Key Facts
- Duration
- June 1940 – May 1943
- Theatre
- Deserts of Egypt and Libya
- Key Axis force
- Afrika Korps under Rommel
- Key Allied force
- British Eighth Army
- Decisive Allied victory
- Second Battle of El Alamein, Oct 1942
Strategic Narrative Overview
The campaign swung back and forth across Libya and Egypt. Rommel's Operation Sonnenblume in spring 1941 pushed the Allies back to Egypt, leaving Tobruk besieged. Operation Crusader reversed Axis gains by late 1941, but early 1942 saw Axis forces surge again, capturing Tobruk after the Battle of Gazala. The Allies stabilised at El Alamein, fought two defensive battles, then decisively defeated Axis forces at the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942.
01 / The Origins
Italy's declaration of war in June 1940 opened hostilities in North Africa, with Italian forces invading Egypt from Libya in September. Britain, seeking to defend Egypt and the Suez Canal, responded swiftly. When Italian forces collapsed under Operation Compass, Mussolini appealed to Hitler, who dispatched the Afrika Korps under Rommel in early 1941, transforming the conflict into a prolonged Axis–Allied struggle over the strategically vital North African littoral.
03 / The Outcome
Following El Alamein, the Eighth Army drove Axis forces westward out of Libya into Tunisia. Simultaneously, Allied forces landed in northwest Africa via Operation Torch. Caught between two Allied armies and hampered by chronic supply shortages, the remaining Axis forces in Tunisia surrendered in May 1943, ending the North African campaign and opening the Mediterranean to Allied operations toward southern Europe.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Erwin Rommel, Benito Mussolini.
Side B
2 belligerents
Richard O'Connor, Bernard Montgomery.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.