South Africans versus Rommel: The Untold Story of the Desert War in World War II

By David Brock Katz

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: RowmanLittlefield
• Release date: Nov 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9780811766081

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Reviews for South Africans versus Rommel

[shrike58 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Just when you think that there isn't a great deal more to say about the "Benghazi Stakes" of World War II this monograph comes out of left field dealing with the largely unappreciated participation of the South African military in this campaign. Katz has the virtues of enjoying both actual military service and what appears to be a strong academic foundation, which allows him to put the South African military into the period context of getting to grips with mobile warfare. Much of this is a tale of command turbulence, as while the South African military leadership had little professional depth to draw upon, much of what they did right (having a certain tradition of maneuver warfare) was disrupted by the dubious operational theories of the British high command in the Middle East.Katz is particularly interested in the disasters suffered by South African arms during Operation Crusader and the fall of Tobruk in the wake of the Gazala battle, as these had a real political impact on the efforts of the government of Jan Smuts to keep South Africa in the war, when so many white South Africans still considered the British the real enemy. While the destruction of the 5th S.A. Brigade during Crusader could be chalked up to one of those damned things that happen in battle, the capture of the 2nd S.A. Division at Tobruk was a failure of all levels of leadership, starting with Churchill's obsession with the place. However, Hendrik Klopper, the South African commander on the spot, does appear to have been quite hapless in the final analysis.Highly recommended.