Tobruk: The Great Siege 1941-42

by William F. Buckingham

The siege of Tobruk was the longest in British military history. The coastal fortress and deep-water port was of crucial importance to the battle for North Africa, and the key that would unlock the way to Egypt and the Suez Canal. For almost a year the isolated garrison held out against all attempts to take it. For both sides it assumed a propaganda role that outweighed even its great strategic value. Goebbels referred to its defenders as "rats," which, in characteristic British fashion, the whole army proudly adopted as their title, the "Desert Rats," and the port became a symbol of resistance when the war was going badly for Britain. When it fell and 25,000 men surrendered to an armored assault on 21 June 1942, Churchill said it was "one of the heaviest blows I can recall during the war." William F. Buckingham’s startling account, drawing extensively on first-hand testimony from veterans on both sides, is a comprehensive history of this epic struggle, and essential reading for anyone with an interest in the Western Desert Campaign.

352 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having covered most of europe and now the eastern war, I wanted to read some more about the north african campaign so picked up this book on Tobruk.

Having touched on this are in other books I was really interested to fin out more details about the campaigns between Rommel and Montgomery and get some real understanding of the desert warfare and tank battles.

Unfortunately I didn't get any of that from this book. I thought the book wasn't particularly well structured and didn't provide a good flow fo the battles and build up to them. I found it difficult to read, the maps were insufficiently detailed and also not regular enough to keep a good understanding of how the battles developed through the geography.

Unusually for me, I stopped reading this book about two thirds of the way through. Therefore I can't comment on whether it got better at the end, but I didn't think it would.

Therefore I will have to find another book on these battles to get some more information.

[Trawets · Rating 1 out of 5]

William Buckingham's book about the siege of Tobruk was a disappoinment to me, I had hoped for an insight into the lives and experiences of the fighting men in Tobruk, my Grandfather was taken prisoner there in June 1942., however this book dealt very much strategy and the senior officers involved.
William Buckingham had a very repetative style and his frequent use of the phrase "be that as it may" and the words former and latter, began to grate, as did the enormouse number of typographical errors.