The North African Campaign

1
The North African Campaign

• June 10,1940 May 16, 1943

2
Causes

• Germany and Russia invaded Poland on September 1,
  1939 thus beginning World War II
• After defeating Poland, Germany turned to the
  west and conquered France with some assistance
  from Italy

German troops marching in Warsaw Poland.
3
Causes of North African Campaign

• Mussolini envisioned the Mediterranean as an
  Italian lake
• He therefore sent an army to the Italian colony
  of Libya to commence the attack on the Allies

4
Strategic Importance

• Axis powers wanted control of Africa
• Strike at the oil fields in Middle East
• Open a second front against the Soviet Union
• Allies wanted to stop the Axis advance
• Pull pressure off of the Soviet Union
• Allow for the opening of a second Euro. front

5
Armies

• Primary Allied Forces
• British 8th army
• 6 American divisions
• Primary Axis Forces
• German Afrika Korps
• Miscellaneous Italian forces

6
Allied Commanders

• American General Dwight E. Eisenhower
• American General George Patton
• British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery

General Eisenhower
General Patton
Field Marshal Montgomery
7
Axis Commander

• The primary commander of Axis forces in North
  Africa was Erwin Rommel
• Rommel was ordered to assist the Italians by
  Hitler (WWI)
• Due to his stunning military victories he was
  given the nickname the Desert Fox
• Killed himself after being implicated in a plot
  to kill Hitler
• Even to this day, he is still remembered as one
  of the greatest generals of all time

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
8
Timeline

• September 1940- Italians invade Egypt
• February 1941- British offensive stops after
  pushing the Italians back a third of the way into
  Libya
• March 1941- Axis forces now under the command of
  Field Marshal Erwin Rommel counterattack and
  reach Egypt by April
• November 1941- The British 8th army
  counterattacks and once again reaches El Agheila
  by January 1942

9
Timeline

• January 1942 - The Axis retaliation forces the
  British back and the city of Tobruk, a British
  stronghold is captured on June 21
• July - The Axis advance on Cairo is stopped at
  the First Battle of El Alamein
• October November 4, 1942- British forces crush
  the Germans and Italians at the Second Battle of
  El Alamein
• November - Operation Torch begins
• February 1943 - Rommel inflicts heavy casualties
  on the Americans at the Battle of Kasserine Pass
• May 1943 - Axis forces in Tunisia surrender,
  ending the campaign

10
Victory!!

• The Germans and Italians in North Africa
  surrendered on May 13, 1943 resulting in over a
  quarter of a million Prisoners of War being taken
• With allied sea and air power only about 600 Axis
  troops escaped

11
Consequences

• The victory in North Africa resulted in the Suez
  canal remaining in Allied hands and the oil
  fields of the Middle East not falling into Axis
  hands
• The victory in North Africa allowed for the
  invasion of Italy which forced the Italian
  surrender and pulled German troops away from the
  Eastern front, helping the Soviets defense
  against the Germans

12
(No Transcript)
13
First Strike

• On the 13th of September 1940, the 200,000
  soldiers of the Italian 10th army invaded
  British-Egypt from Libya
• The Italian army advanced into Egypt and reached
  the town of Sidi Barrani, but halted due to lack
  of intelligence about the British army

14
Allied Retaliation

• After this, the British forces in the area,
  although they were 1/6 of the Italians size
  retaliated against the Italians in Operation
  Compass
• The British forced the surrender of the entire
  10th army and were able to advance almost a third
  of the way into Libya

15
The Coming of the Fox

• Hitler sent the Afrika Korps under Field Marshal
  Erwin Rommel to assist the Italians against the
  British
• Although ordered to prevent the British from
  advancing any farther
• Rommel took his troops on the offensive
• Pushed the British back passed the Italians
  farthest point of advance

16
Were Back to Where We Started!

• After reaching the city of Salum, both sides
  stopped and waited
• British to reorganize their forces into the 8th
  Army
• Rommel received few reinforcements
• British counterattack and forced the Axis back to
  the city of El Agheila once again

17
Rommels Finest Hour

• An Axis convoys arrival allowed Rommel to
  counterattack on January 21, 1942
• En route to Egypt, the Afrika Korps finally
  recaptured the city of Tobruk on June 21, 1942
• Pushed the British back to the city of El Alamein
  and coming close to capturing Cairo itself
• Before the desperate British were able to halt
  them during the month of July in the First battle
  of El Alamein

18
The Battle of El Alamein

• The battle opened with 20 minutes of artillery
  bombardment by about 900 guns
• This was followed by infantry advance across the
  minefield to clear lanes for the tanks
• After the attack stalled out, a strike to the
  north front of that resulted in huge casualties
  on both sides
• As a result, the British launched Operation
  Supercharge that decimated Rommels tank groups
  and forced them into retreat

19
Operation Torch

• British advancing rapidly against Rommel after
  the Battle of El Alamein
• Allies conducted landings on the W. Coast of
  Africa to surround the Axis
• General Eisenhower was chosen to command the
  invasion force
• Casualties were relatively light due to eventual
  Vichy French defection to the Allies

20
Map of Operation Torch
21
The Final Push

• By November 1942, the Germans and Italians had
  been pushed back to Tunisia
• After Rommel defeated the American Second Corps
  twice, George S. Patton was given command of the
  Corps
• Him and Montgomery the Axis now had their backs
  to the sea with no room to maneuver and few
  supplies
• Rommel was able to still inflict heavy casualties
  on the Americans at the Battle of Kasserine Pass
  while receiving few in return