The Need for Organisational Resilience Chapter-6
it was only the men’s amazing spirt and will to victory that kept them going at all. Not only had
no replacement material arrived, but, with an almost unbelievable lack of appreciation of the
situation, the supply authorities had actually sent only three thousand tons to Africa during
June, as compared with our real requirement of sixty thousand tons, a figure that was never in
fact attained. Captured stores certainly helped to tide us over the expected crisis in our supply
situation after the fall of Tobruk, but it was urgently necessary that this should have been
followed up by adequate supplies from our own sources.
In Rome one excuse after the other was found for the failure of the organised supply
which was supposed to maintain my army. It was easy enough back there to say: “It can’t be
done”, for life and death did not depend on finding a solution. If everybody had pulled together
in a resolute search for ways and means, and the staff work had been done in the same spirit,
the technical difficulties could without any doubt have been overcome. (Liddell Hart 1953,
243)
Rommel already foresaw that at this stage, he would not be able to launch major offensive
operations in the light of the constant build up by the British. The following month witnessed an
attempt by the Germans to breakthrough at El Alamein, only to be halted by a stiffening defence. The
British, now outnumbering the Germans 2:1 drove the Germans back during the second battle of El
Alamein in late October 1943.
Operation Torch, the American landings in Vichy-held French North Africa on November 8 th 1942,
was the beginning of the end, although Rommel continued to inflict heavy losses (e.g. at the Battle of
Kasserine Pass in February 1943). The Axis forces surrendered on May 13 th , with 275,000 soldiers
made prisoners of war.
In direct contrast, Operation Yellow, the invasion of the Low Countries and France in May 1940,
was undertaken under favourable logistical conditions. By comparison, the North African Campaign
suffered from a range of logistical shortcomings. First, the distances to be covered until the next local
storage with available resupplies were immense. Hence, the Africa Corps had to rely to a great extent
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