North African Campaign

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

North African Campaign Part of Mediterranean Theatre of World War II A British Crusader tank passes a burning German Pzkw Mk IV tank during Operation Crusader. 27 November 1941 Date June 10, 1940 – May 16, 1943 Location Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco Result Allied Victory Belligerents  Australia  Canada Czechoslovakia  Free French New Zealand South Africa Free Polish  United Kingdom Indian Empire  United States Italy  Germany Vichy France Commanders Harold Alexander Claude Auchinleck Archibald Wavell Dwight D. Eisenhower Rodolfo Graziani Albert Kesselring Erwin Rommel Casualties and losses Free French-16,000 Killed, Wounded or Captured British Empire:-33,000 Killed, Wounded, or Captured United States-[1] 2,715 killed 8,978 wounded 6,528 missing Germany: 12,808 killed[2] Unknowned wounded 101,784 + captured[3] Total Axis:[4] 950,000 total casualties 8,000 aircraft destroyed or captured 6,200 guns destroyed or captured 2,500 tanks destroyed or captured

v • d • e Mediterranean, Middle East and African theatres of World War II North Africa Campaign – East African Campaign – Balkans Campaign – Siege of Malta – Battle of the Mediterranean – West African Campaign – Middle East campaign – Battle of Madagascar – Dodecanese Campaign – Italian Campaign – Operation Dragoon – Greek Civil War

v • d • e North African campaign Libya & Egypt – Torch – Tunisia

During World War II, the North African Campaign, also known as the Desert War, took place in the North African desert from June 10, 1940 to May 16, 1943. It included campaigns in Libya and Egypt (Western Desert Campaign), Morocco and Algeria (known to the Allies as Operation Torch) and the Tunisia Campaign.

The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers. The Allied war effort was dominated by the British Commonwealth and exiles from German–occupied Europe. The United States entered the war in 1941 and began direct assistance in North Africa, on May 11, 1942.

Fighting in North Africa started with the Italian declaration of war on June 10, 1940. On June 14, the British Army's 11th Hussars (assisted by elements of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment) crossed the border into Libya and captured the Italian Fort Capuzzo. This was followed by an Italian offensive into Egypt and then in December 1940 by a Commonwealth counteroffensive, Operation Compass. During Operation Compass, the Italian Tenth Army was destroyed and the German Afrika Korps, commanded by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, was dispatched during Operation Sonnenblume to bolster the Italian forces and prevent a complete Axis defeat in Africa.

A back-and-forth series of battles for control of Libya and parts of Egypt followed, climaxing in the Second Battle of El Alamein when British Commonwealth forces under the command of Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery, delivered a decisive defeat to the Axis forces and pushed the Axis forces back to Tunisia. Following the Allied landings in North West Africa, Operation Torch, in late 1942 under the command of General Dwight Eisenhower, and after Allied battles against Vichy France forces (which subsequently joined the Allies), the combined Allied forces encircled the Axis forces in northern Tunisia and forced their surrender.

By making the Axis powers fight on a second front in North Africa, the Western Allies provided some relief to the Soviet Union fighting the Axis on the Eastern Front. Information learned from the British Ultra codebreaking operation was a major contributor to Allied success in the North African campaign.

[edit] Western Desert Campaign

Main article: Western Desert Campaign

The Northern African Campaign was strategically important for both the Allies and the Axis powers. The Allies used the campaign as a step towards a second front against the Axis powers in "Fortress Europe", and it helped to ease Axis pressure on the Eastern front. The Axis powers had planned to dominate the Mediterranean through control of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal and planned to follow a successful campaign in North Africa with a strike north to the rich oil fields of the Middle East.^[5] This would have cut off nearby oil supplies to the Allies, and would have tremendously increased the oil supplies available for the Axis war machine.^[6]

On September 13, 1940, Italian forces stationed in Libya launched the Tenth Army in a 200,000 troop invasion into the British protectorate of Egypt and set up defensive forts at Sidi Barrani. But Italian general Graziani, with little intelligence on the state of British forces there, chose not to continue further towards Cairo.

The British and Commonwealth forces were greatly outnumbered, 35,000 men compared to a total of 200,000. Nevertheless at the end of 1940 they launched a counter-attack, Operation Compass. It was more successful than expected and resulted in the retreat of the Italians, and the advance of the Allies to El Agheila. The stunning defeat did not go unnoticed and fresh Italian troops together with German troops, the Deutsches Afrikakorps under Erwin Rommel (later nicknamed "The Desert Fox") and Graziani, were sent in to reinforce the Italian Armies in western Libya. At the same time Allied units were withdrawn from the Western Desert to reinforce the Greek armies fighting the Axis invasion of Greece.

Although ordered to simply hold the line, Rommel launched an offensive from El Agheila in March 1941 which, with the exception of Tobruk, managed to press the Allies beyond Sollum back into Egypt, effectively putting both sides back at their approximate original pre-war positions.

The allied forces launched a small attack, Operation Brevity, in an attmept to push the Axis forces back over the border however, this failed, but was followed up by the offensive, Operation Battleaxe, which also failed.

During the following stalemate, the Allied forces reorganised as the British Eighth Army, made up of units from the armies of Britain and several other countries, especially the Australian Army and the Indian Army; also divisions from the South African Army, the New Zealand Army, a brigade of Free French under Marie-Pierre Koenig, and British colonial soldiers. The new formation launched a new offensive, Operation Crusader, in November 1941 and by January 1942 recaptured all of the territory recently acquired by the Germans and Italians. Once again, the front line was at El Agheila.

After receiving supplies from Tripoli, Rommel again attacked. Defeating the Allies at Gazala in June and capturing Tobruk. The Afrika Corps drove them (the allies) back past the border of Egypt where their advance was stopped in July only 90 miles (140 km) from Alexandria in the First Battle of El Alamein.

General Claude Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief of British Middle East Command, who had personally assumed command of the Eighth Army following the fighting at Gazala, was sacked following the First Battle of El Alamein and was replaced by General Sir Harold Alexander. Lieutenant-General William Gott was given command of the Eighth Army. However Gott was killed en route to taking up his position and Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery took over as commander of the Eighth Army instead.

After victory in the battles of Alam Halfa and Second El Alamein in late October 1942, the Eighth Army pushed the Axis forces back, capturing Tripoli in mid January 1943. By February, Montgomery's Eighth Army was facing Rommel's German-Italian Army near the Mareth Line and came under command of General Harold Alexander's 18th Army Group for the concluding phase of the Tunisia Campaign.

[edit] Algeria-French Morocco Campaign
(Operation Torch)

Main article: Operation Torch

The Algeria-French Morocco Campaign started on November 8, 1942, and finished on November 11, 1942. In an attempt to pincer German and Italian forces, Allied forces (American and British Commonwealth), landed in Vichy-held French North Africa under the assumption that there would be little to no resistance. Nevertheless, Vichy French forces put up a strong and bloody resistance to Allied forces in Oran and Morocco. But not in Algiers, where a coup d'état by the French resistance on November 8 succeeded in neutralizing the French XIX Corps before the landing, and arresting the Vichy commanders. Consequently the landings met no practical opposition in Algiers and the city was captured on the first day along with the entire Vichy African command. After three days of talks and threats, General Mark Clark, and Eisenhower, compelled the Vichy Admiral François Darlan (and General Alphonse Juin) to order the cessation of armed resistance in Oran and Morocco by French forces on November 10 and 11 with the proviso that Darlan would be head of a Free French administration.

The Allied landings prompted the Axis occupation of Vichy France (Case Anton). In addition the French fleet was captured at Toulon by the Italians something which did them little good as the main portion of the fleet had been scuttled to prevent their use by the Axis ^[7]. The Vichy army in North Africa joined the Allies (see Free French Forces)^[8].

[edit] Tunisian Campaign

Main article: Tunisian Campaign

November 17, 1942-May 13, 1943.

Following the Operation Torch landings, (from early November 1942), the Germans and Italians initiated a build up of troops in Tunisia to fill the vacuum left by Vichy troops which had withdrawn. During this period of weakness, the Allies decided against a rapid advance into Tunisia while they wrestled with the Vichy authorities. Many of the Allied soldiers were tied up in garrison duties because of the uncertain status and intentions of the Vichy forces.

By mid-November the Allies were able to advance into Tunisia but only in single division strength. In early December the Eastern Task Force of British 78th Infantry Division and elements of U.S. 1st Armored Division had advanced eastwards to within 30km of Tunis. By this time the Axis had one German and five Italian divisions from Europe in Tunisia to reinforce the defenders. The Allies were demolished.

During the winter there followed a period of stalemate during which time both sides continued to build up their forces. By the new year, the Allied task force had become U.S. First Army with two British, six U.S., one French Corps, and soldiers from other Allied nations.

In the second half of February, in eastern Tunisia, Rommel and von Arnim had some successes against the mainly inexperienced French and U.S. Corps, most notably in routing the US II Corps at the Battle of the Kasserine Pass.

By the beginning of March the Eighth Army, advancing westwards along the North African coast, had reached the Tunisian border. Rommel and von Arnim found themselves in an Allied "two army" pincer. They were outflanked, outmanned and outgunned. The British Eighth Army shattered the Axis defense on the Mareth Line in late March and 1st Army in central Tunisia launched their main offensive in mid April to squeeze the Axis forces until their resistance in Africa collapsed. The Axis forces surrendered on May 13, 1943 yielding over 275,000 prisoners of war. This huge loss of experienced troops greatly reduced the military capacity of the Axis powers, although the largest percentage of Axis troops escaped Tunisia. This defeat in Africa led to all Italian colonies being captured.

[edit] Conclusion

After victory by the Allies in the North African Campaign, the stage was set for the Italian Campaign to begin. The invasion of Sicily followed two months later.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

1. ^ Playfair, Volume IV, p. 460. United States losses from 12th November 1942
2. ^ Feldgrau website. Feldgrau Statistics and Numbers.
3. ^ Playfair, Volume IV, p. 460. Number captured is from the fighting in Tunisian only
4. ^ Brigadier C. N. Barclay, British Army (Retired). GI - World War II Commemoration.
5. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/animations/wwtwo_map_n_africa/index.shtml
6. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/animations/wwtwo_map_n_africa/index.shtml
7. ^ Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon
8. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Torch#Resistance_and_coup

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

North African campaign

• BBC's flash video of the North African Campaign
• Timeline of the North African Campaign
• General sites on the North African Campaign
  • Spartacus Educational website: Desert War
  • John, Paul (1997). World War II Study - Case Study North Africa.
  • Zabecki, David T. (2000). Battlefield North Africa: Rommel's Rise And Fall. Military.com World War II.
  • Barclay, Brigadier C.N.. Mediterranean Operations. The Story of World War II (Encyclopedia Americana). Grolier Online.
• Canadian World War 2 Online Newspaper Archives - The North African Campaigns, 1940-1943
• Redoubt Fortress Museum Home of General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim's Staff Car
• Eastbourne Redoubt
• The Royal Sussex Regimental Association [1]
• AFRIKAKORPS.org/AANA Research Group

v • d • e World War II
Western Europe · Eastern Europe · Africa · Mediterranean · Asia and the Pacific · Atlantic
Major participants			Timeline		Aspects
To 1945 unless otherwise indicated. Principal co-belligerents in italics.			Prelude • Causes • in Asia • in Europe 1939 • Invasion of Poland • Phoney War • Winter War • Battle of the Atlantic5 1940 • Denmark and Norway • Battle of France • Battle of Britain • Libya and Egypt • British Somaliland • Baltic Occupation • Bessarabia and Bukovina • Invasion of Indochina • Invasion of Greece 1941 • East Africa Campaign • Invasion of Yugoslavia • Invasion of the USSR • Middle East campaign • Siege of Leningrad • Battle of Moscow • Attack on Pearl Harbor 1942 • Battle of Midway • Battle of Stalingrad • 2nd Battle of El Alamein • Operation Torch • Guadalcanal Campaign	1943 • End in Africa • Battle of Kursk • Solomon Islands • Invasion of Sicily • Invasion of Italy5 • Gilbert and Marshall Islands 1944 • Cassino and Anzio • Invasion of Normandy • Mariana and Palau Islands • Operation Bagration • Battle of the Dnieper • Warsaw Uprising • Iassy-Kishinev Operation • Liberation of Paris • Operation Market Garden • Operation Crossbow • Operation Pointblank • Battle of Leyte Gulf 1945 • Battle of Iwo Jima • Battle of Okinawa • Battle of Berlin • Germany surrenders • Hiroshima and Nagasaki • Japan surrenders • List of military engagements	• Attacks on North America • Blitzkrieg • Comparative military ranks • Cryptography • Home front • Military awards • Military equipment • Military production • Nazi plunder • Resistance • Technology • Total war Aftermath /consequences • Effects/Casualties • Expulsion of Germans • Operation Paperclip • Occupation of Germany • Morgenthau plan • Territorial changes • Occupation of Japan • Franco-Vietnamese War • Cold War • in contemporary culture Civilian impact / atrocities • Allied war crimes • German war crimes • Italian war crimes • Japanese war crimes • Soviet war crimes • The Holocaust • Bombing of civilians
Allies		Axis
at war from 1937  China entered 1939  Czechoslovakia  Poland  UK  India  France  Australia  New Zealand  South Africa  Canada entered 1940  Norway  Belgium  Netherlands  Greece	entered 1941  Yugoslavia  USSR  USA entered 1942  Mexico  Brazil entered 1943  Italy   entered 1944  Romania  Bulgaria  Finland • others	at war from 1937  Japan entered 1939  Germany  Slovakia entered 1940  Italy  to 1943 entered 1941  Bulgaria  to 1944 Croatia Finland  to 1944  Hungary  Iraq  to 1941  Romania  to 1944 entered 1942  Thailand entered 1943  RSI • others
• Allied Leaders • Axis Leaders • Commanders
Resistance movements Austria · Baltic1 · Czech lands · Denmark · Ethiopia France · Germany2 · Greece · Italy Jewish2 · Korea · Netherlands · Moldavia2 Norway · Poland · Thailand · Soviet Union Slovakia4 · Ukraine3 · Vietnam Yugoslavia · others
				Lists
				Category · Topics Conferences
1 Anti-Soviet. 2 Anti-Soviet and anti-Nazi. 3 Anti-Nazi, anti-Polish, and anti-Soviet. 4 Anti-Magyar, anti-Nazi, and anti-Soviet. 5 Lasted to May 1945.		World War II at Wiktionary  WWII textbooks at Wikibooks      WWII quotes at Wikiquote  WWII source texts at Wikisource       WWII media at Commons  WWII news stories at Wikinews