's history would have been quite different. Parliament's narrow decision to go to war in 1939 led to a seismic upheaval throughout the 1940s: black people streamed in their thousands from rural areas to the cities in search of jobs; volunteers of all races answered the call to go 'up north' to fight; and opponents of the Smuts government actively hindered the war effort by attacking soldiers and committing acts of sabotage. World War Two upended South Africa's politics, ruining attempts to forge white unity and galvanising opposition to segregation among African, Indian and coloured communities. It also sparked debates among nationalists, socialists, liberals and communists such as the country had never previously experienced. As Richard Steyn recounts so compellingly in Seven Votes, the war's unforeseen consequence was the boost it gave to nationalisms, both Afrikaner and African, which went on to transform the country in the second half of the 20th century. The book brings to life an extraordinary cast of characters, including wartime leader Jan Smuts, DF Malan and his National Party colleagues, African nationalists from Anton Lembede and AB Xuma to Walter Sisulu and Nelson Mandela, the influential Indian activists Yusuf Dadoo and Monty Naicker, and many others.

Author : David Mitchelhill-Green
Publisher : Pen and Sword Military
Page : 487 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2017-08-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9781473892224

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Rommel in North Africa by David Mitchelhill-Green Pdf

Erwin Rommel is the arguably the most well-known German general of the Second World War. Revered by his troops and applauded by his enemies, the so-called Desert Fox achieved legendary status for his daring exploits and bold maneuvers during the North African campaign. In this book, richly illustrated with over 400 images, the author examines the privations and challenges Rommel faced in leading his coalition force. Endeavoring to reach the Nile Delta, we find Rommel's Axis soldiers poorly prepared to undertake such an audacious operation. Much-admired by his men in the front lines, we discover a demanding and intolerant leader, censured by subordinate officers and mistrusted by his superiors in Berlin. Certainly no diplomat, we observe posed interactions with Italian and junior German officers through an official lens. We note Rommel's readiness to take advantage of his enemy's weakness and study his extraordinary instinct for waging mobile warfare. We consider his disregard for the decisive factor of supply and view his army's reliance on captured equipment. We learn how this brave and ambitious commander was celebrated by German propaganda when the Wehrmacht's fortunes in the East were waning. Conversely, analyze why Winston Churchill honored him as a daring and skillful opponent. Finally, we picture this energetic, ambitious, at times reckless, commander as he roamed the vast Western Desert battlefield. This is the story of Rommel in North Africa.

Author : Peter Caddick-Adams
Publisher : Random House
Page : 642 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2011-06-08
Category : History
ISBN : 9781409050926

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Monty and Rommel: Parallel Lives by Peter Caddick-Adams Pdf

Two men came to personify British and German generalship in the Second World War: Bernard Montgomery and Erwin Rommel. They fought a series of extraordinary duels across several theatres of war which established them as two of the greatest captains of their age. Our understanding of leadership in battle was altered for ever by their electrifying personal qualities. Ever since, historians have assessed their outstanding leadership, personalities and skill. The careers of both began on the periphery of the military establishment and represent the first time military commanders proactively and systematically used (and were used by) the media as they came to prominence, first in North Africa, then in Normandy. Dynamic and forward-thinking, their lives also represent a study of pride, propaganda and nostalgia. Caddick-Adams tracks and compares their military talents and personalities in battle. Each brought something special to their commands. Rommel's breathtaking advance in May-June 1940 was nothing less than inspired. Montgomery is a gift for leadership gurus in the way he took over a demoralised Eighth Army in August 1942 and led it to victory just two months later. This compelling work is both scholarly and entertaining and marks the debut of a major new talent in historical biography.

Author : Tony Patel and John Stretton Weeks
Publisher : Troubador Publishing Ltd
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2019-09-24
Category : History
ISBN : 9781838590369

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GENERAL FIELD MARSHAL ERWIN ROMMEL by Tony Patel and John Stretton Weeks Pdf

General Erwin Rommel’s death and cremation is recorded as taking place in Germany. This book is about his death and burial actually happening in the British Protectorate of Nyasa land which is now called Malawi. It was to here Rommel escaped in October 1944 from Germany using the pseudonym of Meyer. In Africa Rommel left behind a secret family first in South Africa and then in Malawi. Evidence presented in this book has now connected the outstanding similarity of seven different events recorded over an 18 year period. They include evidence given by reliable different sources and still living family members. The most credible and compelling interview included is with a British Barrister-at-Law. Proposals for the ultimate scientific evidence of Erwin Rommel’s final resting place are presented in the book’s conclusion.