Desert Rat 1940–43: British and Commonwealth troops in North Africa (Warrior, 160)

The British and Commonwealth troops who made up first the 7th Armoured Division, then the Western Desert Force and finally the British Eighth Army have come down through history known as "The Desert Rats." Under a series of commanders, most notably Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery, they fought Mussolini's Italian forces and Rommel's famous Afrikakorps during 1940 to 1943 in North Africa. This is their story."Desert Rat 1940-43" is an Osprey Warrior Series entry, authored by Tim Moreman and illustrated by Steve Noon. It is less about the battles in North Africa and more about the soldiers who fought them. In a brisk 64 pages, the author discusses where the troops came from, how they fought, what they believed in, and their weapons and equipment. There is an astonishing amount information here, and the text is nicely supported by photographs, maps, and some excellent illustrations.The most interesting takeaway for this reviewer was how the composition of the Desert Rats changed over time. The long-serving professionals of the 7th Armoured Division became the far less trained collection of draftees and Commonwealth troops of the Western Desert Force. The Eighth Army would require extensive retraining and reequipping to achieve its victories from El Alamein to Tunis. "Desert Rat" is too short to provide more than a good introduction to that process, but it is a decent read. Recommended.

Great little book...My dad was a Desert Rat, Valentine driver... Captured June 21, 1942 in what is sometimes called the "First Battle of El Amamein" A battle many seem to overlook, including this book -for the most part. Even Rommel talks about this battle... Dad was Point tank and the first one to get hit. RTR was like cavalry in that they shot on the run... it worked fighting the Ital's but not Jerry. Jerry hit back with 75mm & 88mm guns... and wiped out the British tank regiment.Any tanker -like my son- should read this

I liked the book.The information, I found was similar to the recognized Official Histories of the British and Commonwealth Forces that participated. The captions to the majority of photographs appear correct. As well as the history in order 1940 to 1943 of specific battles and campaigns, I found the author picked, what I would assume are his particular favourite battles, and dealt with them in detail. I also feel it is very obvious the author is British. However, I feel the diagrams are good quality and the information accurate.

This short book makes a modest but poignant contribution to the history of the desert war. Much will be familiar to those already well-versed in the desert war of 1940-1943. But, as such a reader, I gained some new insights too. The early Desert Rats of Seventh Armored Division and Fourth Indian Division exemplified prewar professionalism. But the force was soon diluted, as large numbers of less experienced recruits and conscripts joined the fighting. While superior to the Italians, British forces came out second best against the small but highly trained, well-led German forces of Rommel's Afrika Korps. Some of the material covered on training, tactics and doctrine can also be found in Paddy Griffith's World War II Desert Tactics and Mr. Moreman's other Osprey title on the Eighth Army.Where this account excels, however, is in the short but discerning section on the soldiers' beliefs and sense of belonging. The Desert Rats were a diverse lot, with troops from India, South Africa, Australia, the British Isles and elsewhere. Yet they shared a sense of pride built up from O'Connor's early victories over the Italians. Language differences caused problems, but also built a unique jargon with terms from beyond the English-speaking world, such as sangar, an Urdu term for a hastily-built rock fort. There is an informative write-up on the problems of moving and fighting in the desert. Did you know that most combat took place during the morning and late afternoon, because heat haze made it difficult to see targets at midday?The write-up ends with two brief stories from the desert fighting, the Battle of the Omars during the Crusader offensive and the stand by 150th Brigade at Gazala. Both accounts integrate well the tactical realities of desert combat, emphasizing the ordeal of ordinary foot soldiers. These concise and fascinating accounts are marred only by the lack of maps of either action.The account of British tactics at First Alamein balances nicely a battle that has yielded much controversy. As Tim Moreman points out, Auchinleck's creative tactical rethinking may have saved the day in that crucial battle, yet the radical changes he proposed also caused confusion. It was Montgomery who really stamped his personality on Eighth Army, building a myth that counter-acted the Desert Rats' loss of self-confidence in face of Rommel.The illustrations are extremely good. They include several original paintings that convey Desert Rat infantrymen with pathos and honesty, a quality that is enhanced by informative captions. All in all this is a brief but informative account of ordinary soldiers' life and trials as they fought a tough enemy in one of Earth's harshest environments.

This is a small book covering the British Desert Rats of North Africa. There is good information about the equipment, uniforms, weapons, and general fighting of the desert campaign. The book could have been more detailed about all the elements.

This 64-page Osprey book about the Western Desert Force (later expanded into the British 8th Army) has concise, literate and informative text by Tim Moreman complemented by fine original colour artwork by Steve Noon.The ‘Desert Rat’ was of course the jerboa rodent, originally adopted by the 7th Armoured Division as their emblematic unit badge. The name was gradually expanded to apply to all the troops & formations in the 8th Army. The multinational nature of the WDF is strongly emphasised both in the text and accompanying illustrations/photos which showcase Indian, Australian, New Zealand & South African formations in the campaign as well as the British infantry & armoured divisions.For all its brevity, the book contains a lot of information and covers:• Chronology• Recruitment• Fighting methods, doctrine & training• ‘Belief & belonging’• Appearance & equipment (including weapons & tanks)• Life on Campaign• Experience of BattleAlongside the campaign history of engagements, battles and strategic planning are sections on the unique difficulties of the terrain: the vast emptiness, the extremes of temperature (sometimes more than 50 degrees C in the afternoon sun), the permanent shortage of water, the ubiquitous sand and grit which wore out vehicle engines and tank tracks, sunstroke and dysentery among the troops and the mutual respect between Allied & Axis troops (Rommel dubbed the North African campaign as “Der Krieg ohne Hass” = the war without hate).Summary: concise, entertaining, poignant, informative, with great illustrations.

This is one of the best Osprey books I have come across in recent years. Given that it is only 64 pages, there is a mass of information, some very well chosen photos, and some excellent original artwork in these pages. Tim Moreman as the author and Steve Noon as the illustrator have done a fine job with a big subject here. Particularly pleasing is the way that the content concerning weapons, equipment and battles is combined here and there with information about some of the more mundane yet essential aspects of everyday living and surviving in the desert. An essential addition to the book collection of anyone interested in the War in the desert 1940-43.

Good basic information as a starter for anyone interested in this period.

Well written and informative with plenty of photographs and so good illustrations. Sold at a good price and quickly delivered. A very useful book to have in my WWII library.

excellant could not fault it