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As the number of German armed forces committed to the North Africa Campaign of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 grew from the initial commitment of a small corps the Germans developed a more elaborate command structure and placed the now larger Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps

The German Afrikakorps was the original German blocking force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II. The force was kept as a distinct formation and became the main German contribution to Panzer Army Africa which evolved into the German-Italian Panzer Army and Army Group Africa....
, with Italian units under this new German command structure, a session of different German commands were created to manage the Axis assets in Africa:

r the initial campaign when Rommel was technically under the command of the Italians, the German Armed Forces
Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
 High Command (German acronym OKW) created a larger command structure in Africa, creating a new headquarters called Panzer Group Africa (Panzergruppe Afrika).






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As the number of German armed forces committed to the North Africa Campaign of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 grew from the initial commitment of a small corps the Germans developed a more elaborate command structure and placed the now larger Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps

The German Afrikakorps was the original German blocking force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II. The force was kept as a distinct formation and became the main German contribution to Panzer Army Africa which evolved into the German-Italian Panzer Army and Army Group Africa....
, with Italian units under this new German command structure, a session of different German commands were created to manage the Axis assets in Africa:
  • Panzer Group Africa, (Panzergruppe Afrika) August 1941 – January 1942
  • Panzer Army Africa, (Panzerarmee Afrika) January 1942 – October 1942
  • German-Italian Panzer Army, (Deutsch-Italienische Panzerarmee) October 1942 – February 1943
  • Army Group Africa, (Heeresgruppe Afrika) February 1943 – May 1943


Panzer Group Africa



After the initial campaign when Rommel was technically under the command of the Italians, the German Armed Forces
Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
 High Command (German acronym OKW) created a larger command structure in Africa, creating a new headquarters called Panzer Group Africa (Panzergruppe Afrika). On August 15 1941 Panzer Group Africa was activated with Rommel in command, and command of the Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps

The German Afrikakorps was the original German blocking force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II. The force was kept as a distinct formation and became the main German contribution to Panzer Army Africa which evolved into the German-Italian Panzer Army and Army Group Africa....
 was turned over to Ludwig Crüwell
Ludwig Crüwell

Ludwig Cr?well 20 March 1892 - 25 September 1958), was a Germany general known for his involvement with the Afrika Korps. He was captured by the United Kingdom on 29 May 1942, after his plane was forced to land....
. The Panzer Group controlled the Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps

The German Afrikakorps was the original German blocking force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II. The force was kept as a distinct formation and became the main German contribution to Panzer Army Africa which evolved into the German-Italian Panzer Army and Army Group Africa....
 plus some additional German units that were sent to Africa, as well as two corps of Italian units.

Panzer Army Africa


Panzer Group Africa was redesignated as Panzer Army Africa (Panzerarmee Afrika) on January 30 1942.

German-Italian Panzer Army


Panzer Army Africa was redesignated as German-Italian Panzer Army (Deutsch-Italienische Panzerarmee) in October 1942 during the long retreat after the defeat at the Second Battle of El Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein

The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. The battle lasted from 23 October to 5 November 1942....
 during the Western Desert Campaign
Western Desert Campaign

The Western Desert Campaign, also known as the Desert War was the initial stage of the North African Campaign of World War II.From the start, the Western Desert Campaign was a continuous back-and-forth struggle....
 .

Army Group Africa


In February 1943 the headquarters was upgraded to Army Group Africa (Heeresgruppe Afrika) to manage the defense of Tunisia
Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian Republic , is a country located in North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast....
 during the final stages of the North African Campaign
North African campaign

During World War II, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 16 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libya and Egypt deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia ....
, its combat units – including the Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps

The German Afrikakorps was the original German blocking force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II. The force was kept as a distinct formation and became the main German contribution to Panzer Army Africa which evolved into the German-Italian Panzer Army and Army Group Africa....
 – were turned over to the Italian First Army
Italian First Army

The Italian First Army was an Italy army formation, in World War I, facing Austro-Hungarian and Germany forces, and in World War II, fighting on the North African front....
. Command of the Army Group was turned over to Hans-Jürgen von Arnim
Hans-Jürgen von Arnim

Hans-J?rgen von Arnim was a Germany colonel-general of cavalry who served during World War II....
 in March. Army Group Africa included German Fifth Panzer Army
German Fifth Panzer Army

The 5th Panzer Army, also known as Panzer Group West and Panzer Group Eberbach was a panzer army which saw action in the Western Front and Mediterranean Theatre of World War II....
 in addition to the Italian First Army. Arnim surrendered the Army Group on May 13 1943, ending the Axis presence in Africa.

Order of battle


Throughout its existence this headquarters controlled the well-known Afrika Korps, and for most of its life it controlled a number of other German and Italian units as well. The following overview of its assets is taken from lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de, with dates corrected (see references).

Order of battle of Panzer Group Africa


Panzer Group Africa (Rommel)
  • As of September 1941: (during Rommel
    Erwin Rommel

    Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , was perhaps the most famous Germany Generalfeldmarschall of World War II. He was the commander of the Afrika Korps and became known for the skillful military campaigns he waged on behalf of the Wehrmacht in North Africa....
    's first push into the Western Desert
    Western Desert Campaign

    The Western Desert Campaign, also known as the Desert War was the initial stage of the North African Campaign of World War II.From the start, the Western Desert Campaign was a continuous back-and-forth struggle....
    )
    • German Afrika Korps
      Afrika Korps

      The German Afrikakorps was the original German blocking force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II. The force was kept as a distinct formation and became the main German contribution to Panzer Army Africa which evolved into the German-Italian Panzer Army and Army Group Africa....
    • Italian XXI Corps
    • German 15th Panzer Division


Order of battle of Panzer Army Africa


Panzer Army Africa (Rommel)
  • As of January 1942: (during Rommel's second push into the Western Desert)
    • German Afrika Korps
    • Italian X Corps
    • Italian XXI Corps
    • Italian Corpo d'Armata di Manovra (Maneuver Corps)
    • German 90th Light Africa Division
    • Italian 55th Division Savona
  • As of April 1942: (before and during the Gazala battles and the Siege of Tobruk
    Siege of Tobruk

    The Siege of Tobruk was a lengthy confrontation between Axis Powers and Allies of World War II forces in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II....
    )
    • German Afrika Korps
    • Italian X Corps
    • Italian XX Motorized Corps
    • Italian XXI Corps
    • German 90th Light Africa Division
  • As of August 1942: (during the Battle of El Alamein
    Battle of El Alamein

    There were two battles of El Alamein in the Second World War, both fought in 1942. The Battles occurred in Egypt in and around an area named after a railway stop called El Alamein at ....
    )
    • German Afrika Korps
    • Italian X Corps
    • Italian XX Motorized Corps
    • Italian XXI Corps
    • Italian 133rd Armored Division Littorio


Order of battle of the German-Italian Panzer Army

German-Italian Panzer Army (Rommel)
  • As of November 1942: (during the withdrawal from the Western Desert)
    • German Afrika Korps
    • Italian X Corps
    • Italian XX Motorized Corps
    • Italian XXI Corps
    • German 90th Light Afrika Division
    • Italian 136th Motorized Infantry Division Giovani Fascisti
    • Italian 17th Infantry Division Pavia
  • As of February 1943: (defending southern Tunisia)
    • German Afrika Korps
    • Italian XX Motorized Corps
    • Italian XXI Corps
    • German 164th Light Afrika Division
      German 164th Infantry Division

      The 164th Division was a unit of the Wehrmacht in World War II. It was initially created as the 164th Infantry Division in November 1939. In January 1942, consolidating Axis powers of World War II seizure of the island during the Battle of Crete, the 164th was reorganized as Fortress Division Kreta....
    • German Ramcke Parachute Brigade
      Ramcke Parachute Brigade

      Fallschirmj?ger-Brigade AfrikaFallschirmj?ger-Brigade RamckeLuftwaffenwaffen-J?ger-Brigade 1The Fallschirmj?ger-Brigade Ramcke was a elite Germany Luftwaffe Fallschirmj?ger Brigade which saw action in the Mediterranean Theatre during World War II....


Order of battle of Army Group Africa


From February 1943:
  • German Fifth Panzer Army
    German Fifth Panzer Army

    The 5th Panzer Army, also known as Panzer Group West and Panzer Group Eberbach was a panzer army which saw action in the Western Front and Mediterranean Theatre of World War II....
     (northern Tunisia)
  • Italian First Army
    Italian First Army

    The Italian First Army was an Italy army formation, in World War I, facing Austro-Hungarian and Germany forces, and in World War II, fighting on the North African front....
     (southern Tunisia)


See also

  • List of World War II military units of Germany
    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....
  • List of Italian divisions in WWII
    List of Italian divisions in WWII

    This is a list of Italy divisions in World War II....
  • Panzer Division
    Panzer Division

    A panzer division is an armored division in the German Army .Panzer Division are combined-arms formations having both armor and infantry as organic components, along with the usual assets of artillery, antiaircraft, signals, etc....
  • Fliegerführer Afrika
    Fliegerführer Afrika

    Fliegerf?hrer Afrika was part of Luftflotte 2 , one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It acted in the Mediterranean and Libya in North African areas during 1941-1942....
  • Hans von Luck
    Hans von Luck

    Hans-Ulrich von Luck und Witten , usually shortened to Hans von Luck, was a Colonel in the Germany Armored Forces during World War II. He served with the German 7th Panzer Division and German 21st Panzer Division, seeing action in Poland, France, North Africa, Italy and Russia....


Footnotes