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North Africa campaigns
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Map showing the British and Axis military campaigns in North Africa during World War II, with labeled troop movements, key battles, and shifting front lines from Egypt across Libya to Tunisia along the Mediterranean coast. The map includes arrows and dates marking advances and retreats by both sides, and highlights major turning points and defensive lines. Erwin Rommel in military uniform, seen from behind, stands with other soldiers reviewing a battlefield with wrecked vehicles and debris near Tobruk, Libya, around 1941.
Track the League of Nations' continual failure to check via diplomacy the Axis powers' pre-World War II rise
Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell Black-and-white map of Africa dated December 31, 1941, showing colonial possessions and military occupations during World War II. The map uses different shading patterns to indicate territories controlled by Italy, Britain, France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, and independent countries, as well as areas under British or Free French occupation. Country and colonial names such as French West Africa, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Belgian Congo, and Union of South Africa are labeled. “Rats of Tobruk” “Rats of Tobruk” Thousands of Italian prisoners of war in uniform stand closely packed in an open area in North Africa during World War II. Black and white map showing the African campaigns of 1942 during World War II, with military movements and battle locations marked across North Africa from Morocco and Algeria through Libya and Egypt. The map includes the Mediterranean Sea and surrounding countries, with arrows and shaded lines indicating British and Allied advances, Axis advances, and areas of fighting. A legend at the lower left explains the campaign phases. Sir Alan Gordon Cunningham
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Germany invades Poland, September 1, 1939, using 45 German divisions and aerial attack. By September 20, only Warsaw held out, but final surrender came on September 29.
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Louis IX of France (St. Louis), stained glass window of Louis IX during the Crusades. (Unknown location.)
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North Africa campaigns: References & Edit History

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • Basil Liddell Hart
  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

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  • Stig-Ake Persson

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Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Anniversary information added. May 06, 2026
Add new Web site: HistoryNet - How North Africa Became a Battleground in World War II. Mar 13, 2026
Add new Web site: Warfare History Network - North African Campaign: WWII's Ultimate War of Logistics. Jan 30, 2026
Add new Web site: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Holocaust Encyclopedia - Allied Military Operations in North Africa. Dec 18, 2025
Add new Web site: United States History - North African Campaign. Oct 06, 2025
Add new Web site: The National WWII Museum - The US Invasion of North Africa. Jul 03, 2025
Add new Web site: History of War - North African Campaign (1940-1943). May 06, 2025
Corrected caption in photo of George Patton. Jul 02, 2024
Add new Web site: National Army Museum - The struggle for North Africa, 1940-43. Mar 05, 2024
Maps added. Nov 18, 2020
Media added. Apr 16, 2018
Media added. Nov 21, 2017
Added mention of the Long Range Desert Group. Sep 10, 2015
Article thoroughly revised. Sep 10, 2015
Add new Web site: New Zealand History - The North African Campaign. Jun 08, 2012
Add new Web site: United States History - North African Campaign. Jun 08, 2012
New article added. Mar 25, 2009
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