Transcript North_african_campaign_ppt-1

The North African
Campaign
June 10,1940 – May 16, 1943
The North African Campaign
The Overall Picture
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Essentially a coastal war, fought
with limited resources & troops.
Mobility & supply lines crucial.
Main supplies needed: petrol,
weapons & ammunition, food &
water.
Air power vital.
Both sides fought ‘within the
rules’.
Cult of the ‘personality’
generals.
Strategic Importance
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Axis powers wanted control of Africa
Strike at the oil fields in Middle East
 Open a second front against the Soviet Union
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Allies wanted to stop the Axis advance
Pull pressure off of the Soviet Union
 Allow for the opening of a second Euro. front
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Allied Commanders
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American General Dwight E. Eisenhower
American General George Patton
British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery
General Eisenhower
General Patton
Field Marshal Montgomery
Axis Commander
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The primary commander of Axis forces in
North Africa was Erwin Rommel
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Rommel was ordered to assist the Italians
by Hitler (WWI)
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Due to his stunning military victories he
was given the nickname the “Desert Fox”
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Killed himself after being implicated in a
plot to kill Hitler
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Even to this day, he is still remembered as
one of the greatest generals of all time
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
Armies
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Primary Allied Forces
British 8th army
 6 American divisions
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Primary Axis Forces
German Afrika Korps
 Miscellaneous Italian
forces
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Timeline
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September 1940- Italians invade Egypt
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February 1941- British offensive stops after pushing the
Italians back a third of the way into Libya
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March 1941- Axis forces now under the command of
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel counterattack and reach
Egypt by April
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November 1941- The British 8th army counterattacks
and once again reaches El Agheila by January 1942
Start of North African Campaign
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Britain -v- Italy
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Began with Italy’s entry into the war on June 11, 1940.
Light skirmishes only until September invasion of British-held
Egypt.
Oct-Nov: failed Italian invasion of Greece.
Dec 1940 to Feb 1941: Operation Compass, British counter-attack
forces Italians from Africa & halfway back to Tripoli, the capital of
Libya (Italians lose 120,000 men)
Jan to Nov 1941: Italian East Africa conquered.
Allied Retaliation
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After this, the British forces in
the area, although they were 1/6
of the Italians size retaliated
against the Italians in Operation
Compass
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The British forced the surrender
of the entire 10th army and were
able to advance almost a third of
the way into Libya
Timeline
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January 1942 - The Axis retaliation forces the British back and
the city of Tobruk, a British stronghold is captured on June 21
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July - The Axis advance on Cairo is stopped at the First Battle of
El Alamein
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October – November 4, 1942- British forces crush the Germans
and Italians at the Second Battle of El Alamein
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November - Operation Torch begins
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February 1943 - Rommel inflicts heavy casualties on the
Americans at the Battle of Kasserine Pass
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May 1943 - Axis forces in Tunisia surrender, ending the
campaign
Operation Torch
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British advancing rapidly against Rommel after the
Battle of El Alamein
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Allies conducted landings on the W. Coast of Africa to
surround the Axis
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General Eisenhower was chosen to command the
invasion force
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Casualties were relatively light due to eventual Vichy
French defection to the Allies
Map of Operation Torch
Victory!!
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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
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With allied sea and air power only about 600
Axis troops escaped
Why did the Allies win?
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Brainstorm with a partner(s) why the Allies were
able to defeat the Germans and Italians in North
Africa.
Consider the strategies/tactics used, in addition
to the conditions/environment in which these
battles were being fought.
The Allies Won Because….
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Hitler never considered Africa as more than a sideshow. Rommel
never got the supplies or troops he needed (although the Allies kept
withdrawing troops at vital times).
Spain stayed neutral: thus British were able to control the western
Mediterranean.
Malta survived: ‘the most bombed place on Earth’. Provided an air
& naval base to disrupt Axis air & sea supply lines.
Italian equipment not up to standard although they fought bravely.
Allied air & naval power.
USA’s entry into the war.
Allied numerical superiority.
German codes broken.
the little things (food, water, medicine, etc).
Consequences
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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
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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 Soviet’s defense
against the Germans
Significance?
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Historians’ differences:
 John Bierman/Colin Smith
call it a major ‘turning point’
 Russian historians claim it
was small compared to the
Eastern Front
Churchill’s view:
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‘This is not the end. It is not
even the beginning of the
end. But it is perhaps, the
end of the beginning.’
‘Before Alamein, we never
had a victory. After
Alamein, we never had a
defeat.’