Rommel's Rampage - Battle for North Africa Spring 1941 (Documentary)

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The Italian Army in North Africa is in disarray after the British Operation Compass. Hitler reluctantly sends help in the form of the newly formed Africa Corps under Erwin Rommel. Despite his orders, he immediately goes on the offensive and pushes back the British which are also reeling from the Axis invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia. But Rommel's bold leadership style has drawbacks and in May 1941, the vital port town of Tobruk still holds out.

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» SOURCES
Büschleb, Hermann. “Feldherrn und Panzer im Wüstenkrieg : die Herbstschlacht Crusader im Vorfeld von Tobruk 1941” Scharnhorst Buchkameradschaft, 1966

De Vignani, Giovanni. L’olocausto di Bardia. Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale, 1941. Accessed on the 28.03.2026 at: https://www.idiariraccontano.org/estratti/lolocausto-di-bardia/

Faldella, Emilio. L’Italia nella Seconda Guerra Mondiale. Cappelli Editore, 1941/1959.
Jentz, Thomas L. “Tank Combat in North Africa: The Opening Rounds” Schiffer Military History, 1998

Kitchen, Martin. “Rommel’s Desert War: Waging World War II in North Africa, 1941-1943", Cambridge University Press, 2009

Kriebel, Rainer. “Inside the Afrika Korps: The Crusader Battles, 1941-1942" Frontline Books, 2016

Prior, Robin. “Conquer We Must: A Military History of Britain, 1914-1945", Yale University Press, 2022

Spaulding, David E. “Early North African Campaigns 1940-1942: A Case Study”, US Army War College, 1992

Stockings, Craig. “The Battle of Bardia” Army History Unit, 2011

Tobino, Mario. Il deserto della Libia. Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1947/1995.



»CREDITS
Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller
Editing: Toni Steller
Motion Design: Toni Steller
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: http://above-zero.com
Research by: Mark Newton
Fact checking: Florian Wittig
Executive Producer: Florian Wittig

Channel Design: Simon Buckmaster

Contains licensed material by getty images, picture alliance, and Reuters
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Music Library: Epidemic Sound

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