
Published online:
18 May 2023
Published in print:
13 December 2022
Online ISBN:
9780300268980
Print ISBN:
9780300233407
Contents
Chapter
15 The Desert – Wavell’s War 1939–1942
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Pages
331–356
-
Published:December 2022
Cite
Prior, Robin, 'The Desert – Wavell’s War 1939–1942', Conquer We Must: A Military History of Britain, 1914-1945 (New Haven, CT , 2022; online edn, Yale Scholarship Online, 18 May 2023), https://doi.org/10.12987/yale/9780300233407.003.0015, accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the war leadership of General Sir Archibald Wavell. After France concluded an armistice with Germany, Britain was left, and outnumbered, to face Italy alone in the Mediterranean. British forces increased on the Egyptian and Libyan border, which was the only area where the British were in direct contact with Axis forces and simultaneously kept the Mediterranean as a route back to mainland Europe. The chapter elaborates on the execution and aftermath of Operation Compass led by Sir Richard O'Connor. It also highlights the failure of Battleaxe and the communication between Winston Churchill and Wavell concerning the ongoing war.
Keywords:
Archibald Wavell, Winston Churchill, Mediterranean, France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Axis forces, Battleaxe, Operation Compass
Subject
European History
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