Eighth Army: The Triumphant Desert Army That Held the Axis at Bay from North Africa to the Alps, 1939-45

by Robin Neillands

Book Overview

This masterful epic of military history thrillingly chronicles the defeats and triumphs of the Eighth Army, considered by many to be the most remarkable fighting force of WW II, renowned for holding... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585675377
• ISBN13: 9781585675371
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Overlook Press
• Length: 388 Pages
• Weight: 3.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Accurate and well researched

My grandfather served with this army during the Second World War - so I may be a little biased. This being said, I must share the similar sentiments of the reviewer from Australia. I found this book to be well researched and presents a very candid account of the Eighth Army in North Africa and Italy. In no way does Neillands attempt to hide the deficiences of the Eighth Army - at times he is quite critical of the British leadership, equipment and tactical inefficiencies. In spite of these deficiencies, the British, Australian and New Zealand troops performed their duties with dogged determination forcing Rommels retreat. By all accounts, I found the book very informative and a fine account of this campaign. On a very slight negative note, I did find the writers subsitution of the word "kit" for "equipment", on a regular basis, a little repetitive. All round, a solid four star rating.

a memorial

I am not sure if the previous reviewer and I have read the same book. There is no indication at all in this book that the Eighth army was invincible, quite the reverse, and its defeats are covered as well as its undoubted triumphs. Nor is there any indication of superior British equipment: the failures of British kit, from tanks to "flimsy" petrol cans are well documented, as is the wonderful improvement in reliability and firepower supplied by US lend lease tanks and equipment. But the book is a memorial and a tribute to the men who served in the Eighth Army. If there was anything "invincible" about it, it was probably the morale of the soldiers. The aim, I feel, of the book, boils down to this: It is an explanation of why, Winston Churchill was moved to say that it would be enough, after the war, for a man simply to say that he "had served with the Desert Army". The aim of the book is never to downplay the role or contribution of others, but to provide a fitting memorial to the men of the Eighth Army. Certainly I am not aware that the book provides any startling new revelations into the conduct of the war in North Africa, Sicily or Italy, but it is a solid introduction to the topic. I recommend it, because the scholarship and writing style are good enough to make me want to read more books by this author and enough, and adequate maps (always a problem in military history) are provided. It is not brilliant, it is probably a solid 3 star performer, but I have given it 4 at the moment, because the current one star rating is so woefully inaccurate that I cannot let it stand.