Ken Delve

Disaster in the Desert – An interesting investigation

Ken Delve a military historian, former RAF navigator, has given an alternative view of the Battles for North Africa. People often forget about the desert war, and how important it was that Britain won it, as this would open the way for the invasion of Italy.

Delve gives an alternative look at what might have happened if things had gone to plan for the Axis powers. These are the sort of questions historian like to look at, the what if questions. This book is one of those, what if Rommel had won, what would needed to have happened.

This book shows the depth of knowledge Delve has over the African campaign, to be able to run what if scenarios you actually need to know what happened. Not only what happened, why it happened, the causes, the supply lines of men and equipment, geography and all arms of the military working together.

Delve proposes that with a few strategic changes by the Axis powers and that poor decisions by Allied forces and the outcomes could have been different. Well yes of course this is all true and would have allowed the Germans free reign on the African continent and the Middle East, while pinning the Allies down to a small island in the north east Atlantic.

This is an interesting book, and these scenarios have probably been run in many officer training academies. This is the first time we the general public have been asked to think through those various scenarios. What it does make clear, it does not matter how good your men are, your equipment is, if you cannot keep them resupplied then everything is going to end painfully.

An excellent book that certainly gets you thinking and looking at the maps once again seeing the what ifs and trying to apply them. All I can say is thank God for Malta.… (lisätietoja)