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Both the Axis and the British Middle East Command want to break the Siege of Tobruk in the summer of 1941. In the Fall the new British Eighth Army strikes first and the resulting Operation Crusader is one of the most confusing battles of the Second World War.

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» SOURCES

132 Armoured Regiment Command Staff. “Report on Actions at Bir bu Cremisa: 23 November 1941 – Year 20 of the Fascist Era” The Crusader Project (https://rommelsriposte.com/2015/10/30/arietes-actions-on-totensonntag-italian-report/)

Addington, Larry H. “Operation Sunflower: Rommel Versus the General Staff” Military Affairs, Vol. 31, No. 3, 1967

Büschleb, Hermann. “Feldherrn und Panzer im Wüstenkrieg : die Herbstschlacht Crusader im Vorfeld von Tobruk 1941” Scharnhorst Buchkameradschaft, 1966

De Vignani, Giovanni. L’olocausto di Bardia. Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale, 1941. Accessed on the 28.03.2026 at: https://www.idiariraccontano.org/estratti/lolocausto-di-bardia/

Faldella, Emilio. L’Italia nella Seconda Guerra Mondiale. Cappelli Editore, 1941/1959.

Jentz, Thomas L. “Tank Combat in North Africa: The Opening Rounds” Schiffer Military History, 1998

Kitchen, Martin. “Rommel’s Desert War: Waging World War II in North Africa, 1941-1943", Cambridge University Press, 2009

Kriebel, Rainer. “Inside the Afrika Korps: The Crusader Battles, 1941-1942" Frontline Books, 2016

Porch, Douglas. “The Path to Victory: The Mediterranean Theater in World War II” Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004

Prior, Robin. “Conquer We Must: A Military History of Britain, 1914-1945", Yale University Press, 2022

Schreiber, Paul K. “Rommel’s Desert War: The Impact of Logistics on Operational Art” Naval War College, 1998

Spaulding, David E. “Early North African Campaigns 1940-1942: A Case Study”, US Army War College, 1992

Stockings, Craig. “The Battle of Bardia” Army History Unit, 2011

Taeggi, Oderisio Piscicelli. “Diario Di Un Combattente Nell' Africa Settentrionale”, Longanesi & C. 1971

Tobino, Mario. Il deserto della Libia. Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1947/1995.

Waddleton, Norman. “Wartime Experiences of a Cambridge Graduate (2): Spring 1941-February 1946”, Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Vol. 83, No. 336, 2005

»CREDITS

Presented by: Jesse Alexander

Written by: Mark Newton

Director: Toni Steller

Editing: Toni Steller

Motion Design: Toni Steller

Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: http://above-zero.com

Research by: Mark Newton, Christoph Bergs

Fact checking: Florian Wittig

Executive Producer: Florian Wittig

Channel Design: Simon Buckmaster

Contains licensed material by getty images, picture alliance, and Reuters

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