The Rommel Papers

Citation preview

TOBRUK Rommel

s

plan for

tfie

attack onTobruk which was to take place n

November

1941

Reproduction of a sketch

map

drawn by Rommel

In this left hand corner of the original map Rommel wrote the time schedule for the attack. It reads: 1

2

Start line

X-Day

03.30

Attack onfortifications X-Day 04.00 after artillery preparation (02.00-04.00)

3

sides of Via Balbia up of three roads 06.30-10.00

Advance on both

to junction

4

Penetration to coastline 10.00-15.00

5

Attack on harbour and town ofTobruk 15 and Auda waterworks

6

Railing up of the coastal strip as fa,

.-

as

00*

X ** ** }

adi

Sahal

\

MAI MAY 21 "u

JUN

o

19 r

HAY 16

7

Rommel s sketch on which he plotted the British attack of November 20th aimed at the relief of Tobruk, which forestalled and thwarted his """""-

plan,

with the

movements of his own forces response to

it.

in

CONTENTS XV. XVI.

ALAMEIN

IN

ix

RETROSPECT

page 327

THE GREAT RETREAT

337 348

The Evacuation of Cyrenaica

XVII. XVIII.

CONSULTATION

EUROPE

IN

359

BACK TO TUNISIA

370

the Sirte

Through

273

Buerat Respite

The End

From Alamein

XIX.

381

in Tripolitania to

Mareth

385 394

Retrospect

BETWEEN Two FIRES "

Army Group The End

in

397 408 416

"

Afrika Africa

PART FOUR

ITALY XX.

ITALY,

1

943, by Manfred Rommel

425

PART FIVE

INVASION XXI.

INVASION

1944, by General Fritz Bayerlein

RommeVs

Letters from the West,

December 1943

1944

460

High Command Preparations for Invasion

XXII. XXIII.

THE LAST

the Invasion

Day DAYS,

4,51

Jwne 4.65

471 by Manfred

THE SKY HAS GROWN DARK Modern Military Leadership

Rvmmel

495 507

516

Africa in Retrospect

Appendix

525

Index

526

LIST OF MAPS Drawn 1.

The advance from

2.

The

3.

Rommel s map

4.

by J. F. Trotter

the Rhine to Cherbourg

Battles

8

of his advance, iSth-iyth

round Arras and

May, 1940

23

Lille

31

Somme

5.

Crossing the

6.

The Somme-Seine break-through

7.

The

drive into Cherbourg

8.

The

thrust into Cyrenaica, April 1941

9.

The

British Offensive,

June 1941

10.

The

British Offensive,

November 1941

1 1

Crusader (and phase)

.

page 5

break-through on the Meuse

45 51 71

108

Battleaxe

143

Crusader