Out of the Rat Trap

A rare memoir offers fascinating insight into Rommel's Afrikakorps and an entertaining account of a daring escape from the Allied Army

For the Austrian Max Reisch, pioneer international motorist and writer of the 1930s, World War II offered yet more opportunities for adventure. Here is his lively account of his time with a vehicle maintenance unit of the Afrikakorps in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia. On forays into the desert at the wheel of a captured Jeep, searching out wrecked vehicles for spare parts, he visited the fabulous oasis of Siwa and dug his way out of the sinister minefield of Minqar Qaim. Seeing German defeat as inevitable, he hatched several escape plans and finally, with no experience of the sea, acquired a dilapidated fishing boat and some rudimentary navigation skills. He avoided capture at Tunis and, despite damage to the boat, set sail for Sicily together with seven comrades (and one small dog). Running the blockade of Allied warships and weathering a sudden storm, his motley crew succeeded against the odds.