Tom from Cornwall wrote: ↑26 Aug 2019, 21:26
What did the Operation Instructions / Op Orders give as the 'Aim' of 'Crusader'? According to the S.A OH (pp.59 - 60) it seems that during the planning phase the 'scope of the high-level planning widened'. Crusader ('the plan for the reconquest of Cyrenaica') 'merged into its logical continuation of 'Acrobat', which was the capture of Tripolitania' (and also a putative invasion of Sicily - 'Whipcord').
Does anyone have a copy of a primary source for 8th Army's orders to its Corps?
Tom,
Off the top of my head, the theatre aim was to evict the Axis from North Africa. That task fell to GHQ ME (Auchinleck). Doing this in one operation was not considered feasible and thus the task was broken down into seperate operations/stages.
The initial operation, CRUSADER, was thus passed down to 8th Army (Cunniningham) as a take Cyrenaica mission. No more. I don't recall a specific geographical point to make being in the orders, but Auchinleck's own post-operation report shows his intention was not to repeat the mistakes of Wavell/Neame and try to defend at Mersa el Brega but to defend the el Agheila line. He also clearly identifies CRUSADER as being the first stage of a multi-stage advance.
If you are looking for evidence of conflation between the objectives of the different stages, it's more likely to be on GHQ ME level files not 8th Army or below.
Hope that helps.