ABSTRACT
This in-depth study looks at the intelligence process before Eighth Army’s first defeat of Rommel in North Africa at the end of 1941. In particular the role of Brigadier John Shearer, the Army’s intelligence chief, is examined in relation to Generals Wavell, Auchinleck and Cunningham. Shearer’s increasingly professional methods, however, could not deliver an easy victory for Eighth Army in its bid to relieve Tobruk.
