Presentations on North Africa

Nice job to both of you. I have been fascinated with the North African campaign and the shear mobility afforded by the flat open desert. It truly was some of the first highly mobile armored warfare, and the lessons learned by both sides had an effect on the rest of the war, and undoubtedly were applied to more recent conflicts in the Middle East. You both captured the idea that as a general, Rommel could be seen as superior to his British counterparts, but his lack of supplies, and apparent disregard for supply lines were to come back to get him in the end. Montgomery was able to just slug it out in a war of attrition, something Rommel could not afford. Also, it was telling how the Italians prepared the fortress of Tobruk, lost it to the British rather quickly, then their defenses were used against the Afrika Korps when the time came to retake the port. One wonders what may have happened if the Italians had been able to hold on to the city until Rommel arrived in Tripoli with the Afrika Korps. His initial dash may have been decisive with the ability to resupply from the close Tobruk, right from the start.