Afrika-Korps

Ian Baxter

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781844156832
• eBook ISBN: 9781783038107
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: 20th Century History
• Index: History

A pictorial history of the Nazi German army expeditionary force deployed to North Africa during World War II between 1941 and 1943.
Afrika-Korps is an illustrated record of Field-Marshal Erwin Rommel and his desert troops that fought in North Africa against British and Commonwealth forces between 1941 and 1943. Using previously rare and unpublished photographs, many of which have come from the albums of individuals who took part in the desert campaign, it presents a unique visual account of the famous Afrika-Korps operations and equipment. Thanks to an informative caption with every photograph Afrika Korps vividly portrays how the German Army fought across the uncharted and forbidding desert wilderness of North Africa. Throughout the book it examines how Rommel and his Afrika Korps were so successful and includes an analysis of desert war tactics which Rommel himself had indoctrinated. These tactics quickly won the Afrika-Korps a string of victories between 1941 and 1942. The photographs that accompany the book are a fascinating collection that depicts life in the Afrika-Korps, as seen through the lens of the ordinary soldier.

Chapter One

Afrika-Korps Arrival

By the time that the order came through from Berlin to the German military command in late 1940 there had been no thorough preparations to send German troops to North Africa. Nonetheless the Germans soon got down to detailed planning. There was a large selection of all troops deemed medically fit to fight in the desert. Masses of equipment and tropical uniforms, together with a variety of vehicles camouflaged with sand paint, were quickly readied for North Africa. Training programmes too were distributed among the new troops, which included subjects such as operating in extreme heat across vast areas of terrain and coping with the harsh conditions. There was even a section that dealt with field hygiene and water discipline.

Once the new Afrika-Korps were prepared for operations in North Africa the first part of the journey for the men was normally overland to Italy and then they were transported either by air or by sea. Most troops, during the initial stages of arrival in the port of Tripoli, were transported by sea, but when shipping losses increased, all transport was eventually carried out by air only.

On 14 February 1941 the first troops of the elite Afrika-Korps sailed into the port of Tripoli. That night thousands of tons of equipment, ranging from guns and armoured vehicles to tents and mosquito netting, were unloaded off onto the floodlit dockside in spite of the risk of an aerial attack.

The next day a military parade was held in the town watched by bewildered groups of Arabs and Italians. Under the baking African sun the vanguard of the Afrika-Korps, clad in their new tropical uniforms with pith helmets, marched flawlessly passed the government house, with General Erwin Rommel and a group of Italian generals standing by his side taking the salute. This would be the first of many such military parades as the build-up of German soldiers increased.

Over the next days and weeks, further ships and aircraft brought more fresh men and equipment and disembarked with the usual propaganda parade. With crowds cheering and the German and Italian national anthems playing, the main roads through the Libyan capital were brought to life by the spectacle of endless columns of rattling German tanks of the 5th Light and 3rd Panzer Regiments. To the waving spectators there seemed no end to this armoured military might, for Rommel had in fact cleverly ordered the tanks to drive around the block to give the impression of a large army. He was determined, telling the Panzer Regiments’ officers that until the rest of the force arrived, they were to ‘bluff’ their way into North Africa, and not show the enemy their weakness. To add to this measure of deception he had ordered his troops to build hundreds of dummy tanks, constructed out of plywood and canvas, in order to fool air reconnaissance. Out in the desert this so called ‘staged army’ was surrounded by real trucks and motorcyclists driving in and around them, with real tanks churning tracks across the sand for enemy planes to spot them and take photographs.

Almost none of the soldiers had actually fought in the desert before, and many of them did not really know what to expect. For any soldier fighting in North Africa, conditions would not be very favourable. They would have to endure the enormous distances which they had to travel especially during the scorching days and chilling nights, and would be subjected to frequent blinding sandstorms. To make matters worse they not only had to trudge through this open wilderness, naked to the enemy, but they had the hazards of the desert sand-choking valuable machines and equipment. They also had to contend with the rarity of water, and the great strain on vehicles from wear and tear.

The terrain factor for the newly arrived Afrika-Korps was not considered very favourable, especially under battle conditions. Immediately though, General Rommel set to work from his headquarters in Tripoli and made good use of what he had at his disposal. The lack of terrain obstacles and the supply difficulties were all taken into consideration. Unlike in Poland and Western Europe Rommel was totally aware that, with the exception of a few isolated fortified localities in towns and villages, there were no long defensive lines that existed which he could probe to find weak spots for penetration and exploitation. However, Rommel had earned his reputation against France as a great tactician, and now in North Africa would use the same rough principles with his new Panzer force to destroy the enemy using tried and tested Blitzkrieg tactics. Rommel planned to use his force to advance across the desert in several columns, with the Panzers being concentrated in one or two columns. A battalion of 70 or 80 tanks were to use a ‘V’ formation with two companies leading and one in reserve. Across the desert the tank battalion would be used in short rushes, taking full advantage of the terrain, with lines of spaced out Panzers advancing quickly in waves. Both field artillery and anti-tank guns were to be kept in close support of the advancing armour and were used to protect the flanks and keep open the spearhead.

In spite of Rommel’s methodical planning...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Photographic Acknowledgements
• The Author
• Chapter One: Afrika-Korps Arrival
• Chapter Two: Rommel as Commander
• Chapter Three: Desert War Unleashed 1941
• Chapter Four: Year of Decision 1942
• Chapter Five: Defeat in the Desert
• Chapter Six: Afrika-Korps Uniforms
• Chapter Seven: Order of Battle