British in North Africa

In June 1940, the British position seemed almost hopeless. France had fallen to

the German Blitzkrieg, the German Air-force, the Luftwaffe was about to begin the

bombing campaign that would decimate large parts of London and south east England,

and the British had no allies outside the commonwealth. It seemed that the only place

where the British could really fight the Axis was in North Africa; could battle the

Italian soldiers and try to gain control of the southern Mediterranean coastline. It would

soon turn out that this campaign would have immense importance for the British and their

allies. There were numerous major battles in this African campaign and these generally

created a major turnaround not only in the African campaign, but in the war effort in

general.

Northern Africa and the Middle East were quickly becoming very important

centers for the British and it seemed as though it were the place where they could fight

and defeat their enemies. The Middle East was important because of the vast amount of

oil contained there. The British needed this oil to assist them in their war effort and it was

certainly not something that they could afford to lose to the Axis. The Suez Canal was

also of somewhat importance for the British; it was a vital shipping lane for moving

materials through to the British in India and the Pacific. Although, because the

Mediterranean was more or less closed to shipping at this time, it was of less importance,

but still definitely something that could not fall into the hands of the Germans.

The British Territories were important for several reasons. Egypt was of course

quite important, not just the Suez Canal, but also Alexandria, the home of the eastern

Mediterranean fleet. The Nile Delta was also very important because it supplied large

amounts of cotton and wheat; again this was something that could not be allowed to fall

into German hands.

The African territories were of course important but there were several other

reasons why this was chose as a battle ground for the British. The British were being

bombed by the Luftwaffe through the summer months of 1940 and it was becoming

increasingly more important for the British to fight the enemy. There was a desperate need for a military victory to raise the morale for the British people. Africa seemed to be the logical choice for this battle because that was where the Axis was weakest. Hitler did not feel that Africa was that important so he left it to his weaker allies, the Italians. "the Mediterranean was a theatre where the British could strike blows at the Axis". Victories in Africa would also be important for the future of the war effort. If the British could control the African coastline then it would not only provide important protection for the allied shipping in that area, but it would also be an important "jump-off" point to secure Malta and Sicily, which could be used to harass the Italian mainland. The Sicilian air-fields would be of tremendous importance because it would allow the Allies to fly

many sorties into Italian territory, and hopefully reduce the Italian enthusiasm for war, which was already quite low. The Americans too, were also in favor of taking the Axis out of Africa. They felt that if the Germans were successful in taking Northern Africa they would have more of an open range through the Atlantic, and could become involved in Latin America.

There was also the issue of French North Africa. When the Germans invaded and conquered France, a pro-German government was established at Vichy in the south of France. The Vichy government remained in control of a large part of the country and its territories, indulging those in North Africa. It was a hope of the Allies that the French in theses areas might rise up against the Germans and join the British. This was important to the Allies, and it was a major reason for the Americans landing in French territories during the Operation Torch, December 1943. It was believed that the French would welcome the Americans more than they would the British. The French in Morocco and Algeria did eventually join the Allies, but not until they were invaded in November 1943.

On the 10th of June 1940, the battle for North America began when Italy declared war on the United Kingdom. The Italian army quickly moved from their positions in Libya and began to invade Egypt, but once the British had stopped the initial Italian assault it became time for the Allies to take the offensive. The British forces quickly began to attack the Italian position, by December 15, the Italians were pushed out of Egypt and the British army continued to roll. The important port of Bardia fell on January 3, 1941; they continued to march and captured Tobruk on the 22, Derna on the 30th and Benghazi on February 6. In two months the British division had advanced five hundreds miles, routing an enemy of ten division; total British and Australian casualties numbered 2,000, but 130,000 enemy soldiers had been captured, and nearly 400 tanks and over 800guns had been taken or destroyed.

With these quick victories the British moral was exceptionally high, it looked as though the African campaign could be over in just a matter of months, but this was not to be the case. On January 11, Hitler issued War Directive No. 22 stating: "The situation in the Mediterranean area, where England is employing superior forces against our allies, requires Germany should assist." This ordered completely changed the complexion of this campaign, and even more was the arrival of one man. On February 12, 1941 Lieutenant-General