Barrie Pitt (Set Of 3 Books):Wavell’s Command: The Crucible of War Book 1 | Auchinleck’s Command: The Crucible of War Book 2 | Montgomery and Alamein: The Crucible of War Book 3

1)Wavell’s Command: The Crucible of War Book 1 :- Volume 1 of The Crucible of War trilogy covers General Wavell’s command, a period that began triumphantly with the rout of the Italian Army and ended in catastrophe with the devastating entry of Rommel into the conflict On 11th June 1940, Mussolini declared war on Britain and France. From their colony in Libya, the Italians began invading Egypt in an attempt to expand their African Empire Thus began the Desert War – a battle to secure critical Middle East oil supplies which would last for three years. Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East was General Sir Archibald Wavell. By 1940, and with limited resources, he was responsible for all British land forces in Egypt, the Sudan, Palestine, Transjordan and Cyprus, as well as the Army formations in British Somaliland, Aden, Iraq and along the shores of the Persian Gulf. The area for which he had accepted military command thus included nine different countries in two continents. In December 1940 in Libya, Wavell’s Western Desert Force of 36,000 men attacked the Italians across desolate and inhospitable terrain in order to keep Egypt from falling to the Axis and shield access to the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and possibly even India from Hitler. Attack was the only form of defense and under field commander General Richard O’Connor, an immensely successful and exhilarating campaign was carried out against Marshal Graziani’s forces. The Italians were pushed back hundreds of miles and 130,000 prisoners were taken. By February 1941 nearly all Axis forces had been expelled from North Africa. It was a remarkable triumph in one of the most dramatic theatres of the Second World War which paved the way for later victories, but not immediately – as Rommel’s Afrika Korps meant Wavell, with a now weakened Western Desert Force, was ordered to send men to Greece, despite his conviction that victory was close.

2)Auchinleck’s Command: The Crucible of War Book 2 :- The Crucible of War Book 2 Comes as close as any work yet published to being a definitive account of the battles between German and Allied armies in the Sahara.’ Financial Times The Crucible of War is Barrie Pitt’s definitive and much-acclaimed history of the Desert War. Pitt reconstructs one of the most dramatic theatres of the Second World War, drawing together every aspect of an epic campaign fought across 3000 miles of desolate and inhospitable terrain. Each volume in the series centres upon a decisive event in the Desert War, taking the reader from the outbreak of fighting in 1940 to El Alamein, the greatest breakthrough in the struggle against the Axis. Volume Two of The Crucible of War trilogy covers General Auchinleck’s command – a period of disaster and defeat for the British Army, driven back towards Cairo by the Africa Korps under the tactical genius of Rommel. The book ends however with the replacing of Auchinleck by Montgomery in August 1942. Auchinleck’s Command is essential reading for anyone interested in WW2, the British Army (it’s strengths and weaknesses) and military leadership. A magnificent marriage of absolute accuracy and the writing of a novelist. He makes military history live as no other contemporary author does.” Manchester Evening News

3)Montgomery and Alamein: The Crucible of War Book 3  :- The Crucible of War Book 3  Masterly and lucid in its descriptions not only of the fighting and strategy, but of the political machinations’ Sunday Telegraph Throughout the first half of the Second World War, control of the inhospitable North African desert was strategically vital for the Allies In the middle of 1942, the outcome hung in the balance. Rommel and his Afrika Korps had been fought to a standstill at the first battle of Alamein and were desperately short of fuel and equipment. But the British and Commonwealth forces were in little better shape.
The next encounter between the two armies would however be decisive. Montgomery, the new Allied commander, set about rebuilding his weary army and establishing an overwhelming superiority in both men and material. The scene was set for a second, and bludgeoning, encounter at El Alamein in October. It was to prove Britain’s first decisive victory of the war. Montgomery and Alamein is the third volume of Barrie Pitt’s definitive history of the Desert War. The first and second volumes, Wavell’s Command and Auchinleck’s Command, are also published by Sharpe Books. Barrie Pitt is also the author of Zeebrugge, Coronel & Falkland the history of the Special Boat Squadron. Praise for the Crucible of War Trilogy:  Barrie Pitt tells this exciting history well. He has assembled a mass of information and organised it with admirable clarity. His narrative is scrupulously accurate in detail. The whole work will have great appeal for the general reader.’ Times Literary Supplement ‘The definitive work on the Desert War.’ Manchester Evening News ‘A magnificent book, Barrie Pitt has almost a novelist’s skill and perception of character.’ Daily Telegraph ‘Totally readable, Mr Pitt’s study depicts equally well the broad outlines of strategy, the confusions and hazards of the battlefield and the personalities of the generals or private soldiers fighting there.’ Oxford Times