Operation Compass
Snapshots of War
1st Edition
Published on 24. January 2017
30 pages
978-1-4482-1679-6 (ISBN)
Description
Operation Compass was the first large Allied military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940-1943) during the Second World War.
The Western Desert Force, composed of around 30,000 men from British and other Commonwealth forces, advanced from Mersa Matruh on a five-day raid against the Italian positions of the 10th Army. Operation Compass continued long beyond its original limitations in order to exploit British success.
Victor Gregg takes us behind the scenes of this unforgiving terrain, to the sangars rather than the trenches, in an astonishing first-hand account of warfare. Through tender friendships and tea runs, devastating news from home and visible enemies on the horizon, Gregg goes beyond the graphic descriptions of injuries and front-line action to show the psychological impact of daily life both on and off the battlefield.
The Western Desert Force, composed of around 30,000 men from British and other Commonwealth forces, advanced from Mersa Matruh on a five-day raid against the Italian positions of the 10th Army. Operation Compass continued long beyond its original limitations in order to exploit British success.
Victor Gregg takes us behind the scenes of this unforgiving terrain, to the sangars rather than the trenches, in an astonishing first-hand account of warfare. Through tender friendships and tea runs, devastating news from home and visible enemies on the horizon, Gregg goes beyond the graphic descriptions of injuries and front-line action to show the psychological impact of daily life both on and off the battlefield.
More details
Series
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN-13
978-1-4482-1679-6 (9781448216796)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Victor Gregg was born in London in 1919 and joined the army in 1937, serving first in the Rifle Brigade in Palestine and North Africa, notably at the Battle of Alamein, and then with the Parachute Regiment, at the Battle of Arnhem. As a prisoner of war he survived the bombing of Dresden to be repatriated in 1946. The story of his adult years, Rifleman, was published by Bloomsbury in 2011, and the prequel, King's Cross Kid, in 2013. Both were co-written with Rick Stroud. Victor Gregg died in 2021, aged 102.
Rick Stroud is a writer and film director. As well as working with Victor Gregg on his trilogy of memoirs, he is the author of The Book of the Moon, The Phantom Army of Alamein and Kidnap in Crete.
Rick Stroud is a writer and film director. As well as working with Victor Gregg on his trilogy of memoirs, he is the author of The Book of the Moon, The Phantom Army of Alamein and Kidnap in Crete.
Content
Author's Note
Operation Compass
Afterword
A Note on the Authors
Operation Compass
Afterword
A Note on the Authors
