As the number of
German troops committed to the
North African Campaign of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
grew from the initial commitment of a small corps, the
Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
developed a more elaborate command structure and placed the enlarged ''
Afrika Korps'', with
Italian units under this new German command and a succession of commands were created to manage
Axis forces in Africa:
* Panzer Group Africa, (, ) August 1941 – January 1942; German-Italian force
* Panzer Army Africa, (, ) January–October 1942
* German-Italian Panzer Army, (, ) October 1942 – February 1943
* Army Group Africa, (, ) February–May 1943
History
Panzer Group Africa
When the was formed on 11 January 1941 it was subordinated to the Italian chain of command in Africa. In the middle of 1941
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW, Armed Forces High Command) created a larger command structure in Africa, forming a new headquarters, Panzer Group Africa (, ). On 15 August 1941, Panzer Group Africa was activated with newly promoted
Erwin Rommel
Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...
in command. The Panzer Group controlled the and other units that were sent to Africa (notably the
90th Light Infantry Division), and the Italian X Corps and XX Corps.
Panzer Army Africa
Panzer Group Africa was renamed Panzer Army Africa (, ) on 30 January 1942. (A German Panzer group was an army-level headquarters. As the war progressed all of the Panzer groups were renamed Panzer Armies.)
German-Italian Panzer Army
Panzer Army Africa was renamed ''German-Italian Panzer Army (, ) in October 1942 during the long retreat after the defeat at the
Second Battle of El Alamein during the
Western Desert Campaign.
Army Group Africa
In February 1943, the headquarters was expanded and called Army Group Africa (, ) to manage the defence of
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
during the final stages of the
North African Campaign. Army Group Africa included the
German Fifth Panzer Army () and the Italian
1st Army First Army may refer to:
China
* New 1st Army, Republic of China
* First Field Army, a Communist Party of China unit in the Chinese Civil War
* 1st Group Army, People's Republic of China
Germany
* 1st Army (German Empire), a World War I field Army ...
. Command of the Army Group was turned over from
Rommel to
Hans-Jürgen von Arnim in March. He surrendered the Army Group on 13 May 1943, ending the Axis presence in Africa.
Order of battle
Throughout its existence, this headquarters controlled the and for most of its life it controlled a number of other German and Italian units as well. Not all German units in Africa subordinate to the , some were reserves for the Panzer Army and some were occasionally subordinated to Italian armies or corps. The following overview of its components is taken from ''lexikon-der-wehrmacht de'', with dates corrected (see references).
Panzer Group Africa (Rommel)
* As of September 1941: (during Rommel's first push into the
Western Desert)
**
**
X Army Corps
**
XX Army Corps
**
55th Infantry Division "Savona"
The 55th Infantry Division "Savona" ( it, 55ª Divisione di fanteria "Savona") was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. It was formed in April 1939 in Salerno and named after the city of Savona. Its men were drafted ...
Panzer Army Africa (Rommel)
* As of January 1942: (during Rommel's second push into the Western Desert)
**
**
X Army Corps
**
XX Army Corps
**
XXI Corpo
**
90th ''Leichte Afrika'' Division
** 55th Infantry Division "Savona"
* As of April 1942: (before and during the Gazala battles and the
Siege of Tobruk
The siege of Tobruk lasted for 241 days in 1941, after Axis forces advanced through Cyrenaica from El Agheila in Operation Sonnenblume against Allied forces in Libya, during the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) of the Second World War. ...
)
**
**
X Army Corps
**
XX Army Corps
**
XXI Army Corps
21 (twenty-one) is the natural number following 20 and preceding 22.
The current century is the 21st century AD, under the Gregorian calendar.
In mathematics
21 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 3 and 7, and a deficie ...
** German 90th ''Leichte Afrika'' Division
* As of August 1942: (in the lead up to the
Battle of Alam el Halfa)
**
**
X Army Corps
**
XX Army Corps
**
XXI Army Corps
21 (twenty-one) is the natural number following 20 and preceding 22.
The current century is the 21st century AD, under the Gregorian calendar.
In mathematics
21 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 3 and 7, and a deficie ...
**
133rd Armored Division "Littorio"
133rd Armored Division "Littorio" ( it, 133ª Divisione corazzata "Littorio") was an armored division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The division's name derives from the fasces ( it, Fascio littorio) carried by the lictors of ancie ...
German-Italian Panzer Army (Rommel)
* As of November 1942: (during the withdrawal from the Western Desert)
**
**
X Army Corps
**
XX Army Corps
**
XXI Army Corps
21 (twenty-one) is the natural number following 20 and preceding 22.
The current century is the 21st century AD, under the Gregorian calendar.
In mathematics
21 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 3 and 7, and a deficie ...
** German 90th ''Leichte Afrika'' Division
**
17th Infantry Division "Pavia"
The 17th Infantry Division "Pavia" ( it, 17ª Divisione di fanteria "Pavia") was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Pavia was formed in on 27 April 1939 and named after the city of Pavia. The Pavia was classif ...
**
136th Armored Division "Giovani Fascisti"
The 136th Armored Division "Giovani Fascisti" ( it, 136ª Divisione corazzata "Giovani Fascisti") was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II.
History
The division was never fully formed and staffed, and it never had ...
* February 1943: (defending southern Tunisia)
**
**
XX Army Corps
**
XXI Army Corps
21 (twenty-one) is the natural number following 20 and preceding 22.
The current century is the 21st century AD, under the Gregorian calendar.
In mathematics
21 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 3 and 7, and a deficie ...
** German
164th Light Division
** German
Ramcke Parachute Brigade
Army Group Africa
From February 1943:
*
German 5th Panzer Army () (Northern Tunisia)
**
Division Hermann Göring
**
Division von Manteuffel
**
10th Panzer Division
**
334th Infantry Division
**
999th Light Division
** Italian
1st Infantry Division "Superga"
* Italian
1st Army First Army may refer to:
China
* New 1st Army, Republic of China
* First Field Army, a Communist Party of China unit in the Chinese Civil War
* 1st Group Army, People's Republic of China
Germany
* 1st Army (German Empire), a World War I field Army ...
(Southern Tunisia)
**
16th Motorized Division "Pistoia"
**
101st Motorized Division "Trieste"
101st Motorized Division "Trieste" ( it, 101ª Divisione motorizzata "Trieste") was a motorized infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Trieste was formed in 1939 and named for the city of Trieste. The division and ...
**
131st Armored Division "Centauro"
The 131st Armored Division "Centauro" ( it, 131ª Divisione corazzata "Centauro") was an armored division of the Italian Army during World War II. The division was formed in April 1939 by expanding the I Armored Brigade ( it, I Brigata Corazzata ...
**
136th Armored Division "Giovani Fascisti"
The 136th Armored Division "Giovani Fascisti" ( it, 136ª Divisione corazzata "Giovani Fascisti") was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II.
History
The division was never fully formed and staffed, and it never had ...
** German
15th Panzer Division
The 15th Panzer Division (german: 15. Panzer-Division) was an armoured division in the German Army, the Wehrmacht, during World War II, established in 1940.
The division, formed from the 33rd Infantry Division, fought exclusively in North Afri ...
** German
21st Panzer Division
The 21st Panzer Division was a German armoured division best known for its role in the battles of the North African Campaign from 1941–1943 during World War II when it was one of the two armoured divisions making up the Deutsches Afrikakorps ...
** German
90th Light Division
** German
164th Light Division
Commanders
See also
*
List of World War II military units of Germany
The List of World War II military units of Germany contains all military units to serve with the armed forces of Germany during World War II.
Major units above corps level are listed here. For smaller units, see List of German corps in World War I ...
*
List of Italian divisions in World War II
{{Unreferenced, date=March 2010
This is a list of the World War II divisions of the Royal Italian Army of the Kingdom of Italy.
Alpine Divisions
* 1st Alpine Division "Taurinense" (''Turin'')
* 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" (''Trento'')
...
*
Panzer Division
A Panzer division was one of the armored (tank) divisions in the army of Nazi Germany during World War II. Panzer divisions were the key element of German success in the blitzkrieg operations of the early years of World War II. Later the Waffe ...
*
*
Hans von Luck
Hans–Ulrich Freiherr von Luck und Witten (15 July 1911 – 1 August 1997), usually shortened to Hans von Luck, was a German officer in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Luck served with the 7th Panzer Division and 21st Panzer ...
Footnotes
{{Subject bar
, portal1=Military of Germany
, portal2=World War II
North African campaign
Western Desert campaign
German units in Africa
PA
Military units and formations established in 1941
Military units and formations disestablished in 1943
Army groups of the German Army in World War II