Jowett, Philip North Africa, 1942

The Turning Point

A volume from the Casemate Illustrated Special series. By early 1942, the Axis powers and the British Army had been officially at war since June 1940, and 1941 had been a frustrating year, ending with Rommel's retreat to western Cyrenaica in Libya. In January 1942, Rommel launched his Great Offensive, which brought the Axis powers to the Libyan-Egyptian border. In the months that followed, Rommel's troops were on the advance and he was at the height of his military power. His military masterpiece in the Battle of Gazala in late May and early June led to a major victory for the Axis powers and the capture of Rommel's long-standing target - Tobruk. When the Axis powers captured the port of Tobruk in June, Rommel was celebrated by the German public and promoted to field marshal by a grateful Adolf Hitler. In the summer of 1942, however, the pendulum swung in favour of the British and their new allies, the United States. As new tanks and aircraft arrived from the United States, along with reinforcements, the Axis powers' war effort suffered from a shortage of German and Italian tanks, artillery and aircraft. In late summer, a sick and exhausted Rommel faced a new and determined enemy commander, General Montgomery. New aircraft gave the RAF air superiority and helped it drive the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica out of North African airspace. The battles at El Alamein in July and then in October proved decisive, and further fighting at Alam Halfa weakened the Axis resistance. The heavy blow for Rommel and his Afrika Korps was the invasion of French North Africa, Operation Torch. This successful operation led to the US Army advancing eastwards towards Rommel's western front in Libya. Attacked on two fronts, Rommel decided to abandon Libya and withdrew his remaining troops to French territory in Tunisia, where they continued to fight against the gathering Allied armies in the early months of 1943.