Battle of North Africa | PART 1 | WW2 Documentary on the North African Campaign 1940-1942

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• published: 25 Sep 2014
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►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. This part covers the Western Desert Campaign. It begins with the destruction of the French fleet in Oran in June 1940 and concludes with General Montgomery’s bitter battle for El Alamein in 1942. Battle of North Africa | PART 1 | WW2 Documentary on the North African Campaign 1940-1942 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 Second Battle of El Alamein: The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) took place near the Egyptian coastal city of El Alamein. With the Allies victorious, it marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. It followed the First Battle of El Alamein, which had stalled the Axis advance into Egypt, after which, in August 1942, General Bernard Montgomery had taken command of the British Eighth Army, aka the Desert Rats. `Monty` took time to consolidate his forces and by October 1942 he had 230,000 men and 1400 tanks whereas Rommel had 80,000 men and 500 tanks. The Battle of El Alamein started on October 23rd 1942 with a massive bombardment of German lines by 800 big guns. This was followed by bombing by planes before the tanks were sent into battle. Rommel was forced to retreat under this devastating assault. This time he was not given the time to re-group his force as the Allies did not give him the time to do so. This victory turned the tide in the North African Campaign and ended the Axis threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal, and of gaining access to the Middle Eastern and Persian oil fields via North Africa. From a psychological perspective, Second El Alamein revived the morale of the Allies, being the first major offensive against the Axis since the start of the European war in 1939 in which the Western Allies had achieved a decisive victory.