Now I’ll tell you something that you might find hard to believe. Anti-Italian prejudices about their fighting spirit in North Africa abound, for people that know about the North African campaign, but it was the dogged fighting determination of the Ariete Division in early November 1942 that saved the Panzerarmee Africa possibly from annihilation.

And this is a good time to tell you about Hitler’s stand fast order of 3 November – what timing!

Tag words: Field Marshal Erwin Rommel; North African campaign; Panzerarmee Africa; Adolf Hitler; Italian Ariete Armoured Division; El Alamein; Italian XX Corps; General Francesco Arena; will to power; Deutsche Afrika Korp; Wolfschanze; 22nd Armoured Brigade; Italian M14/41 tanks; 90th Light Division; Paul Carell; Foxes of the Desert; Allgemeine SS; Reserve Captain Ingmar Berndt; Colonel Westphal; Victory or Death; British 4th Light Armoured Brigade;