I'm a college student who is going to be writing a research paper about the North Africa campaign in World War II, largely focusing on Germany.
It is going to give a general overview of people, places, events, etc., but it is mainly going to focus on the strategic impact. The main focus will be how Hitler never took the North Africa theater seriously, and how that caused the Axis to lose. Moreover, I want to go into what the strategic implications were, not only of losing North Africa but also of losing strategic options that would be open if they had won, such as gaining another oil source in the Middle East, or possibly opening another front with the USSR in the Caucasus.
If anyone could give me good sources that address the North Africa campaign in general or any of those things specifically I would greatly appreciate it. Obviously, they must be reputable sources, peer-reviewed if possible.
Primary sources such as army dispatches or transcripts of high command meetings regarding the North Africa theater would be the best sources I could use, so I would be very grateful if someone could point me to those.
John Keegan's the second world war is good for a military perspective, but it doesn't focus hugely on politics. The Third Reich at War by Richard Evans has a great overview of the war. For books specifically on the African front look for Desert War: The North African Campaign by Alan Moorehead. You can also find Erwin Rommel's memoirs in a book known as "The Rommel Papers.