1940 Desert War Background

[+Geezer 3,569]

Thought I would start a separate thread for general historical background, leaving the original Storm Over The Sahara thread for specifics like aircraft. 

 

Again, the 1940 desert war was quite different from the later, more famous, desert war (after the Germans showed up).  WW1 equipment was still in widespread use, frequently outnumbering more modern WW2 equipment for two reasons.  Further north, the Battle Of Britain was raging and British industry was struggling to make good the losses from Dunkerque, so no new production could be spared for Egypt.  On the other side of the frontier, the Italian industrial system was failing miserably to provide modern equipment, so the Italian armed forces also used large quantities of left-over WW1 equipment.  This accounts for why so many biplanes were still in use along the Libyan-Egyptian border in 1940 - there was nothing else available.

 

Some examples below.  After WW1, Italy received several hundred Austrian artillery pieces as war reparations.  One example, the Skoda 100mm howitzer of WW1, was still widely used by the Italians in 1940 Libya.  Shot below shows a Skoda, captured from the Italians, being used by AUSTRALIAN troops during the 1941 siege of Tobruk.

 

After the 1918 Armistice, the Brits overhauled the Rolls-Royce armored cars used in the Palestine campaign and continued to use them until the 1940 campaign.

 

Also, both sides were still - mostly - using the same artillery and small arms they used in WW1.  Note that Italian trousers apparently came in only one size - too big!

 

 

 

 

Edited December 15, 2014 by Geezer

[+Geezer 3,569]

Most everyone loves a good yarn, so here is a fascinating little tidbit of aviation history.  The Ro.37 was an obsolete army cooperation biplane still used by the Regia Aeronautica in 1940.  First shot shows the initial production version, which was later improved with a more powerful radial engine.  The Kingdom of Afghanistan bought a small quantity of R0.37s in the 1930s, the remains of which were discovered by coalition forces in a scrapyard outside of Kabul.  The best example was shipped to Italy, lovingly restored, and is now on display at the Italian aerospace museum. 

 

Eventually, gamers will be able to fly and fight in an Ro.37.  Hey, against Gladiators, you will have a sporting chance. 

 

 

 

 

[+Geezer 3,569]

More historical background that helps define the unusual character of the 1940 desert war.  The truck in the background looks like it was either a Chevrolet or Dodge commercial truck.  Because Britain could spare no production for Egypt, the Brits bought hundreds of commercial American trucks from the Chevrolet, Dodge, and Ford dealers in Cairo.  Second shot shows a Dodge commercial truck used by the British army in Egypt/Libya.

 

Among the commercial American truck types used by the Brits was the Ford G917T, shown in the third shot.  This was a standard Ford truck platform that was also built by the Ford factory in Europe.  So, when the Afrika Korps showed up in the spring of 1941, they were operating the...um...er...Ford G917T (see fourth shot).  Oh well, at least it simplifies model making if this concept ever expands to phase 2 - the later 1941-42 period that is better known by gamers.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 16, 2014 by Geezer

[+gterl 1,204]

Nice....mhhhmm you might wanna look into the Italian East African campaigns. IMHO similar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_East_Africa

 

- Second Italo-Abyssinian War

- WW2

[+Geezer 3,569]

Nice....mhhhmm you might wanna look into the Italian East African campaigns. IMHO similar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_East_Africa

 

- Second Italo-Abyssinian War

- WW2

 

Good suggestion.  There's another possibility that might interest the Maestro Of Mountain Mapology. 

 

The 1940 desert stuff could also be used for a 1941 Greek-Italian war, along the Albanian border.

 

[FrankTB 14]

Really interesting Geezer, those Skoda artillery guns look similar to pics I have seen used by Belgium and maybe the Netherlands in 1940 too.The Ford trucks I suppose would be

The old side valve V8's ?( great for keeping their tea pot warm.)

[+Geezer 3,569]

Yep.  Both Ford and General Motors established factories in Europe long before WW2.  Opel was General Motors, Taunus was Ford, and their automotive platforms often used standard GM or Ford drive trains.  So....the Chevrolet straight six and Ford flat head V-8 were used by both sides during WW2.