Campaigns, Battles and Events of the Desert War, 1940–1943

• 10 June 1940 - Italy declares War on France and Britain
• September 1940 - Italian offensive from Lybia against Egypt
• December 1940 - Successful British counter-offensive
• January 1941 - Tobruk taken by British troops
• February 1941 - Benghasi taken by British troops
• March/April 1941 - Recapture of the Cyrenaika with the exception of Tobruk
• 19/20 April 1941 - Raid on Bardia by #7 Commando
• April 1941 - German Siege of Tobruk
• November 1941 - Operation Crusader to relieve Tobruk
• 29 January 1942 – Benghasi taken by Axis troops
• 7 February 1942 – El Gazala taken by Axis troops. Tobruk surrenders.
• 28 June 1942 – Marsa Matruk taken by Axis troops.
• 30 June 1942 – Axis advance halted in front of El Alamein
• October/November 1942 – British counter-offensive captures the Cyrenaika
• November 1942 – Operation Torch, Allied troops land in Morocco and Algeria
• 12 November 1942 – Ceasefire between French and Allied troops in North Africa
• November 1942 – German and Italian forces land in Tunisia
• November 1942 – German forces occupy Vichy-France
• 27 November 1942 – German troops take Toulon, the French Navy sinks its ships
• 17 February - 29 March 1943 - The Mareth Line, Tunisia
• 15 May 1943 - Heeresgruppe Afrika capitulates in Tunisia

Somaliland, Eritrea, Ethiopia

• British and French Somaliland captured by Italian troops
• 6 April 1941 - Addis Abeba taken by British troops
• May 1941 - Capture of the Amba Alagi stronghold by #51 ME Commando
• 16 May 1941 - Italian forces in Ethiopia capitulate

Bibliography

• The Bloody Road to Tunis. David Rolf
• Desert War – The North African Campaign 1940-1943. Alan Moorehead
• Inside the Afrika Korps. R. Kriebel, US Army Intelligence, Bruce Gudmundsson
• Blitzkriege 1939–1943. Von der Invasion in Polen bis El Alamein. Adrian Gilbert
• Der Wüstenkrieg in Afrika 1940–1943. Janusz Piekalkiewicz
• Rommel. Die Biographie. David Fraser
• AFRIKAKORPS 1941-43. Osprey Military
• Mit Rommel in der Wüste. Volkmar Kühn

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– Published: 18.12.2000 – Updated: 10.09.2002
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