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Rating: 
Summary: A Truncated Account of the Desert Siege
Review: Jon Latimer picks up in this volume on the Siege of Tobruk where he left off in his previous volume in the Osprey Campaign Series, Operation Compass 1940. Although the style is similar to the first volume, this work is better written and better edited. However, it is important to note that this volume does not cover the entire siege of Tobruk, only the period from Rommel's initial offensive on 24 March to the end of Operate "Battleaxe" on 17 June 1941. Since the siege continued until late November 1941, this period will presumably be covered in another volume on "Operation Crusader". Nevertheless, the story of the siege seems oddly truncated in this account. The section on commanders is far too brief. Rommel is the only Axis commander given serious attention and even the Allied commanders are mostly glossed over. Generalmajor Streich, commander of the 5th Light Division, had a poor relationship with Rommel and this should have been discussed since it contributed to the failure of the first German attack on Tobruk. The section on opposing armies is totally superficial, focusing on a general discussion of anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns, rather than discussing the units involved in the siege. The German 5th Light was a very ad hoc force cobbled together from various bits and pieces in late 1940. More information on the 9th Australian Division should have been provided. Virtually no information on the Italians was provided - Latimer missed a chance here to comment on their recovery, of sorts, from the Beda Fomm disaster. The Order of Battle provided is quite thorough, although there is no list of Axis aircraft available. Latimer should also have made some mention of the reinforcement schedules for both sides. The campaign summary is solid, if unexceptional. Latimer covers all the main points, but a review of his bibliography reveals that he has not dug much past standard secondary sources. There has been a wealth of new information about the Desert War, including a lot of specialized studies on the panzer units of the Afrika Korps, as well as information about Enigma, that have not been incorporated in this volume. Excellent sources, such as the Royal Armored Corps histories and the Tank Museum do not appear to have been utilized. Perhaps in his next volume, Latimer can attempt a bit more research. Finally, there is no attempt at analysis, asking why couldn't Rommel take Tobruk? Obviously inadequate resources played a key factor, but Latimer sheds little light on the question of whether Rommel had any other options.
Rating:
Summary: A Truncated Account of the Desert Siege
Review: Jon Latimer picks up in this volume on the Siege of Tobruk where he left off in his previous volume in the Osprey Campaign Series, Operation Compass 1940. Although the style is similar to the first volume, this work is better written and better edited. However, it is important to note that this volume does not cover the entire siege of Tobruk, only the period from Rommel's initial offensive on 24 March to the end of Operate "Battleaxe" on 17 June 1941. Since the siege continued until late November 1941, this period will presumably be covered in another volume on "Operation Crusader". Nevertheless, the story of the siege seems oddly truncated in this account. The section on commanders is far too brief. Rommel is the only Axis commander given serious attention and even the Allied commanders are mostly glossed over. Generalmajor Streich, commander of the 5th Light Division, had a poor relationship with Rommel and this should have been discussed since it contributed to the failure of the first German attack on Tobruk. The section on opposing armies is totally superficial, focusing on a general discussion of anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns, rather than discussing the units involved in the siege. The German 5th Light was a very ad hoc force cobbled together from various bits and pieces in late 1940. More information on the 9th Australian Division should have been provided. Virtually no information on the Italians was provided - Latimer missed a chance here to comment on their recovery, of sorts, from the Beda Fomm disaster. The Order of Battle provided is quite thorough, although there is no list of Axis aircraft available. Latimer should also have made some mention of the reinforcement schedules for both sides. The campaign summary is solid, if unexceptional. Latimer covers all the main points, but a review of his bibliography reveals that he has not dug much past standard secondary sources. There has been a wealth of new information about the Desert War, including a lot of specialized studies on the panzer units of the Afrika Korps, as well as information about Enigma, that have not been incorporated in this volume. Excellent sources, such as the Royal Armored Corps histories and the Tank Museum do not appear to have been utilized. Perhaps in his next volume, Latimer can attempt a bit more research. Finally, there is no attempt at analysis, asking why couldn't Rommel take Tobruk? Obviously inadequate resources played a key factor, but Latimer sheds little light on the question of whether Rommel had any other options.
Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Brief Account
Review: Latimer has done an outstanding job of compressing a large amount of information into the limited format of an Osprey volume. The reviewer (below) may have wanted a far fuller account, but if he has a way of including all of the information Latimer has conveyed *as well as* all the material he believes was missing in just 20,000 words then I suggest he contact Osprey immediately. Such an achievement would be remarkable. I wonder whether some reviewers are more interested in showing off their knowledge than in a reasonable assessment of the work in question. Given the limited scope of the Osprey format and the general nature of the series' reading audience, Latimer has done a superb job of outlining most of the important aspects of this campaign and of pointing the interested reader in the direction of further, fuller accounts. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Brief Account
Review: Latimer has done an outstanding job of compressing a large amount of information into the limited format of an Osprey volume. The reviewer (below) may have wanted a far fuller account, but if he has a way of including all of the information Latimer has conveyed *as well as* all the material he believes was missing in just 20,000 words then I suggest he contact Osprey immediately. Such an achievement would be remarkable. I wonder whether some reviewers are more interested in showing off their knowledge than in a reasonable assessment of the work in question. Given the limited scope of the Osprey format and the general nature of the series' reading audience, Latimer has done a superb job of outlining most of the important aspects of this campaign and of pointing the interested reader in the direction of further, fuller accounts. Highly recommended.
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