The Afrika Korps: The History of Nazi Germany’s Expeditionary Force in North Africa during World War II

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the fighting *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading The fighting in North Africa during World War II is commonly overlooked, aside from the famous battle at El Alamein that pitted the British under General Bernard Montgomery against the legendary “Desert Fox,” Erwin Rommel. But while the Second Battle of El Alamein would be the pivotal action in North Africa, the conflict in North Africa began all the way back in the summer of 1940 when Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared Italy’s entrance into the war. From his perspective, the fact that the British and French had their hands full with the Germans created an opportunity for Italy to enlarge its colonial holdings in Africa by seizing portions of the British Empire. However, British troops in the colony of Egypt responded to Italy’s declaration of war by driving through the Egyptian-Ethiopian border and attacking Italian troops stationed in the Italian colony of Ethiopia. By September 13, 1940, Italian commanders in Ethiopia were finally ready to put Mussolini’s plan into action and attack British colonial holdings, but British troops had already attacked a series of Italian frontier posts and had inflicted 3,500 casualties among Italy’s North African troops. Dealing with the Italians was one thing, but the British faced an entirely different monster in North Africa when Erwin Rommel, a German general who had gained much fame for his role in the invasions of Poland and France, was sent to North Africa in February 1941. For the next two years, the Allies would face off against the legendary Desert Fox and his Afrika Korps. As a specific unit, the Afrika Korps represented only a small part of the German forces deployed in the North African theater, but the term “Afrika Korps” has since come to imply all forces under Rommel’s command, and the Afrika Korps is now associated with all German war efforts in North Africa. Rommel’s directives from the German headquarters were to maneuver in a way that would allow him to hide the fact that his ultimate goal was the capture of Cairo and the Suez Canal. The ultimate plan was that Rommel would not reveal the Germans’ true intentions in North Africa until after the Germans had made headway in their invasion of the Soviet Union. With the Axis forces trying to push through Egypt towards the Suez Canal and the British Mandate of Palestine, American forces landed to their west in North Africa, which ultimately compelled Rommel to try to break through before the Allies could build up and overwhelm them with superior numbers. Given that the combined Allied forces under Montgomery already had an advantage in manpower, Montgomery also wanted to be aggressive, and the fighting would start in late October 1942 with an Allied attack. The Second Battle of El Alamein was a turning point in the campaign. While the scale of the battle paled in comparison to the battles of the Eastern Front, where the majority of German troops were concentrated, it still marked an important victory in World War II, especially from the British perspective. The British, who had suffered through three years of war in which they seemed to teeter on the brink of defeat, were able to hang their hats on the victory, reviving the nation’s morale and reaffirming its military might. Over the next few weeks, the Allies made steady progress and forced Rommel to conduct a fighting retreat to safety until his army linked up with another Axis army in Tunisia, but the fighting at the end of 1942 inevitably compelled all Axis forces to quit the theater, the first time since the beginning of the war that Africa was safe for the Allies. The Afrika Korps: The History of Nazi Germany’s Expeditionary Force in North Africa during World War II chronicles one of World War II’s most famous fighting units.

in Late June 1942, The Dispirited And Defeated British Eighth Army Was Pouring Back Toward The Tiny Railway Halt Of El Alamein In The Western Desert Of Egypt. Tobruk Had Fallen And Eighth Army Had Suffered A Humiliating Defeat At The Hands Of Rommel's Panzerarmee Afrika. Yet Just Five Months Later, The Famous Opening Bombardment Signaled The Start Of Eighth Army's Own Offensive, Which Destroyed The Axis Threat To Egypt. Explanations For The Remarkable Change In The Fortunes Of Britain's Desert Army Have Generally Been Sought In The Abrasive Personality Of The New Army Commander Lieutenant-general Bernard Law Montgomery. But The Long Running Controversies Surrounding The Commanders Of Eighth Army - Generals Auchinleck And Montgomery - And That Of Their Legendary Opponent, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, Have Often Been Allowed To Obscure The True Nature Of The Alamein Campaign. This Is Also The Story Of How An Army Learned From Its Mistakes. For Too Long The Change In Personalities At The Top Has Blurred The Real Continuity Of Experience That Saw The Eighth Army Transform Itself From A Tactically Inept Collection Of Units Into A Battle-winning Army. Pendulum Of War Explores The Eighth Army's Learning Curve, And Shows How Lessons From Bitter Experience Were Used To Develop Improved Tactical Methods That Eventually Mastered The Veterans Of Rommel's Afrika Korps.

kirkus Reviews

a Wide-ranging, Technical Analysis Of The Bitter Campaign, Throughout The Second Half Of 1942, For Dominion Of Egypt. Barr (defense Studies/kings College London) Examines The North African Theater In The Context Of The Larger War, And In Particular What Was Happening On The Near Periphery: The Nazi Airborne Assault On The Island Of Crete, Naval Actions In The Mediterranean, Ground Combat In Ethiopia And An Uprising In Iraq Through Which Britain Came Dangerously Close To Losing Its Control Of The Middle Eastern Oil Supplies. Charged With Relieving The Besieged Port Of Tobruk, Much Of The British Eighth Army Found Itself Penned Up West Of The City. Even Though Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps Had Fewer Soldiers And A Third Fewer Tanks, It Threw The Defenders Back To The Egyptian Frontier In A Disorganized Retreat That Caused An American Military Attache To Observe That The Eighth's Tactical Conceptions Were Always Wrong . . . Its Reactions To The Lightning Changes Of The Battlefield Were Always Slow. The Destruction Would Have Been Worse Had The German Ground Forces Not Outrun Their Air Support. Even So, Centered On The Little Rail Stop Of El Alamein, The Eighth Rebuilt Its Command, Removing Many Staff Officers And Instituting The Brigade Rather Than The Division As The Main Unit Of Combat And Movement. Though Some Officers Were Not Eager To Hurry Back Into Combat With Rommel, Winston Churchill Was Eager To Have A British Victory Before American Forces Landed In Morocco In Operation Torch, Accelerating The Schedule For A Major Offensive Led By Bernard Montgomery. Surprising Some Observers, And Certainly Surprising Rommel, The Eighth Rose To The Occasion Very Capably Indeed. Barr Closes Byconcluding That In The Alamein Campaign The Force Was Granted The Breathing Space It Needed To Assimilate Lessons That Transformed It From A Clumsy And Inept Fighting Formation Into An Effective And Battle-winning Army.a Useful Study Of The War In The Desert, Though Meant For Readers With Some Appreciation Of Strategy, Logistics, And Tactics.

"Despite Korea, despite Vietnam, despite a dozen smaller conflicts, a generation of Americans refers to World War II simply as "the War." Indeed, there has been nothing like it in human history: a single war that spanned three continents, a war which saw more men and women under arms, more deaths, and more destruction than any other. Now Oxford University Press provides the definitive one-volume reference to this cataclysmic event. "The Oxford Companion to World War II" brings together an international team of 140 experts to cover every aspect of the conduct and experience of the conflict, from grand strategic decision making to the struggles of daily life. More than 1,700 entries, ranging from brief identifications to in-depth articles on complex subjects, bring the far-flung elements and events of the war into focus. Here are essays on overarching themes and broad topics, such as the origins of the war, diplomacy, the Greater East Asia Coprosperity Sphere, and the Final Solution. Military campaigns and battles, of course, receive extensive attention: entries include the Fall of France, Operation Barbarossa, and the Battle of Midway, as well as such smaller events as the sinking of the Scharnhorst and the fall of Wake Island. Scores of analytical biographies range from the national leaders, Hitler, Stalin, Tojo, Roosevelt, Churchill, to an array of military and political figures, from Dietrich Bonhoeffer to Ho Chi Minh, from Marshal Timoshenko to General von Manstein. World War II was also an era of technological leaps, covert exploits, and horrific atrocities, and the Companion gives thorough coverage to each, with articles on weapons ranging from tanks to E-boats to rockets, on intelligence organizations, and on the German Einstatzgruppen and Todt organization." -- Publisher "In late June 1942, the dispirited and defeated British Eighth Army was pouring back toward the tiny railway halt of El Alamein in the western desert of Egypt. Tobruk had fallen and Eighth Army had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Rommel's Panzerarmee Afrika. Yet just five months later, the famous opening bombardment signaled the start of Eighth Army's own offensive, which destroyed the Axis threat to Egypt." "Explanations for the remarkable change in the fortunes of Britain's desert army have generally been sought in the abrasive personality of the new army commander Lieutenant-General Bernard Law Montgomery. But the long running controversies surrounding the commanders of Eighth Army - Generals Auchinleck and Montgomery - and that of their legendary opponent, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, have often been allowed to obscure the true nature of the Alamein campaign." "This is also the story of how an army learned from its mistakes. For too long the change in personalities at the top has blurred the real continuity of experience that saw the Eighth Army transform itself from a tactically inept collection of units into a battle-winning army. Pendulum of War explores the Eighth Army's learning curve, and shows how lessons from bitter experience were used to develop improved tactical methods that eventually mastered the veterans of Rommel's Afrika Korps." --Book Jacket The battle of Alamein was the turning point for the British in their World War II struggle against Nazi Germany and the climax of a campaign waged with an unusual degree of ferocity and humanity on both sides. Around the little railway stop of El Alamein in Egypt's western desert at the end of October 1942, there were virtually no towns or villages to be ruined or terrified refugees to be caught in the crossfire. The twelve-day battle was waged over empty desert terrain. However bitterly fought, though, it was conducted according to accepted notions of "fair play" and the rules of war. Each side treated the enemy prisoners -- especially the wounded -- according to the Geneva Conventions, and a curious camaraderie evolved between the armies doing their best to kill each other. This desert war is remembered by its survivors as a "war without hate." Drawing extensively on years of research, John Bierman and Colin Smith provide a compellingly fresh perspective on the see-saw campaign in which the two sides - Story of the defeat of the legendary Desert Fox - Analyzes Rommel's generalship - Details logistical difficulties and the erosion of weapons quality of the Afrika Korps In the sands of North Africa during the early years of World War II, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel burnished his reputation as the "Desert Fox." After a string of successes, Rommel's fortunes began to sour with the battles of El Alamein, where the British under Bernard Montgomery halted Axis expansion in the fall of 1942, followed days later by the American landings in Morocco and Algeria. As the Americans drove the Germans into Tunisia from the west and the British from the east, Rommel routed U.S. forces at Kasserine Pass. After his last-ditch attack at Medenine was repulsed, the Desert Fox was forced to evacuate, leaving much of his fabled force to Allied captivity.

From the climactic battle of Alamein, where Allied forces handed the Nazis their first major defeat, to the remarkable story of László Almasy, who became the basis for the romantic English patient in Michael Ondaatje's novel, the story of this crucial WWII campaign is panoramic in scope and peopled by some of the most famous figures in the war. Drawing extensively on primary documentary sources and interviews with surviving veterans, award-winning journalists John Bierman and Colin Smith present a superb account of this extraordinary episode, remembered as a "war without hate" for the willingness by both sides to adhere to accepted notions of "fair play" and the mutual respect and camaraderie that evolved between the combatants. This riveting account is military history at its best.

"The Battle of El Alamein in 1942 brought a sense of victory to a Britain grown weary from defeat. And it was a decisive victory: the Eighth Army ended for ever the see-saw desert campaign and drove the German-Italian Panzer army across Egypt and Libya and into Tunisia. There it was destroyed by the Allied invasion of North Africa in 1943, which in turn led to the invasion of Europe. Alamein was the high-water mark of Rommel's career, and it made Monty a household name worldwide. It also changed the way the British Army fought, using concentrated artillery on a scale not seen since 1918 to break through Axis defences built in depth."--BOOK JACKET. The Battle Of Alamein In 1942 Was Of Enormous Political And Military Significance. As Well As Providing An Overview Of The Battle In Its Strategic Context, Jon Latimer Draws On The Experience Of The Men Who Fought. Part I An Obscure Railway Halt: Egypt And Libya; Rommel; Eighth Army; The Alamein Line; Malta; Monty; Alam Halfa; Lightfoot; In The Line; Final Preparations. Part Ii The Battle: Barrage; Assault; The Armour Stalls; Crisis Conference; Crumbling; The Defence Of Outpost Snipe; Thompson's Post; Supercharge; The Beginning Of The End; The End Of The Beginning. Jon Latimer. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "World War II was history's greatest global conflict. Civilians were affected as never before. Sixty years later, it still shapes the world we live in. From blitzkrieg and blackout to ghettos and Guadalcanal, this Oxford Companion provides comprehensive coverage of all its aspects." "Includes over 1750 A-Z entries covering the strategies, forces, campaigns and battles, and their social, political, and economic contexts; and 140 specialist contributors from both sides of the conflict."--Jacket Covering various aspects of World War II. Written by over 140 international contributors, the entries cover politics, strategy, weapons, logistics, economics, society, and more. The strategies, forces, battles, and campaigns, and the social, political, and economic environments in which they operated are explored from both sides of the conflict. In early 1942, the Axis powers dominated the Allied forces. Tobruk fell to Rommell in June and the Allies prepared to retreat to the Suez Canal. Disaster seemed immininent. But then began the battles that turned the tide against the Germans, the battles at El Almein. This text tells the story. The Battle of Alamein in 1942 was of enormous political and military significance. It brought a sense of victory to Britain grown weary from defeat. As well as providing an overview of the battle in its strategic context, Jon Latimer draws on the experience of the men who fought. E. Bauer ; General Editor, Peter Young ; Consultants, James L. Collins, Jr., Correlli Barnett. This Revised And Updated Edition Is Based On Material Previously Published As Part Of The Reference Set World War Ii--t.p. Verso. Includes Index. Aachen, German city situated close to the Dutch and Belgian borders, the scene of the first major battle fought by *Eisenhower's forces on German soil during the fighting which began the battle for *Germany. The desert battle between the Afrika Korps and the British 8th Army that changed the course of World War II; a classic narrative by a decorated British combat commander. Ian W. Walker. Includes Bibliographical Reference (p. 203-205) And Index.