Battle of North Africa | PART 2 | WW2 Documentary on the North African Campaign 1942-1943

• published: 26 Sep 2014
• views: 12

►My channel: http://youtube.com/TheBestFilmArchives ►SUBSCRIBE: http://www.youtube.com/TheBestFilmArchives?sub_confirmation=1 ►Google+: http://plus.google.com/+TheBestFilmArchives ►Facebook: http://facebook.com/TheBestFilmArchives ►Twitter: http://twitter.com/BestFilmArch It is a two-part documentary film about the military campaigns in North Africa during World War 2. In this part we continue the story of the battle of North Africa following the bitter battle of El Alamein till the complete defeat of the German and Italian forces in Tunisia. Battle of North Africa | PART 2 | WW2 Documentary on the North African Campaign 1942-1943 About the North African Campaign: During the Second World War, the North African Campaign 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, aka 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 United States entered the war in 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 forces crossed the border from Egypt into Libya and captured the Italian Fort Capuzzo. This was followed by an Italian counteroffensive into Egypt and the capture of Sidi Barrani in September 1940 and then in December 1940 by a Commonwealth counteroffensive, Operation Compass. During Operation Compass, the Italian 10th Army was destroyed. Following the Italian failure, the German Afrika Korps - commanded by Erwin Rommel, aka the Desert Fox - was dispatched to North Africa during Operation Sonnenblume to reinforce Italian forces in order to prevent a complete Axis defeat. The Africa Korps contained some of Hitler's finest soldiers and newly designed battle tanks. In March 1941, Rommel attacked the Allies in Libya. By May 1941, they had been pushed back into Egypt and only Tobruk held out against Rommel. A see-saw series of battles for control of Libya and parts of Egypt followed, reaching a climax in the Second Battle of El Alamein when British Commonwealth forces under the command of General Bernard Montgomery delivered a decisive defeat to the Axis forces and pushed them back to Tunisia. After the late 1942 Allied Operation Torch landings in North-West Africa, and subsequent battles against Vichy France forces (who then changed sides), the Allies finally encircled Axis forces in northern Tunisia and forced their surrender. Operation Torch in November 1942 was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa while allowing American armed forces the opportunity to engage in the fight against Nazi Germany on a limited scale. In addition, as Josef Stalin had long been demanding a second front be opened to engage the Wehrmacht and relieve pressure on the Soviet armies. Victory for the Allies in this campaign immediately led to the Allied invasion of Sycily (Italian Campaign), which culminated in the downfall of the fascist government in Italy and the elimination of a German ally. About the Operation Torch and the Tunisia Campaign: Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa during the North African Campaign of the Second World War which started on 8 November 1942. In an attempt to pincer German and Italian forces, Allied forces (American and British Commonwealth), landed in Vichy-held French North Africa under the assumption that there would be little to no resistance. Nevertheless, Vichy French forces put up a strong and bloody resistance to Allied forces in Oran and Morocco. American, Vichy French and German navy vessels fought the Naval Battle of Casablanca, ending in a decisive American victory. The Allied landings prompted the Axis occupation of Vichy France (Case Anton), then the Vichy army in North Africa joined the Allies. Following the Operation Torch landings, the Germans and Italians initiated a buildup of troops in Tunisia to fill the vacuum left by Vichy troops which had withdrawn. During this period of weakness, the Allies decided against a rapid advance into Tunisia. Rommel was trapped between the British forces and the advancing American forces. The battle opened with initial success by the German and Italian forces against the mainly inexperienced French and U.S. corps, but the massive supply and numerical superiority of the Allies led to the Axis's complete defeat. Rommel wanted to evacuate troops before the inevitable happened but Hitler expressly forbade it. The Axis forces surrendered on 13 May 1943. Over 230,000 German and Italian troops were taken as prisoners of war, including most of the Afrika Korps. Rommel was flown out of North Africa.