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Rommel's Backyard

Name: Rommel's Backyard
Author: Alastair Timpson
ISBN: 9780850527148

by Alastair Timpson

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Overview

As the British 8th Army dug in at El Alamein to make a last stand against the Afrika Korps' advance on the Suez Canal, the German forces under Erwin Rommel were bedeviled by an endless series of hit-and-run raids. Instrumental in the British commando effort was the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG). Equipped with modified trucks and jeeps, the LRDG carried out its own raids and reconnaissance missions, and moved Special Air Service and Commando units into position for their own attacks.

Alaistair Timpson, a captain in the Scots Guards, was commander of 6 (Guards) Patrol of the LRDG. His missions often involved 1,200-mile treks across the desert for attacks and scouting behind German lines. Timpson's original narrative has been brilliantly edited by Andrew Gibson-Watt, who places each LRDG mission in the broader context of the Desert War and gives some insight into the character of the author.