A C T I O N 7
love
dad
Sunday, September 8, 2024
Saturday, September 7, 2024
Mediterranean
The climatic face off between Rommel's Afrika Korps
and Montgomery's 8th Army was at El Alamein,
1400 miles from Tripoli where all the supplies
arrive from Italy. All the supplies, that is, that
make it past the British held island of Malta.
No one beats Rommel in understanding desert warfare.
He makes brilliant use of his armor. Victories enable
him to ignore a fundamental rule if logistics:
You can't use what you don't have.
Everything Rommel needs comes from Italy.
Royal Navy subs operate out of Malta.
So do RAF fighters and bombers.
There are months where no more than half
the supplies made it to Tripoli.
That's desperately needed new tanks, trucks,
weapons, ammunition and fuel on the ocean's bottom.
Bombing Malta doesn't solve the problem.
Would invading the island with an amphibious
assault be worth the high risk?
Rommel and his two German divisions in Libya
are a side show to the main event - Russia.
No one matched Rommel in battle.
They didn't need to. His amazing tanks set idle
everywhere, out of gas. Trucks worn out.
Troops weak with dysentery.
Maybe we should tell Hitler about our problems.
Maybe not. The Fuhrer's main event seems to be
going not quite as planned.
* * * * *
© Tom Taylor
OVER EASY
Sunday, September 1, 2024
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