1. 5 territories involved: Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, MoroccoAll had colonial or semi-colonial status in 1940

2. Libya: Created after Italy merged 3 different provinces takenover from the Turks in 1911

3. 1. Western Desert Campaign (June 11, 1940 - February 4, 1943:Operation CompassFirst Battle of El AlameinSecond Battle of El Alamein

4. Operation Compass (December 1940-February 1941): - firstmajor Allied military operation of the Western DesertCampaign during World War II- British and Commonwealth forces attacked Italian forces inwestern Egypt and eastern Libya - Allied forces advanced from inside Egypt to central Libya,captured 115,000 Italian prisoners, while suffering fewcasualties (complete success)

5. Erwin Rommel "Desert Fox": - German and Italian armies wereled by him and attacked British occupied Egypt and the SuezCanal for the second time- defeated at the Battle of El Alamein- moved to France to oversee the defenses before D-Day - tried to assassinate Hitler

6. Afrika Korps: - name given to German armies in North Africaled by Erwin Rommel

7. First Battle of El Alamein (July 1-27, 1942): - turning point inNorth Africa, fought in Egypt- British win- prevented a second advance by the Axis forces into Egypt- if Germans would have won they would have taken theSuez Canal

8. Second Battle of El Alamein (October 23-November 11, 1942):-Allies victorious- marked a major turning point in the Western DesertCampaign of the Second World War- followed the First Battle of El Alamein, which had stalled theAxis advance into Egypt- psychological perspective: revived the morale of the Allies,being the first major offensive against the Axis since the startof the European war in 1939 in which the Western Allies hadachieved a decisive victory

9. 2. Operation Torch (November 1942-September 1943): -Allied invasion of North Africa- American forces landed in Morocco and Algeria, andpressing eastward trapped the German and Italian armiesbeing driven westward by the British, forcing German andItalian troops to surrender, despite Hitler's orders to fight tothe death- Allied forces led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower landedwithin Morocco and Algeria- Rommel's troops were finally forced out of Africa in May1943

10. coup d'état: - military revolt: the French "Resistance"organized a coup to arrest/overthrow the Vichycommanders and helped the French switch sides duringOperation Torch

11. retaliation: - revenge / punishment: in response to the Frenchcoup and switching sides in Operation Torch, Germanyoccupied Vichy France

12. Dwight D. Eisenhower: - a US lieutenant general at the timewhen he led Operation Torch in order to help the Frenchforces in North Africa in Morocco and Algerian France hadcontrolled that area which was known Vichy France, still inthe end the French forces in North Africa joined the Alliedforces- supreme allied commander in Europe

13. Operation Torch (as compromise): Joseph Stalin, the leaderof the Soviet Union, wanted relief--this additional frontprovided "some degree of relief" for the Read Army on theEastern Front by diverting Axis forces to the African Theater

14. 3. Tunisian Campaign (November 1942-): ...

15. stalemate: - a situation in which no progress can be made orno advancement is possible: buildup of resources over thewinter

16. Battle of Kasserine Pass (February 1943-: took place duringthe Tunisia Campaign of World War II in February 1943. It wasa series of battles fought around Kasserine Pass, a 2 mi (3.2km) wide gap in the Grand Dorsal chain of the AtlasMountains in west central Tunisia. The Axis forces involved,led by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, were primarily from theAfrika Korps Assault Group, elements of the Italian CentauroArmoured Division and two Panzer divisions detached fromthe 5th Panzer Army. The Allied forces involved came fromthe U.S Army's II Corps commanded by Major General LloydFredendall, and the British 6th Armoured Divisioncommanded by Major-General Charles Keightley, which werepart of the British 1st Army commanded by Lieutenant-General Kenneth Anderson.

17. Outcome of Northern Africa: Allied Victory Destroyed / neutralized 900,000 Permitted invasion of Sicily and ItalianRemoved Axis threat to oil fields in the Middle East

WS05 - WWII - WWII in North AfricaStudy online at quizlet.com/_33d8dd