Take or Destroy

Name: Take or Destroy
Rating: 4.21 (1462 reviews)

by Max Hennessy Book 1 in the The WWII Collection series.

First published 1976

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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.

The operation reflects the British search for indirect ways to weaken Axis armies before the main battle. Ports and fuel dumps are attractive targets because destroying supply can reduce an enemy’s mobility without defeating his field forces outright. Hockold’s improvised command must therefore achieve strategic effect with limited men, little time and no guarantee that conventional support will arrive if the raid fails.