Take or Destroy

With the Eighth Army preparing a major offensive in Egypt, Lieutenant-Colonel George Hockold proposes a raid on the enemy-held port of Qaba. The operation is intended to divert Axis forces and destroy fuel supplies required by Rommel’s army. Hockold assembles an unconventional commando group whose orders are concise: capture the port if possible and destroy it if not.

The raid is placed within the North African campaign and the struggle over Axis fuel, ports and desert communications. The improvised commando force reflects the unconventional operations used to disrupt stronger armies across the wide spaces of the Western Desert.