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Desert Scorpions: A novel of World War II
June 1940. The small British Army of Egypt faces vastly superior Italian armies across the border in Libya. In order to gain information about their enemy, the British form the Long Range Desert Group. Volunteers from the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Privates George Barr and Bart Hanson amongst them, flock to this elite unit.
The two Kiwis find themselves going where few men have gone before – across the sand seas of the vast Sahara Desert. Sallying forth from remote bases in heavily armed trucks, LRDG patrols spend weeks behind enemy lines. Learning to survive in this harsh environment, they establish hidden observation posts on ‘Road Watch’ duties reporting all they learn by radio to Cairo.
Across immense, waterless distances, ‘taxi’ services deliver and pick up agents and saboteurs, Michèle Moulin, a French spy, is rescued from rape and murder and crashed air crews are recovered. Ordered to go on the offensive, the Group attacks Axis installations and convoys. Hunted by aircraft and Italian armoured cars, N Patrol must fight to survive.
Returning to Egypt for recuperation and repair allows time for well-earned leave breaks in the ancient city of Cairo. George and Michèle find common ground. Bart meets Hayley, a Tui working in the New Zealand Forces Club and a school-days friendship is renewed.
With the Italians on the brink of defeat, a German Africa Corps under a General Rommel arrives in Libya …
The two Kiwis find themselves going where few men have gone before – across the sand seas of the vast Sahara Desert. Sallying forth from remote bases in heavily armed trucks, LRDG patrols spend weeks behind enemy lines. Learning to survive in this harsh environment, they establish hidden observation posts on ‘Road Watch’ duties reporting all they learn by radio to Cairo.
Across immense, waterless distances, ‘taxi’ services deliver and pick up agents and saboteurs, Michèle Moulin, a French spy, is rescued from rape and murder and crashed air crews are recovered. Ordered to go on the offensive, the Group attacks Axis installations and convoys. Hunted by aircraft and Italian armoured cars, N Patrol must fight to survive.
Returning to Egypt for recuperation and repair allows time for well-earned leave breaks in the ancient city of Cairo. George and Michèle find common ground. Bart meets Hayley, a Tui working in the New Zealand Forces Club and a school-days friendship is renewed.
With the Italians on the brink of defeat, a German Africa Corps under a General Rommel arrives in Libya …
324 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 14, 2024
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