Tobruk harbour and its vulnerability to air attack. Only a railway, similar to the one built by the British, could have alleviated Axis supply difficulties but lack of time and resources made it impossible to build one. The influence of Axis ship losses on the defeats inflicted on the in late 1942 has been exaggerated, because lack of fuel was caused by the chronic difficulty of transporting goods overland, rather than lack of deliveries from Europe. During the Second Battle of El Alamein, of the fuel destined for the , was stranded at Benghazi. Rommel wrote that Axis supply difficulties, relative to those of the British, determined the course of the military campaign and were a constraint that was insoluble. Montgomery has been criticised for failing to trap the Axis armies and bring them to a decisive battle in Libya. His tactics have been seen as too cautious and slow, since he knew of the exiguous supply situation of the and Rommel's intentions from Axis signals decrypts and other intelligence. In 1966, the British official historian Ian Playfair wrote that the defensive ability of the in particular and British apprehensions of another defeat and retreat, would have constrained the freedom of action of any commander. Warfare in the desert has been described as a "quarter-master's nightmare", given the conditions of desert warfare and the supply difficulties. Montgomery emphasised balance and refrained from attacks until the army was ready; Eighth Army morale greatly improved under his command. The Axis forces retreated through Libya into Tunisia and fought the Tunisian campaign, eventually to be trapped between the Anglo-American forces of the First Army to the west and the Eighth Army from the east. See also Egypt–Libya Campaign List of World War II battles Military history of Egypt during World War II Military history of Italy during World War II List of Italian military equipment in World War II Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II List of British military equipment of World War II Military history of Germany during World War II List of German military equipment of World War II North African campaign timeline Notes Footnotes Bibliography Books Journals in in Reports Theses Websites Further reading Books Reports Theses External links AFRIKAKORPS.org/AANA Research Group Panzer Army Africa Battle Report dated 29 June 1942 K.T.B. 812 page 1 Panzer Army Africa Battle Report dated 29 June 1942 K.T.B. 812