The War Without Hate

1. The War Without Hate Hamilton Cook June 10,1940 – May 16, 1943

2. Timeline • September 13, 1940- Italians invade Egypt • February 9, 1941- British offensive stops after pushing the Italians back a third of the way into Libya. • March 24, 1941- Axis forces now under the command of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel counterattack and reach Egypt by April 15. • November 18, 1941- The British 8th army counterattacks and once again reaches El Agheila by January 1942.

3. Timeline • January 21, 1942- The Axis retaliation forces the British back and the city of Tobruk, a British stronghold is captured on June 21. • July 1-27, 1942- The Axis advance on Cairo is stopped at the First Battle of El Alamein. • October 23 – November 4, 1942- British forces crush the Germans and Italians at the Second Battle of El Alamein. • November 8, 1942- Operation Torch begins • February 14, 1943- Rommel inflicts heavy casualties on the Americans at the Battle of Kasserine Pass. • May 13, 1943- Axis forces in Tunisia surrender, ending the campaign.

4. Causes • Germany and Russia invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 thus beginning World War II. • After defeating Poland, Germany turned to the west and conquered France with some assistance from Italy. German troops marching in Warsaw Poland.

5. Causes of North African Campaign • Mussolini saw the Mediterranean as an Italian lake. • He therefore sent an army to the Italian colony of Libya to start the attack on the Allies.

6. Strategic Importance • The Axis powers were attempting to gain control of Africa so they could strike at the oil fields in the Middle East and eventually open a second front against the Soviet Union. • The Allies were attempting to stop the Axis advance, pull pressure off of the Soviet Union, and allow for the opening of a second European front.

7. Armies • Primary Allied Forces • British 8th army • 6 American divisions • Primary Axis Forces • German Afrika Korps • Miscellaneous Italian forces

8. Allied Commanders • American General Dwight E. Eisenhower • American General George Patton • British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery General Eisenhower General Patton Field Marshal Montgomery

9. Axis Commander • The primary commander of Axis forces in North Africa was Erwin Rommel. • After serving with valor in World War I, Rommel was ordered to assist the Italians by Hitler. • Due to his stunning military victories he was given the nickname the “Desert Fox”. • He killed himself after being implicated in a plot to kill Hitler. • Even to this day, he is still remembered as one of the greatest generals of all time. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel

10. Allied Infantry Weapons of War • M1 Garand • M1 Carbine • Thompson Sub-machine gun • Browning Automatic Rifle • Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifle • Pistols • Various machine guns • Bazookas • Grenades Browning Automatic Rifle M1 Garand

11. Axis Infantry Weapons of War • Gewehr 41 • Kar98k • MG 34 • MG 42 • MP 40 • Lugar and other pistols • Grenades Kar98k Lugar

12. Tanks and notable support weapons • Allied • M3 General Lee medium tank • M3 General Grant medium tank • M4 Sherman medium tank • Crusader cruiser tank • Axis • Panzer III • Panzer IV • 88mm flak gun Sherman tank Panzer III

13. First Strike • On the 13th of September 1940, the 200,000 soldiers of the Italian 10th army invaded British-Egypt from Libya. • The Italian army advanced into Egypt and reached the town of Sidi Barrani, but halted due to lack of intelligence about the British army.

14. Allied Retaliation • After this, the British forces in the area, although they were one-sixth of the Italians size retaliated against the Italians in Operation Compass. • The British forced the surrender of the entire 10th army and were able to advance almost a third of the way into Libya.

15. The Coming of the Fox • The Germans quickly sent the Afrika Korps under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel to assist the Italians against the British. • Although he was ordered to just prevent the British from advancing any farther, Rommel took his troops on the offensive and was able to push the British back passed the Italian’s farthest point of advance.

16. We’re Back to Where We Started! • After reaching the city of Salum, both sides stopped and waited. • This allowed the British to reorganize their forces into the 8th Army. • Rommel, however, received few reinforcements • Now the British were able to counterattack and force the Axis back to the city of El Agheila once again.

17. Rommel’s Finest Hour • An Axis convoy’s arrival allowed Rommel to counterattack on January 21, 1942. • En route to Egypt, the Afrika Korps finally recaptured the city of Tobruk on June 21, 1942, which the British had captured during their first invasion of Libya and they were able to hold it until they were • They pushed the British back to the city of El Alamein and coming close to capturing Cairo itself before the desperate British were able to halt them during the month of July in the First battle of El Alamein.

18. Build-up to El Alamein • El Alamein is located about 100 miles west of Alexandria, so this was the British last hope. • Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery had been appointed to the command of the British 8th army. • In the three months between the battles of first and second El Alamein the British were able to gain a two-to-one advantage against the Axis powers. • In addition, the British made tank look like supple vehicles to trick the Germans into thinking they would attack elsewhere. • Meanwhile, Rommel had mined a huge expanse of the battlefield with almost 500,000 mines.

19. The Battle of El Alamein • The battle opened with twenty minutes of artillery bombardment by about 900 guns. • This was followed by infantry advance across the minefield to clear lanes for the tanks. • After the attack stalled out, a strike to the north front of that resulted in huge casualties on both sides. • As a result, the British launched Operation Supercharge that decimated Rommel’s tank groups and forced them into retreat.

20. El Alamein References • “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” • “Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat.” • Both quotes are by Winston Churchill. The first was in his speech after the battle, and the second was written in the Hinge of Fate.

21. Operation Torch • With the British advancing rapidly against Rommel after the Battle of El Alamein, the Allies conducted amphibious landings on the Western Coast of Africa to surround the Axis. • General Dwight D. Eisenhower was chosen to command the invasion force mainly due to the fact that the occupied French might still be mad at the British due to the latter’s sinking of French ships to prevent them falling into German hands. • Casualties were relatively light due to eventual Vichy French defection to the Allies.

22. Map of Operation Torch

23. The Final Push • By November 1942, the Germans and Italians had been pushed back to Tunisia but had not yet been completely defeated. • After Rommel defeated the American Second Corps twice, George S. Patton was given command of the Corps. • Between him and Field Marshal Montgomery the Axis now had their backs to the sea with no room to maneuver and few supplies. • However, Rommel was able to still inflict heavy casualties on the Americans at the Battle of Kasserine Pass while receiving few in return.

24. Victory!! • The Germans and Italians in North Africa surrendered on May 13, 1943 resulting in over a quarter of a million Prisoners of War being taken. • In addition, Allied sea and air power resulted in only about 600 Axis troops escaped.

25. Consequences • The victory in North Africa resulted in the Suez canal remaining in Allied hands and the oil fields of the Middle East not falling into Axis hands. • The victory in North Africa allowed for the invasion of Italy which forced the Italian surrender and pulled German troops away from the Eastern front, helping the Soviet’s defense against the Germans.

26. Bibliography • Stratton, Molly, ed. The New Grolier Encyclopedia of World War II. Vol. 2. Danbury: Grolier Company, 1995. • Rice, Earle. Erwin J. E. Rommel. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2004. • "North Africa Campaign." Wikipedia. 3 Dec. 2007. Wikimedia. 3 Dec. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_African_Campaign>. • "North Africa Campaign Map." BBC. 3 Dec. 2007 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/launch_ani_north_africa_campaign.shtml>. • "The Battle of El Alamein." History Learning Site. 3 Dec. 2007 <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_el_alamein.htm>.

27. The End