why was the north african campaign a turning point

15. September 2020 @ 14:19

The plan was accepted, although von Arnim always preferred an attack in the north. AP Photo d) Allied forces were now in position to invade Italy. US armoured tactics had been developed after examining the German offensive of 1940, and hadn't kept up with chances since.

The failure at Fondouk caused a great deal of bad blood between the Americans and British, and in the final attacks on Tunis the US II Corps was moved to the northern flank of the Allied line, partly so it didn’t have to operate under British control (but also to make sure it wasn't squeezed out of the later stages of the campaign as the front line shrank). Von Arnim decided to launch an offensive to capture the passes in the Eastern Dorsals.

AP Photo AP Photo In some respected 1942 was almost a rerun of 1941. Mussolini finally decided to enter the war, making Libya hostile territory (there was also a threat from Italian East Africa - Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland).

His time in command didn’t begin well - Rommel brushed aside an attempt to defend The El Alamein position is famous for not having an open flank in the desert, with the southern end of the line protected by the Qattara Depression, but during the first battles around El Alamein the British didn't have the strength to block the entire gap between the sea and the depression. This was a great morale boost for the Americans, and proved that they were quickly learning from their earlier mistakes. To their west the French were dominant, occupying Tunisia, Algeria and French Morocco. The first clash between British and German troops in Tunisia came on 16 November, on the road between Djebel Aboid and Mateur. AP Photo Australian troops approach a German-held strong point under the protection of a heavy smoke screen somewhere in the Western Desert, in Northern Africa on November 27, 1942.German General Erwin Rommel with the 15th Panzer Division between Tobruk and Sidi Omar. One holds a Mascot --- a puppy found during the capture of Sidi Barrani, one of the first Italian bases to fall in the African War.An Italian flying boat burning of the water off the coast of Tripoli, on August 18, 1941 after an encounter with a royal air force fighter patrol. The Italians massively outnumbered the British garrison of Egypt, and with German armies just across the Channel and invasion threatened, few reinforcements were likely to arrive. The leading part of this force set off on 5 February, and reached the road south of Beda Fomm. c) Axis forces were now able to take control of North Africa. landing barges speed shoreward off Fedala, French Morocco during landing operations in early November, 1942. This win greatly lifted Americans morale, since it was our first major victory. His army was entering the Mareth Line, a series of pre-war French defences, and he knew that Montgomery would wait to build up his strength before attacking this position. Photo taken in Libya, in 1941.Australian troops string out behind tanks in a practice advance over North African sands, on January 3, 1941. The Italian entry into the war made the British position in Egypt very vulnerable. After the failure of the frontal assault at Mareth, Montgomery decided to reinforce the New Zealanders and outflank the main defensive lines. AP Photo rescue service in the Middle East. However by now Messe had realised that the Mareth Line was lost, and his men were already in full retreat. AP Photo On 16 March Patton began On 23 March 10 Panzer attacked the US positions south-east of Gafsa, and for the first time in Tunisia suffered a costly defeat, mainly at the hands of US tank destroyers and artillery. Here, a U.S. Air Transport Command plane, loaded with war supplies, flies over the pyramids at Giza, near Cairo, Egypt, in 1943.

a. at El Alamein where the British stopped Rommel in the summer of 1942. b. when South African troops crossed the Sahara and overwhelmed Rommel. This would soon be changed to give Alexander command of a new 18th Army Group, with authority over all Allied troops in North Africa, but only after a series of setbacks. A mobile anti-tank unit of the Eighth Army in action, somewhere in the desert, Libya, on July 26, 1942.This view of an air raid on an Axis plane base at Martuba, near Derna, in Libya on July 6, 1942 was made from one of the South African planes which took part in the raid. The turning point of the North African campaign came . By now his army lacked the strength to stop the Eighth Army, and Montgomery forced them to abandon this position in two days (On 8 April a mixed Allied force attempted to break through the Fondouk Pass, but the Germans managed to hold on until early on 10 April. Messe retreated to the Wadi Akarit position, also known as the Gabes Gap, another strong defensive position just to the north of Gabes.