Stirling's Desert Triumph: The SAS Egyptian Airfield Raids 1942

by Gavin Mortimer, Peter Dennis (Illustrator), Johnny Shumate (Illustrator), Alan Gilliland (Illustrator)

Overview

Specially commissioned artwork, archive photographs and expert analysis combine to tell the absorbing story of the SAS's legendary raid on Sidi Haneish at the height of World War II.

The night of July 26, 1942 saw one of the most audacious raids of World War II, just as the outcome of that conflict hung in the balance. In North Africa, a convoy of 18 Allied jeeps carrying Special Air Service personnel appeared out of the early-morning darkness and drove onto the Axis landing strip at Sidi Haneish in the Egyptian desert. Within the space of a few savage minutes 18 Axis aircraft were ablaze; a dozen more were damaged and scores of guards lay dead or wounded. The men responsible for the raid then vanished into the night as swiftly as they had arrived, prompting the Germans to dub the enemy leader, David Stirling, 'The Phantom Major'.

Featuring full-colour artwork, gripping narrative and incisive analysis, this engaging study recounts the origins, planning, execution and aftermath of the daring raid that made the name of the SAS at the height of World War II.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472807656
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	04/20/2015
Series:	Raid , #49
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	80
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Gavin Mortimer is the author of Stirling's Men (Weidenfeld&Nicolson, 2004), a ground-breaking history of the early operations of Britain's Special Air Service, The Longest Night: Voices from the London Blitz (Weidenfeld&Nicolson, 2005) and The Blitz: An Illustrated History (Osprey, 2010). An award-winning writer whose books have been published on both sides of the Atlantic, Gavin has previously written for the Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Telegraph, the Observer and Esquire magazine. He continues to contribute to a wide range of newspapers and magazines from BBC History to the American Military History Quarterly. In addition he has lectured on the SAS in World War II at the UK's National Army Museum.

Peter Dennis was born in 1950. Inspired by contemporary magazines such as Look and Learn, he studied illustration at Liverpool Art College. Peter has since contributed to hundreds of books, predominantly on historical subjects, including many Osprey titles.
Gavin Mortimer is a writer, historian and television consultant whose groundbreaking book Stirling's Men remains the definitive history of the wartime SAS. Drawing on interviews with more than 60 veterans, most of whom had never spoken publicly, the book was the first comprehensive account of the SAS Brigade. He has also written histories of the SBS, Merrill's Marauders and the LRDG, again drawing heavily on veteran interviews. He has published a variety of titles with Osprey including The Long Range Desert Group in World War II and The SAS in World War II.
Peter Dennis was inspired by contemporary magazines such as Look and Learn, leading him to study Illustration at Liverpool Art College. Peter has since contributed to hundreds of books, predominantly on historical subjects, including many Osprey titles. A keen wargamer and modelmaker, he is based in Nottinghamshire, UK.
Johnny Shumate works as a freelance illustrator living in Nashville, Tennessee. He began his career in 1987 after graduating from Austin Peay State University. Most of his work is rendered in Adobe Photoshop using a Cintiq monitor. His greatest influences are Angus McBride, Don Troiani, and Édouard Detaille.
Alan Gilliland, a contributor to more than 70 Osprey titles, notably in the Weapon series, writes, illustrates and publishes fiction (www.ravensquill.com), as well as illustrating for a variety of publishers (alangillilandillustration.blogspot.com).

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

The Phantom Major 5

Origins 8

The Commandos in the Middle East 8

Enter the Afrika Korps 10

Initial Strategy 12

L Detachment 12

Operations with the LRDG 13

Breaking the stalemate 18

The first jeep attack 21

The Plan 25

Waiting in the desert 29

The jeeps arrive 32

The airfield at Sidi Haneish 35

The Raid 44

A deadly convoy 45

The opening burst 51

Regrouping on the airfietd 55

The raiders' escape 56

Sadler and Almonds 56

Mather's party 59

Stirling's party 64

Debrief 67

Analysis 72

Epilogue 76

Bibliography 79

Index 80