Foxes of the Desert

This is the first of Paul Carrell's books I have read. I liked the information and stories contained therein, however, I only give this four stars because Herr Carrell's writing style, especially in the first third of the book, I found very distracting. He has a tendency of re-emphasizing things multiple times in multiple subsequent paragraphs, which takes up room, but adds no real content to the chapter(s). He will repeatedly illustrate a point about a person, or subject, over and over, in a sentence, in a paragraph, in a follow-up sentence (yes, I got it the first time, thanks; no, really, I did :-/ ). He also on occassion goes off on tangents about things, discussing at length these topics as they applied elsewhere in the war, or earlier in history (e.g., traitors and betrayal) before obliquely coming to the point as to how it might be a concern of/to the DAK or British. He might have saved a bit of room here and there by being more focused on these points. Now, these aspects aside, there are a lot of good stories contained within the books. I don't have access to the materials Herr Carrell does, so I can't say how much is literary license exaggeration and how much is actual events clothed in a story-telling narrative (Paul Carrell's real name is Karl Schmidt, a well-known German propaganda writer during WWII, so take the stories to what level you will). However, I still enjoyed the stories within the book (Rommel's passing visit of a New Zealand field hospital, Lieutenant-General Bayerlein's account of his and General Cruwell being surrounded by British tanks while in a captured British armoured car, and being mistaken for being Brits not Germans), and appreciate the information given as it helped me flesh out details that I had not known about from other books on the subject of the war in North Africa (i.e., the tonnage of shipping Germany lost to the RAF trying to resupply Rommel) or learn something entirely new (i.e., the Oasis Companies). In addition, he does have a few pages of photos from the war in North Africa that I had not yet seen elsewhere (not that I have every North Africa WWII book, mind you!). Some of them were quite cool. If you can get past or through Carrell's writing style, and not be distracted by his tangents and repeat emphasis items, you should be able to at the very least enjoy the stories contained within. And maybe learn a tidbit or two about something from that part of the war you didn't know before.

This book covers Rommel and the exploits of his Afrika Korps and Panzer Armee Afrika in Libya and Tunisia and is one of the best ever on the battles won and lost there. The narrative is involving, and soldiers and generals come alive in Carrell's words. A must buy.

This was the last of Carell's books for me to read, so finishing it was bittersweet. Once again Herr Carell has produced a masterful historical piece laced with many eyewitness accounts that keep it interesting to read. Overall coverage is good, especially from the german point of view. This campaign was always a relatively small time sideshow to the germans due to their preoccupation with the Ost Front. Logistics eventually won the campaign for the allies, though Afrika Korps fought with great daring and elan for over 2 years, giving the Brits the fits! Small unit actions are covered as well as the more strategic picture. I recommend this book to persons wanting a thourough review of this excing and exotic campaign and devotees of Herr Carell. It is,of course, somewhat slanted to the German point of view. This should not dissuade you from enjoying this wonderful African campaign overview.

I must say that after reading several very dry battle and war Histories ('Assault on Moscow', by Werner Haupt comes to mind)this book was very appreciated. Whereas the current (ie. the last ten or fifteen years) trend is to throw in a few personal accounts of a battle by someone who was there in order to make the book a bit more interesting, Mr. Carell worked/works from these accounts much more heavily. Because of this, his story of the African campaign is much more readable than the vast majority out there. I must say though that the book is somewhat dated and perhaps also a bit jaded in some aspects. For instance he gives only slight credit to the French resistance of the American landings in Algieria in Nov.42 when in reality the French in this case were generally loyal to their German allies and fought as tenaciously as humanly possible. Finally there is the question of Carells sympathies. The simple fact is that Paul Carell was known as Paul Karl Schmitt during WWII and was a writer for Joseph Goebbels, even covering a 'Jewish action' in Hungary towards the end of the war. which can be verified quite easily with a working knowledge of German and just about any search engine. Overall, even with Carell's quite unsavory background admitted, I must say that I very much enjoyed this book.

Unlike most other books about the North African war, this book is a superb account from the German perspective. One wonders what might have been if Hitler hadn't been so stubborn, or if Malta had fallen. It gives the insider view of the famed Afrika Korps, and is a gripping tale ( just like a war thriller ) of the campaign. This is a must read for all enthusiasts of military non-fiction. One would also do well to reread The Destert Fox after reading this book - it would definately lend a new perspective to Rommel's biography.Unfortunately the copy I have is old, and has started coming to pieces. The price of the hardcover edition is rather high. It would be good if a cheaper, softcover edition is available.