Hitler first considered an invasion of Great Britain in autumn 1940,
then scheduled Operation Barbarossa, the conquest of the European part
of the Soviet Union, for May 1941. Anxious to emulate Hitler's
successes, the Italian dictator Mussolini embarked upon unnecessary
military adventures in North Africa and the Balkans, which forced
Hitler's intervention, diverting and depleting precious German
resources, and a six-week postponement of Barbarossa. In this second of
four volumes [Men-at-Arms 311, 316, 326 & 330] on the German Army of
the Second World War, Nigel Thomas examines the uniforms and insignia of
the forces involved in North Africa and the Balkans.