The Desert: North Africa - 1940-1943
- El episodio se emitió el 19 dic 1973
- 52min
PUNTUACIÓN EN IMDb
8,5/10
420
TU PUNTUACIÓN
Añade un argumento en tu idiomaThe desert war, starting with Italy's invasion of Egypt and the attacks and counterattacks between Germany and Italy and the Commonwealth forces, the Axis defeat at El Alamein.The desert war, starting with Italy's invasion of Egypt and the attacks and counterattacks between Germany and Italy and the Commonwealth forces, the Axis defeat at El Alamein.The desert war, starting with Italy's invasion of Egypt and the attacks and counterattacks between Germany and Italy and the Commonwealth forces, the Axis defeat at El Alamein.
Imágenes
Paola Colacicchi
- Self - Italian Army
- (as Paolo Colacicchi)
David Belchem
- Self - Western Desert Force
- (as Gen. David Belchem)
Richard O'Connor
- Self - Commander - Western Desert Force
- (as Gen. Sir Richard O'Connor)
Francis de Guingand
- Self - Military Intelligence - Cairo
- (as Gen. Sir Francis De Guingard)
- …
Siegfried Westphal
- Self - Afika Korps - Rommel's Chief of Staff
- (as Gen. Siegfried Westphal)
Allan Francis Harding
- Self - Commander - 7th Armoured Division
- (as Field Marshal Lord Harding)
Claude Auchinleck
- Self - C-in-C Middle East Command 1941-42
- (metraje de archivo)
- (sin acreditar)
Winston Churchill
- Self - P.M. of the U.K.
- (metraje de archivo)
- (sin acreditar)
Alan Cunningham
- Self - Commander 8th Army 1941
- (metraje de archivo)
- (sin acreditar)
Bernard L. Montgomery
- Self - Commander 8th Army
- (metraje de archivo)
- (sin acreditar)
Benito Mussolini
- Self - Prime Minister of Italy
- (metraje de archivo)
- (sin acreditar)
Neil Ritchie
- Self - Commander 8th Army 1941-42
- (metraje de archivo)
- (sin acreditar)
Erwin Rommel
- Self - Commander, Afrika Korps
- (metraje de archivo)
- (sin acreditar)
Haile Selassie
- Self - Emperor of Ethiopia
- (metraje de archivo)
- (sin acreditar)
Archibald Wavell
- Self - C-in-C Middle East Command 1940-41
- (metraje de archivo)
- (sin acreditar)
Argumento
Reseña destacada
Not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.
One theater of World War II that is often ignored or played down is the war in North Africa. This installment of the always legendary series World at War goes into detail on what happened there, how difficult the fighting was, and how troops tried to deal with being in an area so desolate, barren and depressing. As Laurence Olivier says, the land was practically made for war, since it has no beautiful landmarks or countrysides to violate. The fighting in north africa begins shortly after Mussolini, Fascist dictator of Italy, declares war on France and England in summer 1940. Benito had already slaughtered countless people in Abyssinia (Ethiopia today) and essentially enslaved the Libyans. Now he wanted more in an effort to establish a modern Roman Empire. Despite British presence in Egypt, Mussolini deploys a quarter of a million italian soldiers into their neighbor, libya. For italy, it looks like it's going to be a cakewalk. The UK only has 30k soldiers in egypt, and after the italians start their attack, the brits fall back everywhere. The italians eventually come to the port of Sidi Barrani, but the british counterattack, manage to get behind the italian lines and subdue them. Hundreds of thousands of them are taken prisoner. In the process, the british push the italian army back so far they manage to secure an area the size of both france and their own country, as well as the ports of El Agheila and Benghazi. Hitler, observing his bumbling ally make a fool of himself, decides to come to Benito's rescue in winter 1941. The man Adolf sends to be commander of the German forces in africa was soon to be a legend and had already made a name for himself fighting in france the previous year: Erwin Rommel. Before Rommel even has all his forces under his command, he engages his anglo adversaries at El Agheila, and in just 2 weeks, pushes them back all the way to the egyptian border. Despite the british losing all the ground they had gained, one particular area became a huge thorn Rommel's side. The port town of Tobruk, defended by Australian forces, was badly desired by the germans as it could be used to ferry supplies from italy to Rommel's tanks fighting in the desert. Knowing he couldn't attack the city head on, Rommel got ready to pound it with artillery from a distance. The Luftwaffe joined in as well. Despite all this attacking, anglo forces simply brought in reinforcements from the sea and stunted Rommel's progress. Concurrently, the british navy dominated the Mediterranean, shooting up ships carrying Rommel's supplies. The formidable italian navy was unable to interfere after being crippled by british seaplanes at Taranto some time ago. Because Rommel couldn't get the fuel needed for his tanks, his forces couldn't advance any further into egypt that summer. Even worse, Tobruk was still firmly british. For the time being, the desert war was in deadlock. Meanwhile, german forces use the infamous 88 millimeter field gun made by Krupp to devastating effect. Originally made for anti-aircraft purposes, this weapon was to become one of the most feared german weapons of the entire war and was decimating british armor. Rommel's tank strategies were also superior to british ones. Eventually, Tobruk is saved from Rommel after his tanks once again run out of gas, and the british (now equipped with new, american made tanks) push him back to El Agheila, recapuring Benghazi in the process. However, the latter town changes hands yet again when Rommel counterattacks, and he pushes the british back almost to Tobruk. They manage to stop him at Gazala. In preparation for the following battle, the british lay mines everywhere and try to be defensive in order to halt the germans, but Rommel simply moves around the open flank to the right of their positions. After decisively crushing the british at Gazala, he advances on Tobruk and won't let it slip through his grasp this time. Due to neglect, the port's fortifications weren't as formidable as they used to be. Rommel eventually captures Tobruk, and a grateful Hitler promotes him to Field Marshal. Humiliated, the british retreat into egypt further than ever, eventually settling at a railway stop called El Alamein. The battle over it was to decide the fate of the war in north africa. Unlike previous locations, El Alamein didn't have an open flank to the south which Rommel could use to outmaneuver his enemy. Instead, it had a huge, sunken formation of quicksand impassable to vehicles. Rommel attacks, and is halted yet again. Churchill then replaces the current british commander in egypt with Bernard Montgomery. "Monty", as he was called, would make it his mission to make sure everyone he supervised was ready to fight. As Hitler shifts most of his focus to the war against Russia, the island of Malta is mercilessly pounded by the luftwaffe, but doesn't break. For Rommel, the advantages of desert fighting now start to work against him. The longer his tanks advanced, the longer and more overextended his supply line. Finally, the british confront Rommel at El Alamein. Rommel, frustrated that his troops were unable to destroy the british while they were bogged down in minefields, orders a counterattack. He gets flung back and suffers losses he can't really afford. After fighting what was essentially a first world war battle with ww2 weapons, Rommel tries to slip back to a better defensive position, but Hitler orders him not to flee. He does so anyway, and his force in north africa is now defunct. Quite a lengthy and complicated episode even for World at War, but this is only because Rommel was such a good commander that he was able to hold out for so long. People often ask why germany lost the war, but what they should really ask is how they managed to hold off the world for 5 years. Speaking of which, Rommel is for some reason held in very high regard today, even among people whose ancestors fought against him. People often act like he was a tragic figure who served Hitler only because he was ordered to, and was only motivated by love of his country. In other words, he wasn't your average nazi. Rommel would also later die after he was forced to commit suicide for being implicated in an attempt on Hitler's life. Overall, this episode of World at War gets an automatic 10 from me. It contains great combat footage, interviews, and even shows how it was so hot in the desert that you could fry eggs on tank armor. You're alone with the universe in an environment like that.
útil•30
- nickenchuggets
- 21 nov 2022
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What is the Spanish language plot outline for The Desert: North Africa - 1940-1943 (1973)?
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