{"product_id":"auchinlecks-command-the-crucible-of-war-book-2-9781702314855","title":"Auchinleck's Command: The Crucible of War Book 2","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Crucible of War Book 2\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Comes as close as any work yet published to being a definitive account of the battles between German and Allied armies in the Sahara.' Financial Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Crucible of War\u003c\/i\u003e is Barrie Pitt's definitive and much-acclaimed history of the Desert War.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePitt reconstructs one of the most dramatic theatres of the Second World War, drawing together every aspect of an epic campaign fought across 3000 miles of desolate and inhospitable terrain. Each volume in the series centres upon a decisive event in the Desert War, taking the reader from the outbreak of fighting in 1940 to El Alamein, the greatest breakthrough in the struggle against the Axis.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVolume Two of \u003ci\u003eThe Crucible of War\u003c\/i\u003e trilogy covers General Auchinleck's command - a period of disaster and defeat for the British Army, driven back towards Cairo by the Africa Korps under the tactical genius of Rommel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book ends however with the replacing of Auchinleck by Montgomery in August 1942. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAuchinleck's Command is essential reading for anyone interested in WW2, the British Army (it's strengths and weaknesses) and military leadership. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A magnificent marriage of absolute accuracy and the writing of a novelist. He makes military history live as no other contemporary author does.\" Manchester Evening News\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBarrie Pitt\u003c\/b\u003e (1918-2006) was well known as a military historian and editor of Purnell's \u003ci\u003eHistory of the Second World War\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHistory of the First World War\u003c\/i\u003e. His publications include \u003ci\u003eCoronel and Falkland\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eChurchill and the Generals\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Crucible of War\u003c\/i\u003e, a trilogy covering the North African campaign of the Second World War. He was born in Galway and later lived near Ilminster in Somerset.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Independently Published","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50434754674962,"sku":"9781702314855","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_4a7a3012-0024-4927-93a1-270728a400fd.jpg?v=1729608766","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/auchinlecks-command-the-crucible-of-war-book-2-9781702314855","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}