Operation Crusader: Auchinleck's and Rommel's Great Gamble

摘要

Part 1 of 2 By November 1941, Britain and her Commonwealth stood alone against the advancing tide of European fascism. One glimmer of light would emerge from the bright desert landscape of North Africa as Operation Crusader-and the confused armor melee that was part of it - provided for the relief on an embattled seaport at Tobruk and the subsequent liberation of Cyrenaica in eastern Libya. This two-part article reviews the conduct of this battle and highlights lessons-learned. The approach used here is to summarize the interaction between combat forces, explore the engagement defeat mechanisms and suggest operational ramifications for future battle doctrine and organization. Battlespace The area between Tobruk in the northwest and Buq Buq in the east would serve to frame the maneuver space for the approaching battle. Major military units could be sustained within 80 miles of the coast, and these boundaries defined the area of interest for each side. That's an area that would encompass all of the National Training Center plus a line connecting Barstow and Ridgecrest running through Death Valley out to the California-Nevada border.