The War in North Africa The fight for the Mediterranean 1941-1943 World History Mr. Meester

Vocabulary Erwin Rommel George Patton Battle of El Alamein

The War in North Africa After failing to take Britain, Hitler attempted the “Mediterranean Strategy”. The idea was to capture the Suez Canal and cut-off the Allies’ oil supply. The Axis forces were made up of mainly Italian troops, Hitler sent the Africa Corp & his best General.

Early Axis Success That General was the military genius, Erwin Rommel. He dominated the British early on during the war in Africa. The British nicknamed him the “Desert Fox” for his brilliant tank maneuvers.

The Tide Begins to Turn The British had greater success against the Italian army. In 1942 the U.S. finally entered the war, and sent troops to West Africa. U.S. General George S. Patton would give Rommel and the Africa Corp more of a fight.

The Battle of El Alamein British and German troops met outside Alexandria, Egypt at El Alamein. The British Army, under the command of General Montgomery, was victorious. Montgomery then began push the Axis army back across Africa. By January, 1943, the Axis army had been driven west over 1,400 miles.

General Montgomery

The Axis Trapped Meanwhile, U.S. and British troops in French Morocco and Algeria and pushed eastward. Squeezed from both sides, over 250,000 German and Italian troops surrendered in May, 1943. Rommel had been recalled back to Germany before he could be captured.

Allies Look Towards Europe All of Africa was now free. The Americans had entered the war. The Soviets were stopping the Germans in Russia. The Allies could now focus on invading & retaking Europe.