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The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of their African colonies, the formation fought on in Africa, under various appellations, from March 1941 until its surrender in May 1943. The unit's best known commander was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.
The 999th Afrika Brigade was a German Army unit created in October 1942 as a penal military unit. It was later expanded into the 999th Light Afrika Division and began deploying to Tunisia in early 1943. However, this was interrupted by the surrender of Axis forces in that theater. Those elements that made it to Africa before the collapse fought as independent units rather than as a division, and were lost in the general collapse. The remainder were sent to Greece for garrison duties and to conduct security warfare, where a number of those forced into service because of their anti-Nazi activities continued them, such as Falk Harnack, who deserted and formed the Anti-Fascist Committee for a Free Germany with other soldiers. During the only fight many of the political prisoners in the division went over to the US troops or retreated, the US Army taking their positions without any heavy fighting.
As the number of German troops committed to the North African Campaign of World War II grew from the initial commitment of a small corps the Germans developed a more elaborate command structure and placed the enlarged Afrika Korps, with Italian units under this new German command and a succession of commands were created to manage Axis forces in Africa:
The military history of Iraq, due to a rich archaeological record, is one of the longest in written human history. The region of Iraq, which used to be Mesopotamia, has been referred to as the "cradle of civilization", and wars of conquest have been recorded in this region as far back as the third millennium BC. The area possesses strategic value, initially for the rich, fertile agricultural region in the Mesopotamian plain, and more recently for large petroleum deposits and access to the oil-rich Persian Gulf. The present territory of Iraq lacks significant strategic barriers, making it difficult to defend against foreign invasion.
Fliegerführer Afrika was part of Luftflotte 2, one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It operated in the Mediterranean and Libya from 1941–1942. The commanders were Generalmajor Stefan Fröhlich and Generalleutnant Otto Hoffmann von Waldau, who led the German air support to the German Afrika Korps campaign during the winter of 1941–1942.
Bernhard Woldenga was a German pilot during World War II. He served in the Luftwaffe, commanding the JG 27 and JG 77 fighter wings. Woldenga was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.
Luftflotte 5 was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed 12 April 1940 in Hamburg for the invasion of Norway. It transferred to Oslo, Norway on 24 April 1940 and was the organization responsible for Luftwaffe activity in Occupied Norway throughout the Second World War.
Werner Junck was a German general in the Luftwaffe during World War II and the one time commander of Fliegerführer Irak. He claimed 5 aerial victories during World War I.
Martin Harlinghausen was a German military aviator and general. Harlinghausen specialised in maritime interdiction and anti-warship operations. During World War II Harlinghausen was the leading exponent of anti-ship warfare with the destruction of 22 ships credited to him.
8th Air Corps was formed 19 July 1939 in Oppeln as Fliegerführer z.b.V.. It was renamed to the 8th Air Corps on 10 November 1939. The Corps was also known as Luftwaffenkommando Schlesien between 25 January 1945 and 2 February 1945 and was merged with Luftgau-Kommando VIII on 28 April 1945 and redesignated Luftwaffenkommando VIII.
The 350th Fighter Group was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Force formed in 1942 and inactivated in 1945. The fighter group consisted of 345th, 346th and 347th Fighter Squadron. The group was formed in England in 1942 flying Bell P-39 Airacobras and participated in the Mediterranean and North African Campaigns of World War II. 350th Fighter Group was based in North Africa, in Algeria and Morocco from January to July 1943. They then moved on to the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Corsica in November 1943 and February 1944 and were based in Italy in from September 1944 to July 1945. After the group was inactivated on 7 November 1945 at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base following the end of the war. It was redesignated the 112th Fighter Group and placed under the control of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard in 1946.
Fliegerführer Atlantik was a World War II Luftwaffe naval air command dedicated to maritime patrol, and maritime interdiction. The air command fought exclusively in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Flyer Command Iraq was a unit of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) sent to Iraq in May 1941 as part of a German mission to support the regime of Rashid Ali during the Anglo-Iraqi War. The mission was part of a larger effort to gain support in the Middle East for the Axis Powers against the United Kingdom and its allies during World War II.
Fritz Konrad Ferdinand Grobba was a German diplomat during the interwar period and World War II.
Major Axel von Blomberg was an officer in the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) before and during the Second World War. He is best known for the role he played during the Anglo-Iraqi War.
Special Staff F was the cover name for a German military mission to Iraq during World War II. Sonderstab F was created on 20 May 1941 and ceased to exist on 20 June 1941.
Sonderkommando Blaich was a German special unit consisting of one Heinkel He 111 medium bomber supported by an Italian Savoia SM.81. In January 1942 it raided the Free French–controlled Fort Lamy in the Chad region of French Equatorial Africa.
The 5th Air Force Division, was a division of the Bundeswehr's German Air Force. It was located from 1963 to 1971 in Birkenfeld and from 1990 to 1994 in Strausberg (Eggersdorf). It was the successor of the Kommando LSK/LV.
Kampfgeschwader 40 was a Luftwaffe medium and heavy bomber wing of World War II, and the primary maritime patrol unit of any size within the World War II Luftwaffe. It is best remembered as the unit operating a majority of the four-engine Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor maritime patrol bombers. The unit suffered from the poor serviceability and low production rates of the Fw 200 bombers, and from repeated diversion of its long-haul capability aircraft to undertake transport duties in various theatres, especially for the airlift operations to supply encircled forces in the Battle of Stalingrad. Later in the war, KG 40 became one of several Luftwaffe bomber wings to use the Heinkel He 177A heavy bomber.
The Axis order of battle for the invasion of Yugoslavia was made up of the various operational formations of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS, Italian Armed Forces and Hungarian Armed Forces that participated in the invasion of Yugoslavia during World War II, commencing on 6 April 1941. It involved the German 2nd Army, with elements of the 12th Army and a panzer group combined with overwhelming Luftwaffe support. The eighteen German divisions included five panzer divisions, two motorised infantry divisions and two mountain divisions. The German force also included two well-equipped independent motorised regiments and was supported by over 800 aircraft. The Italian 2nd Army and 9th Army committed a total of 22 divisions, and the Royal Italian Air Force had over 650 aircraft available to support the invasion. The Hungarian 3rd Army also participated, with support from the Royal Hungarian Air Force.
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