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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 Italian and German command and a succession of commands were created to manage Axis forces in Africa:
When the Afrika Korps was formed on 11 January 1941 it was subordinated to the Italian chain of command in Africa. In the middle of 1941 Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW, Armed Forces High Command) created a larger command structure in Africa, forming a new headquarters, Panzer Group Africa (Panzergruppe Afrika, Gruppo Corazzato Africa). On 15 August 1941, Panzer Group Africa was activated with newly promoted General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel in command. The Panzer Group controlled the Afrika Korps and other units that were sent to Africa (notably the 90th Light Infantry Division), and the Italian X Corps and XX Corps.
Panzer Group Africa was renamed Panzer Army Africa (Panzerarmee Afrika, Armata Corazzata Africa) on 30 January 1942. (A German Panzer group was an army-level headquarters. As the war progressed all of the Panzer groups were renamed Panzer Armies.)
Panzer Army Africa was renamed German-Italian Panzer Army' (Deutsch-Italienische Panzerarmee, Armata Corazzata Italo-Tedesca) in October 1942 during the long retreat after the defeat at the Second Battle of El Alamein during the Western Desert Campaign.
In February 1943, the headquarters was expanded and called Army Group Africa (Heeresgruppe Afrika, Gruppo d'Armate Africa) to manage the defence of Tunisia during the final stages of the North African Campaign. Army Group Africa included the German Fifth Panzer Army (5. Panzerarmee) and the Italian 1st Army. Command of the Army Group was turned over from Rommel to Hans-Jürgen von Arnim in March. He surrendered the Army Group on 13 May 1943, ending the Axis presence in Africa.
Throughout its existence, this headquarters controlled the Afrika Korps and for most of its life it controlled a number of other German and Italian units as well. Not all German units in Africa subordinate to the Afrika Korps; some were reserves for the Panzer Army and some were occasionally subordinated to Italian armies or corps. The following overview of its components is taken from lexikon-der-wehrmacht de, with dates corrected (see references).
As of September 1941: (during Rommel's first push into the Western Desert)
From February 1943:
No. | Portrait | Commander | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Erwin Rommel (1891–1944) | Generaloberst1 September 1941 | 9 March 1942 | 189 days | |
2 | Ludwig Crüwell (1892–1958) | General der Panzertruppe9 March 1942 | 19 March 1942 | 10 days | |
(1) | Erwin Rommel (1891–1944) | Generalfeldmarschall19 March 1942 | 22 September 1942 | 187 days | |
3 | Georg Stumme (1886–1942) | General der Panzertruppe22 September 1942 | 24 October 1942 † | 32 days | |
- | Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma (1891–1948) Acting | Generalleutnant24 October 1942 | 25 October 1942 | 1 day | |
(1) | Erwin Rommel (1891–1944) | Generalfeldmarschall25 October 1942 | 26 November 1942 | 32 days | |
4 | Gustav Fehn (1892–1945) | General der Panzertruppe26 November 1942 | 2 December 1942 | 6 days | |
(1) | Erwin Rommel (1891–1944) | Generalfeldmarschall2 December 1942 | 22 February 1943 | 82 days | |
5 | Hans-Jürgen von Arnim (1889–1962) | Generaloberst10 March 1943 | 13 May 1943 | 64 days |
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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 its 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.
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Operation Crusader was a military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War by the British Eighth Army against the Axis forces in North Africa commanded by Generalleutnant (Lieutenant-General) Erwin Rommel. The operation was intended to bypass Axis defences on the Egyptian–Libyan frontier, defeat the Axis armoured forces and relieve the 1941 Siege of Tobruk.
The Tunisian campaign was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. The Allies consisted of British Imperial Forces, including a Greek contingent, with American and French corps. The battle opened with initial success by the German and Italian forces but the massive supply interdiction efforts led to the decisive defeat of the Axis. Over 250,000 German and Italian troops were taken as prisoners of war, including most of the Afrika Korps.
The Western Desert campaign took place in the deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main theatre in the North African campaign of the Second World War. Military operations began in June 1940 with the Italian declaration of war and the Italian invasion of Egypt from Libya in September. Operation Compass, a five-day raid by the British in December 1940, was so successful that it led to the destruction of the Italian 10th Army over the following two months. Benito Mussolini sought help from Adolf Hitler, who sent a small German force to Tripoli under Directive 22. The Afrika Korps was formally under Italian command, as Italy was the main Axis power in the Mediterranean and North Africa.
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The Battle of Gazala was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of the Panzerarmee Afrika consisting of German and Italian units fought the British Eighth Army composed mainly of British Commonwealth, Indian and Free French troops.
The 21st Panzer Division was a German armoured division best known for its role in the battles of the North African Campaign from 1941–1943 during World War II when it was one of the two armoured divisions making up the Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK).
This is a timeline of the North African campaign.
The 90th Light Infantry Division was a light infantry division of the German Army during World War II that served in North Africa as well as Sardinia and Italy. The division played a major role in most of the actions against the British Eighth Army in the Western Desert Campaign and eventually surrendered to the Allies in the final stages of the Tunisia Campaign in May 1943. It was re-constituted later in 1943 and deployed to Sardinia and when the expected Allied invasion of Sardinia failed to materialise, the division was moved to Italy. It was engaged in actions against the Allies in Italy from 1943 to April 1945 when the division was listed as "destroyed" in the Po River valley.
The 132nd Armored Division "Ariete" was an armored division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. It was formed in 1939 as the second armored division after the 131st Armored Division "Centauro". The division fought in the Western Desert Campaign until being destroyed during the Second Battle of El Alamein and declared lost due to wartime events on 8 December 1942.
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The Battle of Medenine was an Axis spoiling attack at Medenine in Tunisia on 6 March 1943. The operation was intended to delay an attack by the British Eighth Army on the Mareth Line. The British had been forewarned by Ultra decrypts of German wireless communications and rushed reinforcements from Tripoli and Benghazi before the Axis attack, which was a costly failure. General Erwin Rommel, the commander of Army Group Africa (Heeresgruppe Afrika), could not afford to lose forces needed for the defence of the Mareth Line and the effort was abandoned at dusk that day.
The Second Battle of El Alamein was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented the Axis from advancing further into Egypt.
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