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Desert Duel
Jim Eldridge
Non-Fiction (Series)
Ages 12 and up
Scholastic Children's Books (UK), 2004, 0-439-96790-2
In many ways the two men were very alike. Both Erwin Rommel and Bernard Law Montgomery were tutored at home until they were quite old. They both went to military academies and both, coming from working families, had to claw their way up the ranks by virtue of their skills. This was especially hard because they lived in a time when most officers were members of the higher or aristocratic class and men from lower class families were not welcome. Both men fought, and were seriously wounded, in World War I. It was their experiences in this conflict that made them both come to the conclusion that throwing men at guns was not a way to win a war. One had to use one's brains, and the best technology available, if one wanted to win.
After war was declared between Germany and England in 1939 Montgomery and Rommel were soon fighting for their respective countries and it wasn't long before Montgomery found himself being pushed up against the English Channel by Rommel's troops. Luckily Montgomery was one of the ones who was able to safely get off the beaches at Dunkirk. Luckily too for the Allies, Montgomery was given the job of stopping Rommel's advance in North Africa in 1942.
It was the "duel" between Montgomery and Rommel during the battle of El Alamein which really ended up deciding who was master of the North African region. The outcome of the battle also made it possible for many subsequent pivotal events to occur in the Allies favor.
Full of fascinating details about Rommel and Montgomery and liberally sprinkled with quotes from their writings and letters, this book provides the reader with an excellent picture of these two extraordinary men and their times. We are able to appreciate how different things could have been had Rommel had a different and more supportive master. His story, and tragic death, is particularly poignant and we are able to see how much soldiers are at the mercy of those who are in charge, often being forced to do what is against their better judgment. One cannot help asking oneself that oft repeated question "what if…?" as one turns the pages of this book, for it surely shows us how big a role luck plays in conflicts of great importance.
This is one of the books in the excellent "Double Take: Two sides, One Story" series.
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