This book is a challenging read,
but reader persistence is well rewarded. The Longest Siege is a
comprehensive, tactical-level review of the siege of Tobruk, a
strategic port in North Africa, by the Axis and its successful
defence by the Allies during World War II. Its author, an
Australian, was an officer in the British Army for 20 years and is
now a military historian who has published four earlier books.
Most of the book’s first
half explains the setting forthis complex series of battles. These
initially involved attacks by Italian troops seeking to realise
Mussolini’s ambitions to achieve Italian supremacy in North Africa
and resulted in spectacular Allied successes in repulsing the
Italian armies.
These early Allied
victories were followed by a somewhat reluctant German intervention
in which Hitler selected General Erwin Rommel to command what became
known as the Afrika Corps, initially with the limited brief to
restore Axis fortunes in North Africa, but quickly converted by
Rommel’s ambitions and driving energies into a major field of battle
of key importance to the overall success of the war. Indeed,
Rommel’s aggressive tactics, which frequently ran contrary to the
directives of the German Higher Command (OKW), made Tobruk the major
pivot point that both sides needed to seize and hold if they were to
achieve victory in North Africa.
This situation led to
the main focus of this book – the repeated attempts by Rommel’s
German and Italian formations to capture Tobruk. The final half of
the book reviews in great detail the famous defence of Tobruk by the
Allies. Tobruk eventually constituted the longest siege in the
history of the British Empire (242 days) in which a total of 24,000
defenders (initially the 9th Australian Division; followed by the
British 70th Infantry Division) successfully repulsed the constant
attempts by one of the most aggressive and respected German field
commanders to dislodge the defenders and capture the strategic port.
The book’s focus is the
tactical level of operations. Although the geopolitical and
strategic issues are reviewed, these aspects are covered only very
briefly and the bulk of the analysis is at the formation, unit,
subunit and individual soldier levels. One of the major strengths of
the book is its exhaustive research into the diaries of units and
individuals; and one of its great appeals for me is its frequent
direct quotation of Allied and Axis soldiers describing their actual
battlefield reactions in the lead-up to and during actual battles.
Many books about Tobruk
have been published previously – the bibliography in this one lists
10 earlier direct titles about Tobruk. This book’s main strength is
its ability to help the reader understand the feelings and attitudes
of the actual troops on both sides as they took part in the
relentless and endless siege conflict. It does this through skilful
selection and use of many direct quotations and diary extracts
describing actual battle experiences at formation, unit and
individual levels.
These quotations include
descriptions of battle by individual soldiers who participated in
the battles – including direct accounts of the events which led to
the subsequent award of Victoria Crosses; many insights into the
attitudes of sub-unit and unit commanders; and even reports of
Rommel in direct conflict with both his subordinate field commanders
and his OKW superiors, as a consequence of his relentless aggressive
tactics.
Another strength of this
book is its detailed recording of the 9th Australian Division’s
activities during the siege. It is clear that the author had access
to a very rich field of primary sources and he uses these very
skilfully – the book really ‘comes alive’ here, and is therefore of
great value to Australian war analysis and history.
The book is fairly
traditionally organised and presented, with a lists of
abbreviations, campaign maps and acknowledgements (indicating the
very wide range of resources used in compiling the work) first;
followed by eight primary chapters which review the lead-up to and
conduct of the siege; and concludes with an epilogue, which traces
the remainder of the North African campaigns, followed by an
appendix listing all Allied and Axis units involved. There is also a
set of 38 photographs with a strong emphasis on the troops
themselves, location shots and action shots of the defence.
The Longest Siege makes
a valuable contribution to our understanding of one of the best
known and important campaigns involving Australian troops in World
War II. The battles were fought against a skilled enemy over
challenging terrain and in exceptional climatic conditions. Although
the book, especially its early chapters, is not easy to read,
persistence is strongly rewarded with the reader gaining significant
insights into the conduct of battles at individual soldier, unit and
formation levels. Indeed, the insights into the attitudes and views
of both Allied and Axis participants were a revelation for this
reviewer and the author’s very sympathetic and skilful presentation
of the Australian contributions to the campaign add special value
for Australian readers.
