A rather aloof desert-stormer, meant as a follow-up to The Desert Fox, and again boasting James Mason as Field Marshal Rommel, this time ordering the Battle of Tobruk against Allied forces that include Richard Burton commanding Aussie troops. Burton has his own problems with his cowardly old schoolteacher turned volunteer Robert Newton, but still manages to bring down Rommel's forces. The German maestro should have known better; in Allied flag-wavers like this, he never stood a chance.

In North Africa, German Field Marshal Rommel and his troops have successfully fended off British forces, and now intend to take Tobruk, an important port city. A ramshackle group of Australian reinforcements sent to combat the Germans is put under the command of British Captain MacRoberts. The unruly Aussies immediately clash with MacRoberts, a gruff, strict disciplinarian, however this unorthodox team must band together to protect Tobruk from the German forces.