North Africa 1940–43

North African Campaign
Part of the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II
A British Crusader tank passes a burning German Pz.Kpfw.IV tank during Operation Crusader, 27 November 1941.
Date 10 June 1940 – 13 May 1943 (2 years, 11 months and 3 days) Location Italian Libya Kingdom of Egypt French Algeria / Tunisia / Morocco Result Allied victory Territorial changes Surrender of all Axis forces in North Africa Fall of Italian Libya
Belligerents
Allies British Commonwealth  United Kingdom  India  Southern Rhodesia  Australia  Canada  New Zealand  South Africa  United States  Free France Algeria Tunisia Morocco Poland Czechoslovak Legions  Greece	Axis  Italy Libya  Germany  Japan  Vichy France Algeria Tunisia Morocco
Commanders and leaders
Harold Alexander Claude Auchinleck Archibald Wavell Bernard Montgomery Dwight D. Eisenhower George S. Patton François Darlan † Władysław Anders	Italo Balbo  † Rodolfo Graziani Italo Gariboldi Ugo Cavallero Ettore Bastico Pietro Badoglio Giovanni Messe  Erwin Rommel Hans-J. von Arnim  Adolf Hitler François Darlan †
Casualties and losses
British  Commonwealth Estimated 220,000 dead, wounded, missing and captured, including 35,478 confirmed dead. Free French 16,000 killed, wounded and missing. United States 2,715 killed; 8,978 wounded; 6,528 missing. Principal material losses 1,400 aircraft destroyed; 2,000 tanks destroyed.	Italy 22,341 dead or missing; 250,000–350,000 captured Germany 18,594 dead; 3,400 missing; 130,000 captured. Vichy France 1,346 dead; 1,997 wounded. Principal material losses 8,000 aircraft destroyed; 6,200 guns, 2,550 tanks and 70,000 trucks destroyed or captured. 2,400,000 gross tons of supplies

Allies

Axis

The North African Campaign of the Second World War took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert Campaign, also known as the Desert War) and in Morocco and Algeria (Operation Torch) and Tunisia (Tunisia Campaign).

The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had colonial interests in Africa dating from the late 19th century. The Allied war effort was dominated by the British Commonwealth and exiles from German-occupied Europe. The United States entered the war in December 1941 and began direct military assistance in North Africa on 11 May 1942.

Fighting in North Africa started with the Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940. On 14 June, the British Army's 11th Hussars (assisted by elements of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment, 1st RTR) crossed the border from Egypt into Libya and captured the Italian Fort Capuzzo. This was followed by an Italian counter-offensive into Egypt and the capture of Sidi Barrani in September 1940 and again in December 1940 following a British Commonwealth counteroffensive, Operation Compass. During Operation Compass, the Italian 10th Army was destroyed and the German Afrika Korps—commanded by Erwin Rommel, who later became known as "The Desert Fox"—was dispatched to North Africa in February 1941 during Operation Sonnenblume to reinforce Italian forces in order to prevent a complete Axis defeat.