SURNAME 1

Student’s Name

Instructor’s Name

Course

Date

North African Campaigns

Many reasons led to the North African Campaign. A NEW ZEALAND HISTORY argues

that El Alamein's second battle, which commenced in late1942, was the North African

Campaign’s turning point. Besides, between 1940 and 1943, Commonwealth and British forces,

along with contingents from invaded European nations and the U.S., fought a final fruitful

campaign to free North Africa of Italian as well as German troops. This paper discusses the

North African Campaign.

The second World War North African Campaign, according to

Courses.lumenlearning.com, happened in North Africa from mid-1940 to early 1943. As we note

from the website, it comprised operations fought in the Egyptian as well as Libyan deserts in

Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria (Courses.lumenlearning.com n.p). The drive was fought between

the Axis supremacies and Allies who had foreign concerns in Africa as early as the nineteenth

century. British Commonwealth and refugees from German-occupied Europe dominated the

Allied combat struggle. America invaded the fight in late 1941 and commenced direct military

aid in North Africa in mid-1942 (Courses.lumenlearning.com n.p).

Besides, according to ZABECKI, the effort to dominate North Africa commenced in late

1935, after the invasion of Italy to Ethiopia from its colony, Italian Somaliland. As the author

argues, that activity made Egypt suspicious of Italy’s imperialistic ambitions. In response, the

Egyptians permitted Britain to position relatively massive troops in their land. Moreover, France
 SURNAME 2

and Britain came to an agreement to divide the obligation for preserving marine regulation of the

Mediterranean, whereby the core British base was stationed at Alexandria, Egypt (ZABECK

n.p).

If the Italians never backed up any side, British entrance to the essential sea territory

would remain almost certain. However, if Italy supported Germany, the influential Italian

merchant marine had the ability to shut down the Mediterranean. Since the navy’s key station

was at Taranto within southern Italy, undertakings would be reinforced by Italian army units

hovering from bases within Sardinia together with Sicily. Italy remained neutral after Germany

attacked Poland in late 1939 (ZABECK n.p). Nevertheless, when Germany declared war on

France in mid-1940, Benito Mussolini could never resist the prospect of benefitting himself. A

few days following the British withdrawal at Dunkirk, France, Italy invaded France and Britain.

Italy benefitted from a significant gain over Britain in the theater of Mediterranean

operations. In mid-1939, sir Andrew Cunningham's Mediterranean Navy had only forty-five war

vessels, contrary to the Italian fleet’s hundred and eighty-three (ZABECK n.p). According to the

author, the Italians held a considerable edge in submarines, with hundred and eight against

Cunningham’s twelve. The French submission in mid-1940 positioned the whole problem of

monitoring the Mediterranean Sea lanes as the author notes on the Royal Fleet.

Operation Torch in late 1942 was an agreement campaign that fulfilled the British goal of

safeguarding triumph in North Africa while letting American soldiers have the chance to

undertake the war counter to Nazi Germany on a small scale (ZABECK n.p). As the Soviet

Union’s leader, Joseph Stalin, pressurized a second Front to engage the Wehrmacht to help the

Red Army, it offered some relief for the Red Army on the Eastern Front by directing Axis troops

to the African theater, where they tried and destroyed them there.
 SURNAME 3

As the author notes, information collected through British Ultra code-breaking

intelligence demonstrated vital to Allied victory in North Africa. Success for the Allies in this

operation resulted in the Italian Campaign that ended in the collapse of the fascist administration

in Italy and the eradication of a German partner.

Situations in the desert were unwelcome because cold nights and intense daytime

temperatures negatively affected the armed forces in front positions. Besides, sandstorms were

often disasters while shellfire and dust enclosed everything. Shortage of clean water and

availability of flies was a continuous source of irritation. These flies frustrated soldiers because

they landed on their sweaty clothes and lips in search of moisture. They even never gave the

troops humble time throughout the day since they settled on their drinks and food. Moreover,

although mosquitoes were not widespread, they were destructive because some led to a malaria

outbreak.

As ZABECK asserts, New Zealanders were slightly concerned in the first British

campaigns, which chased the Italians from Egypt in early 1940. As the cruiser HMNZS

commander guarded the Indian Ocean, the New Zealand air force served in naval units together

with British air within the Mediterranean theatre. While British troops were crushing the Italians

in Abyssinia, the Deutsches Afrika Korps units started landing in Libya. Additionally, the second

New Zealand Division left Greece in early 1941 (ZABECK n.p). These campaigns guaranteed

that the fight for North Africa would be an extensive operation. Operation Crusader resulted in

Rommel crushing the British armor, thus inflicting substantial damages on the Infantry. In spite

of these strategic achievements, the lack of resources and weapons forced Lieutenant Erwin

Rommel to back off to El Agheila; thus, he left the combat zone to the injured British eighth

Armed forces, who managed to liberate Tobruk (ZABECK n.p).

Freyberg's soldiers were victorious in their initial desert confrontation. The New

Zealanders progressed toward the shoreline while German as well as British armored vehicles

matched further south. The army commanders released The New Zealand Division to attack

varying regions. The fifth (NZ) Brigade attacked the opponent garrison at Sollum, the sixth (NZ)

Brigade covered the Sidi Rezegh escarpment, while the fourth (NZ) Brigade was dispersed to the

north to cover Bardia (ZABECK n.p). Later that year, the sixth Brigade was heavily resulting in

casualties as they attempted to isolate Point 175, while the twenty-fifth Battalion lost hundreds of

armed men to the fight.

According to the author, after the Operational Crusader, the New Zealanders returned to

Egypt. This combat was their worst since they had suffered more than eight hundred deaths

while around eighteen hundred troops were wounded. With the New Zealand administration's

persistence, the New Zealanders’ armed men relocated to Syria in early 1942 to recover.

Victoria and Richa argue that, Benito Mussolini longed for more territory when he heard

about Adolf Hitler's unbelievable overthrows. In late 1940, Benito Mussolini sent a section of

armed forces to capture the Suez Canal in Egypt, a region owned by Britain. Although the British

suffered two thousand casualties, they captured more than 133,000 individuals (Victoria and

Richa n.p). Afterward, British armed forces chased Italian troops into Libya, where they seized

the Benghazi and Tobruk's important port cities in early 1941. Adolf Hitler struggled to aid

Mussolini in getting better by sending Lieutenant Erwin Rommel in early 1941 to lead the Afrika

Korps (Victoria and Richa n.p). According to the authors, Armored tanks were helpful in

fighting in the deserts. In mid-1941, Lieutenant Erwin Rommel drove Indian, British, as well as

Australian armed men back into Egypt.

Lieutenant Erwin Rommel, as we learn from HISTORY.COM EDITORS, was a German

military officer who was promoted to the field marshal rank, thus earning local and overseas’

recognition for his Germany's Afrika Korp's leadership in North Africa throughout the Second

World War. Baptized “the Desert Fox,” this officer of a rank even instructed German troops

contrary to the Allied northern France raid. Following the implication of a plan to

eliminate Adolf Hitler, Lieutenant Erwin Rommel committed suicide in late 1944

(HISTORY.COM EDITORS n.p).

Additionally, Victoria and Richa maintain that, the British later restructured as the 8th

Army hit back the Afrika Korps’s attack, making them flee to Libya in early 1942. Nevertheless,

in mid-1942, Lieutenant Erwin Rommel seized Tobruk and commanded the Afrika Korps into

Egypt to search for the Suez Canal’s benefits. In late 1942, President Roosevelt requested the

launch of Operation Torch, French North Africa, before late 1942 (Victoria and Richa n.p). Later

that year, Operation Torch commenced after the 650 naval vessels ferried about 90,000

American armed men and approximately 24,000 British soldiers to three diverse French, Algeria,

and Morocco (Victoria and Richa n.p).

The attacking Army in Algeria was primarily British, although an American led it.

Following the fall of France in mid-1940, British soldiers attempted to crash the French convoy

to weaken Adolf Hitler. Thus, relationships between the French and British were tense. The

France Marshal, French general Alphonse Juin, who commanded Algeria, conceded defeat in

late 1842, ensuring the Allies the Mediterranean Sea dominance (Victoria and Richa n.p). The

Americans stretched eastward, aiming to connect with the British eighth Infantry. Although

anticipations for a simple triumph increased, in early 1943, the British eighth Infantry confronted

the veteran German Afrika Korps that Lieutenant Erwin Rommel led. At Kasserine Pass within
 SURNAME 6

Tunisia, the initial key battlefield comprising American ground troops, Eisenhower implemented

his command system by substituting nonproductive lieutenants with violent commanders such as

General Patton (Victoria and Richa n.p).

The American Navy conquered French territories. Resident-Lieutenant August Nogues

instructed a determined Casablanca region security on the Moroccan shoreline. In the port, the

French combat ships raided the attacking navy. The American soldiers sunk three submarines

and numerous yachts, and destructive force. Besides, dogfights intensified among French

battalions and the American Wildcats. As the authors note, lieutenant George S. Patton enclosed

the town with armored tanks. Later that year, the French submitted to the Allies. In mid-1943,

the Allies destroyed Axis supremacy in North Africa, took thousands of detainees, and initiated

arrangements for invading Sicily (Victoria and Richa n.p).  

Besides, the Tunisian Campaign commenced with the Allies arriving in eastern Tunisia in

early 1943 and invading German soldiers at Gafsa in West Central Tunisia. After a month, the

British eighth Infantry entered Tunisia from Libya. Erwin Rommel, German Lieutenant, tried to

stop the Allies with defensive tactics since he experienced a shortage of supplies. Although the

Axis army was less, Italian and German armed men routed the United States II Corps at the

Kasserine Pass (Victoria and Richa n.p). The Allies drove the Axis fleet to the North Tunisia

coastline. In mid-1943, the British seventh Armored Division seized Tunis, while the America

second Army Corps seized Bizerte. After some days, the Axis militaries surrendered, resulting in

about three hundred Italian and German troops soldiers becoming war prisoners. 

The paper has argued that the effort to dominate North Africa commenced in late 1935,

after the invasion of Italy to Ethiopia from its colony, Italian Somaliland. However, the second

World War North African Campaign happened in North Africa from mid-1940 to early 1943.
 SURNAME 7

Operation Torch in late 1942 was an agreement campaign that fulfilled the British goal of

safeguarding triumph in North Africa while letting American soldiers have the chance to

undertake the war counter to Nazi Germany on a small scale. Situations in the desert were

unwelcome because cold nights and intense daytime temperatures negatively affected the armed

forces in front positions.

Works Cited

Courses.Lumenlearning.Com. History of Western Civilization II,

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory2/chapter/the-north-african-front/

HISTORY.COM EDITORS. Erwin Rommel, 7 Jan. 2022,

www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/erwin-rommel.

New Zealand History. The North African Campaign, Nzhistory.govt.nz, 13 Jan. 2016,

https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/the-north-african-campaign/background

Victoria N., and Richa B. THE WESTERN DESERT CAMPAIGN/THE DESERT WAR,

Northafricacampaigntnrb.weebly.com,

https://northafricacampaigntnrb.weebly.com/major-battles.html

ZABECKI, DAVID T. HOW NORTH AFRICA BECAME A BATTLEGROUND IN WORLD

WAR II, ww.historynet.com, 6 Dec.2006,

https://www.historynet.com/how-north-africa-became-a-battleground-in-world-war-ii/