THE BOOKS OF PETER C. SMITH

MASSACRE AT TOBRUK: The story of Operation Agreement.

Foreword by Lieutenant-Colonel E. H. W. Unwin, Royal Marines.

1) UK H/B 1987 (ISBN 0 7183 0664 3), 2) US P/B Edition Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, April 2008, Czech edition due 2010.

The North African port that became the main focus of three warring armies in World War II. Heroically defended once; cleverly captured once, in the autumn of 1942 it became the objective of a highly complex and daring series of British operations designed to render it useless to supply Rommel's forces prior to the Battle of El Alamein. The attacks went seriously, and fatally, awry and all foundered with heavy loss of life among the various Army units, special forces and naval vessels engaged. It turned into a humiliating defeat of which little or nothing has since been written.

Using newly released documents, and both German and Italian sources, the author probed behind the reasons for the operation and Churchill's part in them, the planning, or lack of it; the compromise of secrecy rumour and the disastrous actions themselves. The resulting tragedy was similar to that of Dieppe the same year, and for many of the same reasons, but has been little studied. British casualties were heavy, both from the assaulting forces and the Royal Navy support vessels, while Axis losses were minimal and disruption caused practically nil. It has always been held that the Axis knew in advance of British plans, but the author comes to a very different conclusion.

Fully illustrated with many photos from Allied, German and Italian sources.

In the USA Michael L. Shakespeare wrote:- "Mr Smith does a credible job of analyzing Operation Agreement in a crisp, well-paced narrative. His book is peppered with interesting vignettes of the battle action." He concluded that; "For those who truly care about the North African campaign, Mr. Smith's book is essential reading."

Military History
The Royal Marines	War in the Aegean	Per Mare, Per Terram	Victoria's Victories