Panzerkrieg: The Rise and Fall of Hitler's Tank Divisions by Peter McCarthy & Mike Syron

Author:Peter McCarthy & Mike Syron [McCarthy, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472107800
Publisher: Robinson
Published: 2016-03-15T16:00:00+00:00

During December 1941, the Germans in Africa were retreating to the west just like their Kameraden in Russia, and yet by the end of January 1942, Rommel was ready to attack again. Supplies had started getting through to the Afrika Korps at last – in early January fifty-five tanks were landed at Tripoli, giving the DAK a slight numerical superiority over the British. Rommel was also well aware that the British supply lines were now as overstretched as the German ones had been when the DAK was on the Egyptian frontier. On top of this, his command was now elevated from Panzer Gruppe Afrika to the impressive-sounding Panzerarmee Afrika, although he didn’t receive any additional German divisions, still commanding the same three German divisions along with seven Italian ones.

By the fourth week of January the Afrika Korps had 110 tanks ready for action and 30 in reserve; Italian tanks totalled 90. Showing the cunning that earned him the name ‘Desert Fox’, Rommel sent convoys of trucks westwards so as to fool the British into thinking he was continuing to retreat. But instead he attacked on 21 January, catching the British by surprise and sending them into retreat. In hot pursuit the 15th Panzer covered 80 km (50 miles) in just four hours. By late January, he had recaptured Benghazi after mounting a feint against Mechili which drew most of the British armour away from the port.

By the first week of February, the British had dug in at Gazala, so Rommel halted the advance and took a month’s leave. Back in Berlin, he tried to persuade Hitler to let him have three more divisions so he could conquer Egypt, but Hitler, too obsessed with events on the Ostfront to care much about Africa, agreed only to Operation Herakles, an invasion of Malta which would be launched in June. This tiny island had been a serious thorn in Rommel’s side, with the RAF and RN stationed there constantly sallying out to menace his supply lines. The Panzerwaffe was ordered to establish a special-purpose tank battalion for use in the proposed seaborne landing; it was to be equipped with up-armoured Pz IVs and captured Russian KVs.

However, at this point Rommel, fearing a British attack before the island was taken, decided to return to Africa and push on with his advance. If he succeeded in taking Tobruk, he would then wait until Malta was subdued before pushing on into Egypt. This turned out to be a tactical mistake as Malta was never taken.

Rommel’s new offensive, Operation Venezia, got under way during the night of 26 May with the 3 German divisions supplemented by 3 Italian. Substantially outnumbered in tanks, infantry and artillery, Rommel had 320 German tanks (240 Pz IIIs, 40 Pz IVs and 40 obsolete Pz IIs) and 240 of the Italian ‘self-propelled coffins’. In contrast the British could field 900 including 110 Matildas, 250 Crusaders and 200 of the new American-built Grants armed with long-range 75 mm guns. Only the long-barrelled Pz

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