The scope of Britain's wartime Middle East Command stretched far beyond the Libyan desert where the 8th Army's most famous battles were fought - from Gibraltar and Tunisia in the west, to Iraq and Persia in the east, and from Greece south to the Gulf of Aden. In 1940-43 this was the only arena where the British Army could take the ground war to the German Wehrmacht; it saw a succession of setbacks and triumphs, until spring 1945 found the 8th Army victorious in northern Italy. A summary of these campaigns is illustrated by photographs, and detailed colour plates of the wide range of uniforms worn in the varied conditions of this huge theatre of war.

CONTENTS

• Organisation of the British Army in Egypt, 1939-40
• Development and reinforcement of 8th Army in North Africa, 1941-42
• 1st Army, 1942-43
• Campaign summary
• Pre-war tropical uniforms
• Development, 1940-44
• Insignia practice
• Foreign-made uniforms: Empire, Commonwealth and US