TEXT IN FRENCH
El Alamein--where Rommel's seemingly irresistible offensive was stopped
in its tracks as he sought to capture Alexandria in the summer of 1942.
This followed many weeks of minor engagements, each side taking
positions from the other in the rocks and sands of the Egyptian desert
under a leaden sun.
Among the Axis forces was Fallschirmjäger-Brigade 1--known as
Fallschirmjäger-Brigade Ramke after its famous commander. Together
with their Italian allies, these "desert paratroopers" waited with
impatience to take on the enemy. At the end of October 1942, British
forces under the command of General Montgomery began an assault to the
north of Brigade Ramke's position. The Germans held firm to their
position and could not be budged. Without prior warning, on the night of
November 2 / 3, a retreat was given and Brigade Ramke had to rapidly
retreat westwards to avoid encirclement and annihilation--this was a
tall order as the Brigade had, at the outset, only a very small number
of motor vehicles.
Luftwaffe war correspondent Hans Rechenberg was embedded within the
ranks of the Brigade and plunges us into the daily life of the
Fallschirmjägers in their positions at El Alamein and then the hasty
retreat towards Libya with its agonies, privations and incredible
surprises. The reader really gets to know the officers of the Brigade
and of course the emblematic figure of Bernard Ramke himself.
Written at the time and on the spot some time before the author's
eventual capture in Tunisia in May 1943, this original, unvarnished
account was commissioned for Reich propaganda purposes but was unknown
until its recent discovery and it is now published for the first time.
Numerous photographs of the Regiment and the Battle of El Alamein
accompany this intimate account of life with Brigade-Ramke in the
deserts of North Africa in World War II.
