Italian tanks in Africa. German tanks (PzKpfw III) in North Africa

Meanwhile, fighting was also unfolding in northern Africa. On June 12, 1940, the 11th Hussars of the British Army crossed the Egyptian border and rushed to Libya, stepping over a "maze" of barbed wire 650 km long. This marked the beginning of the war in North Africa. Already on June 16, the first battle between the opponents took place. An Italian motorized column escorted by 29 L3/33 tankettes was attacked by British tanks and armored vehicles. On the British side, A9 cruiser tanks and Rolls-Royce armored vehicles took part in the clash. They were supported by 2-pounder anti-tank guns. The battle ended in complete defeat for the Italians. They lost 17 tankettes, more than a hundred soldiers were captured.

This led the Italians into a panic. The governor of Libya, Marshal Balbo, wrote to the head of the Italian General Staff Badoglio: the British division has 360 modern armored vehicles and tanks. We can only oppose them with rifles and machine guns. However, we do not intend to stop the fight, and we will work miracles. But if I were the British generals, I would already be in Tobruk.

Already on June 20, the governor sent a new message to the General Staff. “Our tanks are outdated. British machine guns easily penetrate their armor. We have practically no armored vehicles. Anti-tank weapons also outdated, however, and there is no ammunition for it. Thus, the battles turn into battles of the "meat against iron" type., Balbo wrote.

However, at first, the Italians nevertheless performed a “miracle”. Mountain 65-mm guns were installed on trucks, and 20-mm anti-aircraft guns were mounted on captured Morris armored cars. All this made it possible, to a certain extent, to resist the British superiority in technology.

It is worth noting that at that time the Italians had 339 L3 tankettes in Africa, 8 old FIAT 3000 light tanks, and only 7 armored vehicles. The British located 134 light tanks Mk VI, 110 A9 and A10 Mk II (Cruiser) cruiser tanks, 38 armored vehicles, mainly Lanchesters, as well as ancient Rolls-Royce machine guns and several Morrises transferred from territorial defense units.

On June 28, 1940, Balbo's plane was shot down by "friendly fire" - that is, his own anti-aircraft guns near Tobruk. Marshal died, Marshal Graziani became governor of Tripolitania on July 1. He assigned his troops the task of reaching and holding the line of Marsa Matruh. However, at the same time, Graziani began the reorganization of the Italian troops in Africa.

On July 8, 1940, the first tanks of the 132nd Ariete Panzer Division "set foot" on the soil of North Africa. It was the vanguard of the 32nd regiment - parts of the I and II battalions of medium tanks M (M11 / 39). The battalions included 600 soldiers and officers, 72 tanks, 56 cars, 37 motorcycles. By this time, there were already 324 L3 / 35 wedges in Libya. These vehicles, as part of battalions, were attached to several infantry divisions. Here is their list:

• XX tankette battalion "Randaccio" under the command of Captain Russo (Russo), later becoming the LX battalion - infantry division "Sabratha" ("Sabratha")
• LXI tankette battalion under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Sbrocchi (Sbrocchi) - Infantry Division "Sirte" ("Sirte")
• LXII Tankette Battalion - Infantry Division "Marmarica" ​​("Marmarica")
• LXIII Tankette Battalion - Infantry Division "Cirene"

The tankette battalion - IX - from the 4th tank regiment was also received by the Libyan division (“Libica”). It was this battalion that was defeated by the British on June 16, 1940, while escorting a column of Colonel Di Avanzo (D'Avanzo). The colonel himself died in that battle.

Tankettes stored in Libya were used to create four battalions, their commanders never served in the tank forces.

Tankers on the M11 / 39 from the 32nd Tank Regiment were baptized on August 5, 1940, in Sidi El Azeiz. The medium tanks performed well against the light British Mk VI tanks armed only with machine guns.

On August 29, the Italian command in Libya decides to unite all tank forces in the colony into the Libya Tank Command (“Comando Carri Armati della Libia”). It was led by Panzer General Valentino Babini.

The command included:

• I Panzer Group (I Raggruppamento carristi) under the command of Colonel Pietro Aresza (Pietro Aresca) - I battalion of medium tanks M11 / 39, XXI, LXII and LXIII tankette battalions L 3/35.
• II Panzer Group (II Raggruppamento carristi) under the command of Colonel Antonio Trivioli (Antonio TRIVIOLI).

Mixed tank battalion formed as part of a company of tanks M11 / 39, II, V, LX battalions of tankettes L 3/35. By the way, the V "Venetian" (Venezian) battalion was not formed on the spot, but arrived by sea from Verzelli - it was part of the 3rd tank regiment.

It is worth noting that new structure managing "carristy" in Libya proved cumbersome. It existed for a very short time, and did not have time to demonstrate any noticeable positive qualities.

In September 1940, the most modern for that period appeared in Libya. italian tanks- medium M13 / 40. They were part of the III battalion of medium tanks. It consisted of 37 combat vehicles. The battalion was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Carlo Ghioldi. In total, by the beginning of September 1940, the Italians had 8 tank battalions in northern Africa.

Then tankers of the 5th battalion of M tanks also landed in the port of Benghazi. It also consisted of 37 M13 / 40.

Both battalions were used "in parts" - several tanks each to support infantry units. And here they faced big problems. M tanks were not machines ideally suited for operation in the desert, frequent breakdowns, coupled with a rather limited repair base, limited their use. Their crews were also poorly trained. The materiel of their battalions was also poorly known to the officers. The situation was aggravated by the absence of radio stations in most tanks. So, the II battalion of medium tanks M out of 37 vehicles had only three "radio" ones. Italian tankers had to communicate using flags - the commands were simple "forward", "backward", "right", "left", "slow down", "increase speed". The lack of radio stations and receivers sideways came out for the Italians already at the first collision with the Matilda, invulnerable to the British infantry tanks. In conditions of poor visibility, the Italian tankers could not recognize the "flag" signal and came under fire from the British, losing several of their tanks.

In the late summer of 1940, Mussolini authorized an Italian offensive towards Egypt. The decision, as subsequent events showed, was erroneous. To none large-scale actions, the Italian army was not ready. On September 8, Italian units crossed the border of Libya and Egypt, with about 230 L3 tankettes and 70 M11 / 39 medium tanks. On the British side they were opposed by the 7th Armored Division. However, on the first line, the British had only the 11th Hussars, armed with armored cars and a squadron of the 1st Tank Regiment. Since the Italian units outnumbered them, the British withdrew to a distance of 50 miles. On September 17, the Italians occupied Sidi Barrani, but due to lack of resources, they stopped further advance.

The British took advantage of the respite. In less than a month, they received 152 tanks, including 50 Matilda II infantry tanks, invulnerable to Italian anti-tank guns, Bofors cannons and anti-aircraft guns, machine guns and ammunition. The British commander, General Count Archibald Percival Wavell (Wavell) planned to launch an offensive immediately, but at this time the Italians invaded Greece and part of the Empire's air force was sent to the Balkans. However, on the other hand, this allowed the British to get two months to prepare for a strike on Italian forces.

On October 25, a special tank brigade (brigata corazzata speciale) was created in the Marsa Lucch zone. It was supposed to include 24 tanks of the III tank battalion and 4 tank regiment. The brigade was formed by order of Marshal of Italy Rudolfo Graziani (Rodolfo GRAZIANI), commander of troops in North Africa. The brigade commander was General of the Tank Forces Valentino Babini. True, until December 22, his duties were performed by Brigadier General Alighiero Miele.

By the beginning of December 1940, the British had achieved an advantage in armored vehicles, in the 7th armored division there were 495 armored vehicles. Among them: 195 Vickers Mk VI light tanks, 114 Vickers Medium and A9 (Cruiser Mk I) medium tanks, 114 Cruiser Mk III, IV and Crusader Mk I cruiser tanks, 64 infantry tanks Matilda II, 74 armored vehicles of various types (Marmont Herrington, Daimler Dingo, Morris, Humber).

The Italians had 275 tanks in the Sidi Barrani area, including 220 L3s and 55 M11/39s. In addition, in the rear, in Libya, there was the III battalion of M13 / 40 medium tanks. These vehicles arrived in Africa in early November 1940. In total, there were 37 tanks in two companies.

The British operation "Compass" began on the night of December 8-9 with an attack on the town of Nibeiva, where the forces of the combined group of General Maletti were located. On the British side, the 4th Indian Infantry Division and the 7th Royal Tank Regiment (7 RTR), armed with heavy infantry Matildas, participated in the attack. To repel the offensive, the Italians used a mixed tank battalion consisting of two L3 companies and one M11 / 39 company. It was these machines that had to resist the British infantry tanks, much better armed and protected. The result of the collision was devastating for the Italians. Italian shells only “scratched” the armor of the British Matildas, while Italian tanks were easily destroyed by them. In two battles, the battalion was completely destroyed, and the group commander, General Maletti, was killed. The British and Indians captured 35 tanks as booty. True, the British also suffered some losses. The crews of the 75 mm field guns did not penetrate the armor of the Matild, however, their trained crews achieved hits in undercarriage and in the turret knot. 22 British tanks were disabled. However, all of them were restored by repair teams within a few days. Following Nibeiva, the West and East Tummar camps fell under the blows of the Matildas and Indian infantry. At the same time, the 7th Panzer Division reached the rear of the Italian camps and reached the coastal highway between Sidi Barrani and Boukbuk, cutting off the enemy troops located to the east. Already on December 10, the British regained control of Sidi Barrani, and parts of the Italian 10th Corps retreated to the cities of Es Sollum and Sidi Omar. On December 16, Es-Sallum was captured. 38 thousand prisoners, 400 guns and about 50 tanks fell into the hands of the British.

At the same time, on December 11, 1940, a special tank brigade (brigata corazzata speciale), having not completed training and formation, having only the LI battalion of tankettes and the III battalion of tanks M, arrives at the location of the 10th Italian army. The lack of normal crew training leads to significant wear and tear of equipment even before its participation in hostilities.

On December 12, two companies of the III battalion are sent to Sollum (Sollum), and then to El-Gazala, to cover the rear of the Tobruk fortress (Tobruk). The 1st company (12 M13 / 40 medium tanks) of the battalion under the command of Lieutenant Elio Castellano (Elio Castellano) was placed at the disposal of the garrison of the fortress of Bardia. Battalion officers at this time send reports to the military authorities with complaints about their M tanks - poor performance and rapid wear of the diesel engine, high-pressure fuel pumps, which then had to be changed in production to the German Bosch (Bosch), lack of spare parts, high consumption fuel - and the most interesting thing is that it was different for tanks that were in the same conditions.

The V "Venetian" battalion of tankettes at this time is in Derna (Derna), it will become part of the brigade of General Babini (Babini) only on January 16, 1941.

"Racing" in the desert, even in the absence of active military operations for them, for M tanks turned into the failure of many combat vehicles for technical reasons. The combat readiness of the battalions armed with them was sharply reduced. On December 19, 1940, the Italian General Staff decided to send all M13 / 40s that Italy had by that time to northern Africa in order to at least temporarily replace the out-of-service tanks.

For the attack on Bardia, the British used the Australian 6th Infantry Division, 7th Royal Tank Regiment (7 RTR), as a reserve - the forces of the 7th Armored Division. And again, Italian tanks, even armed with 47-mm guns, showed their complete failure against the backdrop of infantry Matildas. Already on January 5, 1941, the British established control over Bardia, capturing 32 thousand prisoners, 450 guns, 700 trucks and 127 tanks as trophies (of which 12 M13 / 40 and 113 L3).

The next day the British reached the Tobruk area. There were armored units armed with about 25 L3 tankettes and 11 M11 / 39 medium tanks (all under repair, not combat-ready), as well as 60 M13 / 40 medium tanks (they were assembled throughout Libya). Another 5 M11 / 39 defended the airport in El Ghazal.

Fifty miles from Tobruk, at El Mechili, there was a tank brigade with 61 M13/40s and 24 L3s.

The British launched an assault on Tobruk on 21 January. The main role in the battle was played by the Australian infantry and the British Matildas. However, Italian tanks were also used - M11 / 39 and M13 / 40, which had previously become a trophy of the British, then transferred to the Australians. 16 of these vehicles, with huge white kangaroo figures for identification, participated in crushing the Italian defenses. The offensive ended with the capture of the fortress. There, the winners again got solid trophies in the form of tanks - they reported to London about the capture of 23 medium tanks M and several tankettes.

On January 23, 1941, the Special Tank Brigade was stationed in the Scebib El Chezze zone, south of the El Mechili transport hub, where it received orders to hold back the British advance into the hinterland of Cyrenaica (Cirenaico). On January 24, two battalions at once - III and V entered into combat contact with the enemy and repulsed all his attacks. In these clashes, the Italians lost eight tanks, the British 10 (all Mk VI machine guns, seven destroyed, three knocked out).

On the same day, armored cars also fought with the advance detachments of the British - in the Bir Semander area.

However, even "local" successes were the last for a special tank brigade.

Fighting also took place at the Bardia-El-Adem road junction. There the Italian positions were attacked by the 8th Infantry Battalion of the 19th Australian Brigade. Moreover, the Italians prudently dug their wedges into the sand. However, this did not stop the Australians. With the help of anti-tank rifles and bundles of grenades, they disabled 14 vehicles, the crews of another 8 surrendered. The Italians tried to recapture a strategically important road junction - the infantrymen of the 8th battalion were attacked by 9 medium tanks and hundreds of soldiers. And again, the Australians won - after they disabled several M tanks, 2 Matildas came to the rescue. With their support, Fort Pilestrino was captured. The Australians lost 104 killed and wounded.

The last battle in the area took place at Beda Fomm 5-7 February 1941. South of Benghazi, two British tank brigades met with the Italian 2nd Special Tank Brigade, which had about 100 medium M13s.

Combat strength of the Special Tank Brigade (Brigata Corazzata Speciale (Beda Fomm, February 5, 1941)):

• 3rd Tank Battalion - 20 M13/40 tanks
• 5th tank battalion - 30 M13/40 tanks
• 6th tank battalion - 45 M13/40 tanks
• 12th artillery regiment– 100mm howitzers and 75mm field guns
• battery of 105 mm guns
• battery of 75 mm air defense guns
• 61st tankette battalion L3 (12 tankettes, 6 on the move)
• 1 motorcycle battalion platoon
• 4 armored vehicles

During the fighting on February 6, the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment destroyed 51 Italian medium tank M13 / 40, having lost only 3 infantry Matildas. Other British units disabled 33 more Italian tanks. “The duel was unequal and bloody to the highest degree,” reports official history Italian tank troops. 50% of the personnel of the III and V battalions were included in the lists of the dead and wounded. The rest surrendered on 7 February to a brigade of South African infantry. “If General Babini had two battalions of M13 / 40 tanks, the battle could have ended differently!”, - says historian Maurizio Parri.

However, the official history of the Italian tank forces turned the defeat of the Special Tank Brigade into an act of heroism and self-sacrifice - tankers covered the retreat of infantry and artillery units at the expense of their lives.

January 22, 1941 in the Libyan port of Benghazi (Bengazi) arrived transport ships with equipment and fighters of the VI and XXI battalions of M tanks. The latter received medium tanks already in Africa, leaving their wedges in Tobruk. In the VI battalion there were 37 tanks, in the XXI - 36.

On February 6, at the height of the battle for Beda Fomm, the Babini brigade still had 16 officers, 2,300 soldiers, 24 tanks in the V and 12 tanks in the III battalion. There were also 24 guns, 18 anti-tank guns, 320 trucks. At this time, the tankers of the VI battalion also entered the battle - more precisely, while moving to the aid of the Special Tank Brigade, they were ambushed by the British. The battalion was literally shot by the British "Cruisers" (cruising tank Cruiser, armed with a 40 mm gun). Only 4 M13/40s were saved. Thus, the battalion was defeated already 14 days after arriving in Africa.

The Babini brigade and the XXI battalion could not help in any way - its tanks fell into a minefield near Beda Fomm and were cut off by the British. Tankers, after episodic skirmishes, the loss of several tanks, surrendered to the enemy.

Thus, in just a few days of fighting, the 10th Army lost 101 medium tanks, 39 of which ended up in the hands of the British intact. The last were mainly vehicles of the XXI battalion.

As a result of fierce three-month battles, the Italians lost all their tanks destroyed or captured - almost 400 units. The Italians were also let down by the fact that they used their tanks separately, often without the support of artillery and infantry - in oncoming skirmishes with the British, they were easily destroyed by the enemy.

By February 12, 1941, the British had halted their advance at El Agheil, having driven the Italians out of Kerenaiki in four months. The Italians were saved by their ally - Germany. From that moment on, their tank forces played a mainly auxiliary role in the African company, showing, however, in some operations, high morale and dedication.

So, since February 1941, the Italians in northern Africa fought side by side with the German soldiers. The main violin in the battles in the desert was played by the German tank forces. Having completed the concentration in Africa, the Germans organized a counteroffensive, and by April 11 they had reached Bardia, Es Sollum and surrounded Tobruk. Here their progress stopped. The British at that time received replenishment from their homeland - a naval convoy delivered 82 cruising, 135 infantry and 21 light tanks to Egypt. They went to rebuild the British 7th Armored Division ("Desert Rats"). This allowed the British to reorganize their forces and begin preparations for a counteroffensive.

It is worth noting that at the end of January 1941, the Ariete Panzer Division arrived in Africa. The tank division was armed with modern machines M13/40 and M14/41. In April, in the course of a joint offensive with the German forces, her soldiers, as one of the German officers (Blumm) wrote, "show enough courage in the fight against the British", reaching Sollum and Bardia. The Italians acted in conjunction with the 5th light division of the Wehrmacht.

"Ariete" during the first assault on Tobruk fought to capture the height of 209 - Medauar. She was supported by the 62nd regiment of the 102nd motorized division and German tanks. The Italians failed to take the height, but the TD suffered heavy losses. Out of 100 of its tanks, only 10 remained on the move in two days of fighting.

On June 15, the British launched an offensive aimed at deblocking Tobruk and capturing eastern Cyrenaica. However, the British forces did not achieve decisive success. The Italian Panzer Division "Ariete" at that time was in operational reserve - the Germans managed on their own. On June 22, the fighting subsided. They cost the British 960 killed, 91 tanks, 36 aircraft. German losses were smaller - 800 soldiers, 12 tanks and 10 aircraft.

In September 1941, the Ariete division received new tanks - M13 / 40, which by almost 70% replaced the L3 tankettes knocked out by the British.

A little later, new reinforcements arrive - a battalion of medium tanks, a battalion of tankettes and 2 companies of armored cars. And here is the battalion originally promised by Commando Supremo French tanks, - among which were two companies of very successful medium tanks S-35, they never arrived in Africa. The catfish were left to rot in Sardinia - the Germans preferred not to sell batches of spare parts for repairing tanks to their ally, which, incidentally, was quite justified - the Germans themselves lacked them.

In early November, the British operation "Crusader" ("Crusader") begins. Now the goals were even more ambitious - not only the deblockade of Tobruk, but also the capture of the entire territory of Cyrenaica. The British had 118 thousand soldiers, 748 tanks - 213 Matildas and Valentines, 150 Cruiser Mk II and IV cruiser tanks, 220 Crusader cruiser tanks, 165 light American Stuart tanks.

Italo-German forces countered them with 70 Pz. Kpfw. II, 139 Pz. Kpfw. III, 35 Pz. Kpfw. IV, 5 captured Matildas, 146 Italian M13/40 tanks.

The offensive began on November 18, 1941 and continued until January 17, 1942. The British 8th Army suffered heavy losses, but the original goals of the operation were never achieved. So, Benghazi, captured on December 24, 1941, a month later was again under the control of the Italo-German units.

The losses of the British amounted to 17 thousand soldiers (the Germans and Italians lost much more - 38 thousand, but mainly due to captured Italians), 726 out of 748 tanks (the Axis troops - 340 out of 395), 300 aircraft (330).

It is worth noting that during this period the Ariete Panzer Division also played a significant role in repelling the British offensive. It was in these battles that the division earned fame in its homeland and the respect of its German comrades in arms. So, on November 19, units of the division engage in battle with the 22nd British Tank Brigade. A hundred M13 tanks meet 156 cruiser Mk IVs. As a result of a fierce battle, both sides suffer heavy losses. Thus, the Italians lost more than 200 people killed, 49 tanks, 4 field and 8 anti-tank guns destroyed and knocked out. British damage in armored vehicles was higher - 57 tanks. These were the highest casualties for an Imperial armored formation against the Italians since the start of the North African campaign.

In general, the battles were of a very bloody nature. In December 1941, after bloody battles, the Ariete had only 30 medium tanks, 18 field guns, 10 anti-tank guns and 700 bersaliers.

On December 13, the Panzer Division fought with the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade for control of the heights in the Alam Hamza area. The clashes over Hill 204 were especially fierce. The Indians, with the support of British tanks, managed to take the hill. The Italian counterattack, which involved up to 12 M13 / 40 tanks, was not successful. On December 14, the positions of the Indians were already attacked by 16 tanks, this time the newest - M14 / 41 - and again to no avail. Against Italian tanks, the enemy used 25-pounder guns. The Germans came to the rescue - with their support, the height was recaptured. It is worth noting that by January 1942, the Italians had only 79 combat-ready tanks left.

In January 1942, the Axis troops received reinforcements - the Germans 55 tanks and 20 armored vehicles, the Italians 24 assault guns and 8 of their commander's variants with 20-mm automatic guns. Part of the weapons is sent to the area of ​​Marsa Berg - Wadi Fareh. The Ariete Panzer Division was stationed there. She receives two groups of rather successful Semovente assault guns with a 75-mm short-barreled gun.

During the January Italo-German offensive, Italian tankers occupy Solukh and Benghazi. In March, the Ariete Panzer Division is fighting in the Mechili-Derna Gorge (mechili-derna).

At the beginning of May, before the breakthrough of the line and Ghazal, all Italian units had 228 tanks in North Africa. Since that time, in the African theater of operations, the Italians have used three regimental armored cavalry groups - Raggruppamento Esplorante Corazzato, each of which had 30 new L6 / 40 light tanks. These are groups III/Lancieri di Novoro, III/Nizza, III/Lodi.

On May 26, the Ariete Panzer Division attacked the Bir-Hakeim area (translated from Arabic as "Dog Well"). This area was defended by the 1st Free French Brigade. The Italians suffered serious losses - 32 tanks were out of order in one day. No success, despite this, was achieved.

On May 27, the Afrika Korps, acting together with the Italian TD "Ariete", launched a successful offensive on the Gazala line, which culminated in the capture of Tobruk on June 21. The Italians capture a number of sectors, the 31st engineer battalion of the division especially distinguished itself. On May 28, the British carried out a counterattack - units of the 2nd Tank Brigade attacked the battalion. However, the British strike was repulsed - "Arieta" put up fierce resistance.

Already on June 3, the division is fighting with the 10th Indian brigade on the Aslag ridge. The Indians were supported by the 22nd Armored Brigade, which consisted of 156 Grant, Stuart and Crusader tanks. "Ariete" was dropped from the heights, but retreated, keeping the order of battle to the German positions. By June 11, about 60 tanks remained in the tank division. On the same day, the Italians were waiting for success. Tanks and armored vehicles of the Trieste motorized division, supported by tanks of the 21st German Panzer Division, attacked a squadron of the 4th Hussars of the British Army and completely destroyed it.

On June 12, Ariete, together with the German reconnaissance battalion, fought positional battles with the 7th British brigade. Motorized Division "Trieste" was north of Tobruk. This division had a battalion of medium tanks M - 52 units.

On June 18, Ariete, along with the Littorio Panzer Division, which had arrived in northern Africa the day before, were in positions around the cities of Sidi Rezeh and El Adem. They were supposed, if necessary, to prevent the attack of the allies from the south.

On the day when Tobruk fell - June 21, the motorized "Trieste" and the tank division "Littorio" were still south of Tobruk - they had isolated clashes with the defenders breaking through from the fortress.

However, all further attempts to dislodge the British from the occupied territories east of Tobruk did not lead to success. In these battles, the commander of the Ariete division, General Baldassare, dies - he was killed during the bombardment.

It is worth noting that by the end of the battle on the Gazala line, only 12 tanks remained in the Arieta. In total, the 20th motorized corps (divisions "Ariete", "Trieste", "Littorio") - 70 tanks.

Also at that time, separate units participated in the battles in northern Africa. Among them is the mixed group Cavallegeri di Lodi. Her second exadron had 15 L6 tanks, and her sixth squadron had 15 Semovente 47/32. It also included a certain number of AB 41 armored vehicles. The Cavallegeri di Monferrato group also had the same armored vehicles - a total of 42 units.

On November 3, 1942, the Italians fought against the British on the heights of 15 km southwest of the height of Tel El Akkakir. In just half a day, the British dropped more than 90 tons of bombs on enemy positions. Since lunch, the bombardment of the outgoing units of the "Axis" on the seaside highway began. In total, 400 tons of bombs were dropped. At this time, the British infantry, supported by tanks, began an assault on the Italo-German positions. At that time, the Ariete division was the most reliable in the 20 motorized corps. Less combat-ready were Trieste and Littorio. Tanks were in the second line of defense. When the British reached her, the Italians met them with fire from the Zemovente and field artillery. Against the British Grants, the corps commander De Stefanis threw almost 100 tanks. However, Lend-Lease vehicles easily dealt with the lightly armored medium tanks M. Already on November 4, the solid front line was broken through by the British. The result of the battle for the height of Tel el-Akkakir was two hundred padded and burned British, Italian and German tanks. The 20th Italian Corps was defeated.

By the end of the battle of El Alamein, only 12 medium tanks, several artillery batteries and 600 bersaliers remained from the Ariete Panzer Division. By November 21, 1942, its remnants are combined with the remnants of the Littorio division in combat group 20 Corps (Gruppo di combattimento del XX corpo darmato). Another name is the Ariete tactical group. It included a squadron of armored vehicles, two companies of Bersaliers, two infantry battalions and 4 field guns. Separate units of the group will fight until the very end - the surrender of the Axis troops in May 1943 in Tunisia.

Meanwhile, on November 8, 1942, the British and american armies launched a landing in North Africa - Operation Torch (Torch). Within five days, more than 70 thousand people and 450 tanks landed on the mainland. After a pause at the end of the battle of El Alamein, for two months only local clashes took place between the opponents. In January, the British launched an offensive towards the Tarhuna-Homs line. However, after several days of fighting, the Germans and Italians successfully retreated to the Tunisian border, 160 km west of Tripoli. Then, the withdrawal was continued to the position of Maret - the capital of Tripolitania was now 290 km away. Thus, the Axis troops tried to shorten the front line by mobilizing the remaining resources in order to resist the superior forces of the Allies for as long as possible.

Finally, on February 14, 1943, the 21st Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht, with the support of the Italian Panzer Division Centauro (which arrived in Africa in August 1942, had 57 tanks in January 1943), launched an offensive in the Kasserine Pass. On February 15, Centaro tanks entered Gafsa, which the Americans left in advance. The successful actions of the Germans and Italians led to the defeat of the 1st American armored division, which lost almost 300 tanks and other armored vehicles. True, only 23 combat-ready tanks remained in the Centuro.

March 21, 1943 "Centauro" was east of El Guettara. The division consisted of 6 thousand soldiers and 15 tanks.

On April 10, Centauro tanks covered the withdrawal of the German-Italian army in the Fonduk pass. During the rearguard battles, the Italians lost 7 M13 / 40 medium tanks burned down.

By mid-April 1943, General Messe's 1st Italian Army was in the south of the Tunisian front. The most combat-ready in its composition was the 20th motorized corps, and in it, respectively, the divisions "Young Fascists" and "Trieste". It was this army that surrendered to the allies of the latter. Mussolini even managed to appreciate the merits of Messe - the general became a marshal. However, already on May 13-14, the last units of the 1st Army laid down their arms.

According to the most conservative estimates, in 1940-1943, the Italian army lost more than 2,000 tanks and self-propelled guns in Africa.

Sending tanks from Italy to North Africa 1940-1942 (according to Arturo Lorioli).

Receipt of armored vehicles in the Italian troops in North Africa in the first half of 1942 (according to Lucio Ceva)

Italian Marshal Rudolfo Graziani was nicknamed "Native Killer" after his campaign to pacify Libya long before the fighting began in North Africa. The captured native leaders were tied hands and feet, and then dropped from aircraft from a height of about 100 meters directly onto the rebel camps. Later, he used poisonous gases and bacteriological weapons in his attempts to pacify Ethiopia.
The Libyan tribes hated the Italians, who forced them into the desert from the fertile lands and pastures along the coast. In addition, the Italians, suspecting some Arab of assisting the British, invariably hung him on a hook by the jaw. This was their favorite punishment. That is why the nomads subsequently provided invaluable assistance to the allies.

In the desert between Benghazi and Tripoli, there were frequent skirmishes between German and British reconnaissance groups. Once a whole battle took place with the participation of armored vehicles - 3 armored cars on each side.
They say that 2 opposing parties met on the coast near El Agheila and, barely passing on a narrow section of the road, rushed next to each other, raising clouds of dust. The British commander exclaimed: "Thunder strike me! Did you see? It's the Germans!"
Then 3 British armored cars turned around and rushed at the enemy - 1 car along a narrow road, and 2 others to the right and left of it along the sands. German intelligence officers did the same. The result was discouraging for both sides: while 2 armored cars went on a frontal attack, pouring fire on each other, 4 flanks got stuck in the sand.
Then the lead vehicles returned, and after the redeployment, when everyone managed to get out on solid ground, the attack signal sounded again. Firing from weapons of all calibers, the detachments converged on parallel courses, and then each returned to his old place - the disposition was restored.
Since no one managed to achieve obvious success, no losses and hits on the target were recorded by the observers, the commanders decided not to continue the battle further, and returned to the disposition of their troops with a sense of accomplishment.

During the siege of El Mekili, Erwin Rommel ordered that bundles of trees and bushes on long cables be tied to all auxiliary vehicles and to some light Italian tanks. The Italian tanks moved in the first line, one after the other, followed by auxiliary vehicles, a field kitchen and staff vehicles.
Bundles of trees and shrubs kicked up huge clouds of dust. For the British, it looked like a full-scale attack of large forces. The British not only retreated, but also removed additional forces from other sectors of the defense. At the same time, Rommel attacked from a completely different direction with the forces of the German panzer divisions. The British were completely disoriented and defeated.

Before the first attack on Tobruk, which began on April 30, 1941, General Paulus, Halder's deputy, flew to Rommel. The visit was due to the fact that Halder was not interested in any action in Africa that might require reinforcements from German troops engaged in the main theater of operations and preparing at that time to attack Russia.
He also had an instinctive distaste for Hitler's tendency to support dynamic commanders like Rommel who did not want to follow the patterns laid down by the High Command. General Paulus flew to Africa to "prevent this soldier from completely losing his mind," Halder wrote caustically in his diary about Rommel.

Before Operation Battlex, which began on June 15, 1941, Erwin Rommel set up his 88 mm Flak-88 anti-aircraft guns behind the Yu-shaped sandy ramparts and dug them into the ground. Moreover, they were dug in so deep that the trunk rose above the level of sand by only 30-60 cm.
Then, around each gun position, a light awning was stretched to match the color of the sand, so that even with binoculars it was impossible to determine the firing positions in the sand. When the British saw many of these sand dunes, they did not worry, as they did not know of any German heavy weapons with such a low silhouette.
Rommel then sent his light tanks in a mock attack on the British positions. The British cruiser tanks, sensing an easy victory, rushed towards them, while the German light tanks turned around and retreated behind the line of 88mm guns. When the distance between the Flaks and the Allied tanks was reduced to a minimum, the trap slammed shut and the guns opened fire.
The first message from the commander of the tank battalion by radiotelephone: "They are tearing my tanks to pieces" became the last report. This tank trap was rightly called by the British soldiers the "hellfire pass", at one point of the breakthrough out of 13 Matilda tanks only 1 survived.

If even a 76 mm captured gun was a thunderstorm for the Allied tanks, then the 88 mm gun became something unimaginable in general. This gun "Flak-88" was created by Krupp in 1916 as an anti-aircraft gun.
The Model 1940 was also considered an anti-aircraft gun and was used in that role before Rommel started using them against tanks in France. These guns were not as mobile as the 50 mm, but their firing range was much higher. The 88-mm gun sent its 10 kg projectile to a distance of 3 km with exceptional accuracy.
For example, in the battle of Sidi Omar, during the Battle of the Crusader, or as it is also called the Battle of Marmarica, in November 1941, a British tank regiment lost 48 out of 52 tanks. All of them were destroyed by 88-mm guns. None of the British tanks even managed to get close enough to fire on the German guns.
A soldier of the 9th Lancers wrote: “A direct hit (from an 88-mm gun) was like hitting a huge sledgehammer on a tank. The projectile pierced a neat round hole about 10 cm in diameter, a whirlwind of red-hot fragments burst into the tower. Such a hit usually meant death .. . Until the very end of the war, 88-mm guns remained our most dangerous enemy ... ".

A. Moorhead recalled the battle for Marmarika, which came to completely anecdotal situations. For example, a German soldier is driving an English truck with captured South Africans, loses control on a difficult section of the highway and crashes into an Italian car, from the back of which the New Zealanders jump out and free the South Africans.
Or trucks with German infantry at dusk are attached to a British convoy and several tens of kilometers ride side by side with the enemy until they notice their mistake and hide in the desert.

From the diary of the German corporal O. Seibold: "October 21. We are in Mozhaisk ... An African division arrives in cars painted in the color of the desert. This is either a bad sign, or a sign that we, remaining 100 km from the Kremlin, will nevertheless overcome ...".
From the documents of the Bryansk Front on the actions north of Kastornoye: “From the testimony of the captured Nazis, we learned that German and Italian units were operating in this direction. The troops of the notorious fascist General Rommel, hastily transferred to the Soviet-German front from Libya, were fighting here. It also became clear why they were against German tanks, painted yellow - the color of desert sand..."
V. Kazakov in his work "In the Battle for Moscow" wrote: "Having familiarized himself with the latest intelligence, Rokossovsky established that in front of the front of the 16th Army the situation had not changed in recent days (November 10, 1941). The exception was the 5th Panzer Division enemy She arrived 2 days ago from Africa ... ".
However, many authors were wrong when they said that the 5th Panzer Division was removed from the front in Africa, where it had never fought (There was a 5th Light Division in Africa). In fact, the Wehrmacht command only planned to give it to help Rommel, but soon decided to throw it near Moscow. This did not tip the scales in favor of the Reich, but it did deprive Rommel of the long-awaited and so precious reinforcements that he so badly needed.

Given the fact that Italian tanks were not suitable for serious combat, by 1942 they were called "self-propelled coffins". In private, Rommel claimed that his hair stood on end when he familiarized himself with the equipment that Mussolini sent to his troops.
There was even a joke in the Afrika Korps:
Question: Which soldiers are the bravest in the world?
Answer: Italian.
Question: Why?
Answer: Because they go into battle with the weapons they have.

In June 1942, when Rommel's 15th Panzer Division surrounded the 10th Indian Brigade on the Aslag Ridge, Brigadier General Buchera escaped with 2 Indians. They spent the night in a wrecked truck. In the morning they tried to slip through to their units.
During a hasty flight, Bucher noticed a German battery and realized that there were positions of German artillery around and the fugitives decided to hide. Bucher soon found a trench and covered the two Indians with sand. They used reeds for breathing. Then the General himself hid in a similar way.
A few minutes later, another German battery arrived. As the fighting continued, the RAF attacked the German guns and one of the gunners jumped into the same trench.
After the British planes had left, the gunner saw one of Bucher's shoes sticking out of a pile of sand. He decided to take them for himself, and for this it was necessary to dig up the alleged corpse. One can only imagine the amazement of the German when, instead, he found a completely alive British Brigadier General! After that, both comrades surrendered.

Due to the lack of tanks, Rommel's troops often fought on captured tanks. From the memoirs of a British officer: “We lost the Pisa tank - during a sharp turn, its right track and suspension turned into a bunch of separate parts. With a close burst of a shell, my driver hit the gun mount and fell under the levers with a crushed jaw.
Twilight came on. We picked up the crew of the broken down car and rushed back to the appointed place where the night camp of the squadron was located. As soon as we drove off, 2 German T-IIIs headed towards the abandoned "A-13". The Hans also loved trophies.
Around midnight, the German evacuation brigade dragged the Pisa tank to the mobile repair unit. After 5 days we saw him again - with a black cross on his side and with a crew consisting of Axis soldiers.

After the capture of Tobruk and 33,000 prisoners, a group of South African officers demanded that they be placed in a special POW camp, separate from the coloreds.
Rommel rudely rejected this demand, replying that the blacks were also soldiers of the Union of South Africa. If they are good enough to wear uniforms and fight alongside whites, they will enjoy equal rights. So the Allies hated not only the Germans, but also each other.

During the Allied retreat to Alexandria in 1942, some of the soldiers of the British battery were surrounded and forced to surrender. The German captain who kept them under siege captured a high-ranking British officer (this prisoner was Desmond Young, who later, as a Brigadier General, wrote one of the best books about Field Marshal Rommel).
German officer demanded at gunpoint that Jung order the other units to surrender and lay down their weapons, but Jung sent him to the "damn grandmother". Suddenly, the dust rose like a column, a staff car appeared ... and Rommel himself got out of it.
The captain reported the situation. The "Desert Fox" thought and said, "No, such a demand would undermine the spirit of chivalry and run counter to the honest rules of warfare." He ordered his subordinate to find another solution to the problem, and then offered Jung iced lemon tea from his own flask.

At the first clash on November 26, 1942, American and German tankers in the Second World War there was a tragicomic incident. During the battle, 6 American "Stuarts" were hit and immediately flared up. The Germans also knocked out at least 6 T-4 tanks and several T-3 tanks.
They either lost their tracks or had their engine bay shutters blown out. However, not a single German tank was destroyed. The shells bounced off their armor like peas. This puzzled the Americans. But they didn’t know that real armor-piercing shells were lying quietly in the port, and only training blanks were in the tanks.

The American tank "Grant" was a thunderstorm for German tankers. Despite this, he had many shortcomings, especially in the sands of North Africa.
The biggest drawback was the rubber-metal tracks. During the battle, rubber burned out on the hot sand of the desert, as a result of which the caterpillar fell apart, turning the tank into a stationary target.
For example, Soviet tankers, having tested the "Grants" on the sands, dubbed them "a mass grave for six." An example is the report of the commander of the 134th tank regiment Tikhonchuk dated December 14, 1942:
"American tanks in the sand work exceptionally poorly, the tracks are constantly falling off, getting stuck in the sand, losing power, due to which the speed is extremely low."

The British talked about booty after the battles in North Africa. The dead Germans gave them tobacco, chocolate and canned sausages. Their fallen brothers in arms supplied them with cigarettes, jam and sweets.
Italian trucks were considered "Jack-pot". They supplied them with delicacies such as canned peaches and cherries, cigars, Chianti and Frascati wines, Pellegrino sparkling water, and even sweet champagne.
In the desert, as everyone thinks, there were no women, although this is not so - about 200 women worked in the rear hospital in Derna. Their skill was very much needed by the German soldiers during the upcoming battles. But these were not the only women in Africa!
It is known that in Tripoli on Via Tassoni, house 4, there was a rear brothel of the Wehrmacht, which most of the "Africans" never saw it. Recruited Italian women worked there, who agreed to go to the desert, but according to eyewitnesses, none of them were beautiful.

In a narrow circle of people close to him, Marshal often recalled Hitler's critical remarks about the fact that Paulus should have shot himself as a sign of loyalty to the Fuhrer, and not surrender.
Rommel always said that he understood and approved of Paulus' actions. If the Fuhrer's order had not withdrawn him from Africa, and he managed to survive during the fierce battles, he, like Paulus, would have shared the bitter fate of his soldiers in enemy captivity:
“It takes a lot more courage to surrender with your army than just putting a bullet in your head.

To late XIX century, almost all European countries were included in the “African pie” section. Even little Belgium, which gained independence from the Netherlands only in 1830, already 40 years later decided that it was quite capable of participating in the colonization of the cherished territories. As a result, the Belgian Congo appeared on the map.

The intensive colonial policy of that time was called the "Race for Africa". Their "pieces" in that colonial fever for the First World War snapped up: Italy, Great Britain, Germany, already mentioned Belgium. Portugal and Spain also strengthened and expanded their colonies.

During the First World War, Germany lost its positions, and its territories were transferred to the victorious countries under the mandates of the League of Nations.

By the Second World War, Africa (especially its North East End) became not just a tidbit of territory, but also a strategic place, for which a fierce battle was waged for three years.

East African Campaign

The East African campaign officially lasted less than a year and a half - from June 10, 1940 to November 27, 1941, however, Italian soldiers continued to fight in Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea until the end of 1943, until the surrender order reached them.

The campaign was shaping up for the Allied forces in the most favorable way. Despite their numerical superiority, the Italian troops were largely composed of local Askari, Zapti and Dubat troops, who were, however, well armed and trained. However, thousands of Italians were taken prisoner. During the capture of Massawa, the British captured 40,000 Italians. By mid-May 1941, the number of Italian prisoners reached 230,000. Meanwhile, during the 1,700-kilometer march on Addis Ababa, the 12th African Division met little resistance and lost only 500 men. There are no exact figures on the number of deaths in this campaign.
The East African campaign gave the world its hero. Oddly enough, he became the commander-in-chief of the Italian troops of the Italian East African Empire, the Duke of Aosta. He personally led the troops during the naval battle of Amba-Alagi. Aosta received respect for his extraordinary action for the war. After the surrender, he insisted that his troops remove the minefields they had laid before they went into captivity.

Blood of war

By and large, the African campaigns were a battle for the "blood of war" - oil. It was for oil that the Germans went to Palestine and the Suez Canal, but they could not go through Arabia, because then the troops would have lost supplies from the Mediterranean ports. Coalition troops were also attached to them. Both the Germans and the Allies went to the Middle East oil, because without it, any army would be de-energized.

Great Britain received oil from Venezuela, from the Middle East, the USA and Southeast Asia (in 1942, Japan “intercepted” Asian oil by the Japanese). Germany, on the other hand, "fought" the Romanian oil of Ploiesti and small volumes of Hungarian and Galician oil. They needed oil no less than Britain.

Sly fox of war

Winston Churchill called Erwin Rommel an experienced and brave opponent, and even a brilliant commander. During the African campaigns, he received his nickname "cunning fox of war."

The first stage of the campaign was successful, but closer to 1942, the Afrika Korps began to experience supply shortages, since all the efforts of the German military machine were transferred to the East. Despite this, Rommel continued to fight, using captured guns and shells, being in a situation of overwhelming numerical superiority of the Allies, losing in the quality and novelty of military equipment and experiencing an extremely acute shortage of fuel.

The cunning, and sometimes outright arrogance of the Field Marshal, forced the Allied troops to act indecisively and allowed Rommel to hold out, periodically pushing the enemy, until November 1942.

One of the most famous tricks of the "desert fox", who perfectly knew how to build a good face when bad game, was to attach to all auxiliary vehicles and to some light tanks with long cables bundles of trees and shrubs, raising clouds of dust.

The British units, seeing this and being fully confident in the attack of a large German formation, were not only forced to retreat, but also to regroup their forces for defense. Real heavy tank formations at that time struck from a completely different direction, which created panic, disorganization in the ranks of the British, and, as a result, defeat.

In early November 1942, Rommel gives the order to retreat, which is interrupted by Hitler's hysterical dispatch "to stand firm, not to surrender an inch of land and engage in the battle everyone and everything, to the last soldier and the last rifle" - in the conditions of a fourfold superiority of the Allies in manpower and fivefold - in the number of tanks and guns.

Having lost about half of the tanks, Rommel nevertheless took the remnants of the corps to Tunisia. He launched his last offensive in North Africa on February 19, 1943, but three days later it was stopped by the Allies. In March, the field marshal left for Berlin in order to justify to the high command the pointlessness of the further presence of the Reich armed forces on the African continent. He was ordered to remain in Germany "for medical treatment", which continued until July.

Rommel remained one of the few participants in the war who was not involved in any war crimes.

Casablanca Conference

In the midst of the Battle of Stalingrad, when the Red Army and the people showed remarkable heroism, and "beat the German" near Stalingrad, in Casablanca, the Anfa Hotel gathered: Roosevelt, Churchill and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States and Great Britain. Joseph Stalin was also invited there, but he could not come, because he could not leave the country until the victorious end of the Battle of Stalingrad. As a result, it was decided to complete the African operation, to capture Tunisia in the summer of 1943 in order to use the liberated troops to land in Sicily. The United States insisted on the priority of the Pacific operation, but did not deny its participation in the landing in Europe with the success of the Red Army.

At the end of the conference, The Times wrote: "The shadow of an empty chair fell on all these negotiations."

Campaign value

The African campaign of World War II cannot be underestimated, but it must be admitted that the Allies' hesitation in opening a Second Front clearly showed that Africa was of interest to Britain and the United States not only as a springboard for the operation and an "oil barrel".
At the same Casablanca conference, General George Marshall did not rule out the imminent surrender of Germany. The plan for the landing of the Allied troops in Nomandy was provided with so many reservations that it was obvious that the desire to end the war with the forces of the USSR was very strong among the British. According to the documents of the agreement and according to the Overlord plan, the landing could take place only if the wind was not too strong, if the moon was in the right phase, if the weather was good, if the Germans by that time would have no more than 12 mobile divisions in North-Western Europe reserve, and also on the condition that the Germans cannot transfer more than 15 first-class divisions from the Russian front.

Allied victory in North Africa

(November 1942 - May 1943)

After the lost battle of El Alamein in October-November 1942, where the German-Italian troops lost almost half of their personnel and most of the tanks, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel began the withdrawal of the remaining troops to the west, stopping at pro-intermediate positions convenient for defense. Rommel wanted to organize a defense at the Fuki line, but the remaining forces were not enough for this. Rommel's troops retreated to the Mersa-Maruch line, but already on November 8 they were forced to continue their retreat, avoiding the bypass of the British troops from the south.

On November 8, US-British troops under the command of General Eisenhower landed in Algiers, Oran and Casablanca (Morocco). By the end of November most of French North Africa (Morocco and Algeria) came under the control of the Allied forces - French African colonies joined de Gaulle in his fight against Nazi Germany and agonizing Italy. Allied troops entered Tunisia from the west.

On the night of November 13, British troops occupied Tobruk, and on November 20, Benghazi. During the two weeks of the offensive, the British 8th Army covered 850 kilometers. On November 27, British troops occupied El Agheila. For several weeks, Rommel's troops entrenched themselves at Gasr el Brega. In early December, they were forced to leave this position as well.

Fighting in North Africa in the winter of 1942-43

Only two months later, on January 23, 1943, British troops captured Tripoli. German-Italian Panzer Army went to Tunisia. Italy has lost its last colony. In early February, the German-Italian troops, retreating to Tunisia and receiving some reinforcements and tanks, occupied the well-fortified Maret line, 100 miles from the border with Libya, built by the French before the war. Here they joined up with German and Italian troops that had landed in Tunisia in November 1942 to defend from the west against the American-British troops advancing from Algiers.

Allied troops, advancing from the territory of Algeria to Tunisia included the American, British and French corps. They took up positions in western and central Tunisia, waiting for the spring to resume their advance.

Rommel, who was in charge of all the German-Italian forces in North Africa, did not wait for the Allied advance. On February 14, German troops (10th and 21st Wehrmacht Panzer Divisions) attacked the positions of the Americans. The American troops did not yet have combat experience and were unable to hold the line, retreating to the Kasserine Pass (pass). On February 19 and 20, Rommel continued his attacks, and the American troops withdrew again, losing 200 people killed and more than a thousand wounded. 2.5 thousand people were taken prisoner by the Germans. German troops advanced 150 km to the northwest.

Rommel could attack the Allied supply bases - Tebessa and Tola, but, expecting an American counterattack, he stopped his advance. The next day, Rommel resumed the offensive, but in front of him were fresh British and American formations, including an American artillery division, which passed more than a thousand kilometers from Oran in 4 days. On the morning of February 22, this division stopped the German tanks.

Unable to overcome a strong artillery barrier, Rommel transferred the 10th and 21st German Panzer Divisions to the east, where General Montgomery's 8th British Army was preparing to attack in front of the Maret line.

Fighting in the area of ​​the Kasserine passage from 14 to 23 February 1943

Fighting at the Kasserine Pass from 19 to 22 February 1943

Fighting in North Africa in March-April 1943

On March 6, 1943, German tank divisions attacked the troops of the British 8th Army on the Maret line. However, Montgomery expected the German advance, having information from the decoded radio interception and from aerial reconnaissance. German tanks were met by British artillery. Here the Germans lost 41 tanks out of 150 that participated in the offensive.

At this time, the German counter-offensive began in Ukraine, and new combat aircraft were sent, first of all, to Eastern front. German-Italian troops in North Africa and their supply routes were left without the necessary air cover, which further worsened their situation.

Field Marshal E. Rommel flew to Germany and tried to convince Hitler to withdraw troops from North Africa. Hitler removed Rommel and appointed Colonel-General von Arnim as commander-in-chief of the German-Italian forces in North Africa.

The British quickly rebuilt the airfields in Libya, which the Germans had destroyed during their retreat, and increased their combat aircraft, bringing the number of aircraft to 3,000. The coastal road has been reconstructed and its throughput increased more than three times, amounting to 3,000 tons of cargo per day, which fully met the needs of the troops.

On March 16, the 8th British Army, replenished with personnel and equipment, launched a frontal attack on the Maret Line. Two divisions encircled and bypassed the enemy's defensive line from the south. Montgomery had the advice of the French general who was building the Maret Line and knew how to get around it.

On March 21, British 8th Troops launched an offensive from the south to the Maret Line, and American troops from the west in the Maknasee area.

On March 27, the British divisions, which bypassed the Maret line from the south, broke through the cut-off position of the enemy. The German-Italian troops, in order to avoid encirclement, began to withdraw from the line of Wadi Akarit, located 65 km to the north.

Southern operation in Tunisia January 30 - April 10, 1943

On April 6, the British 8th Army and the American Corps simultaneously launched an offensive. The 4th Indian Division broke through the front. German-Italian troops began to withdraw. They left most of Tunisia and entrenched themselves in a 130x60 km area in the north of the country, near the cities of Bizerte and Tunis. By this time, the supply of the German-Italian group pressed to the sea had deteriorated greatly.

From the beginning of 1943, the Allies sank half of all enemy ships, but still, by sea and air, about 30 thousand tons of cargo were transferred to Tunisia every month. Ship losses were compensated by French ships captured in Tunisia in November 1942.

However, from the beginning of April, Allied aviation began to act more actively, using the restored airfields in Libya, both against sea convoys and against air traffic. By April 12, 129 German and Italian transport aircraft had been shot down. The Luftwaffe tried to organize the supply of their troops with the help of heavy transport aircraft Me-323, with a carrying capacity of 20 tons. On April 22, 20 Me-323 flew out of Sicily at low altitude, but were discovered by British fighters. 16 Me-323 transport planes were shot down.

The allies spent two weeks regrouping their troops. On April 22, an American corps transferred to the north, commanded by General Bradley, captured Hill 609, which dominated Bizerte.

Surrender of German-Italian troops in North Africa
in May 1943

British troops began their offensive only on May 5, after a long air preparation. It was the largest bombing of all time in the fighting in North Africa. At the same time, artillery preparation from 600 guns was carried out in a narrow section of the breakthrough. The 4th Indian Division broke through the German defenses. The German troops left the Merger Pass, and the path to the city of Tunisia was opened. British armored divisions were introduced into the gap, which by the evening of May 5 approached the outskirts of Tunisia, cutting the German-Italian grouping into two parts. The German-Italian troops stationed in the southern part withdrew to the Cap Bon Peninsula, hoping to be evacuated by sea to Sicily, but the British fleet completely blocked the peninsula from the sea.

Some of the German troops tried to cross to Sicily in boats and small ships. Most of these boats were sunk, but according to German data, about 700 people reached the coast of Sicily. On May 7, American troops captured Bizerte and British troops captured Tunisia. On May 12, the commander of the German troops, General Arnim, surrendered, on May 13, the Italian General Messe.

On May 13, 1943, the Italo-German troops, surrounded on the Cap Bon peninsula, capitulated. The Allied Tunisian operation was completed. Allied troops completely captured North Africa. More than 233,000 people surrendered (according to the allies, about 240,000), most of them in the last few days of fighting.

Allied troops began to prepare for a landing in Sicily. Preparations for this operation took two months. At this time, the lull continued not only in the Mediterranean, but also on the Soviet-German front.

Results

As a result of the defeat of the German-Italian troops near El Alamein in 1942, the plans of the German command to reach the Suez Canal and block it were thwarted.

After the liquidation of the German-Italian troops in North Africa (in Tunisia), the invasion of the Anglo-American troops into Italy became inevitable.

The defeat of Italian troops in Africa and the subsequent landing of allied troops in Italy led to an increase in defeatist sentiment in Italy, the overthrow of Mussolini and, as a result, Italy's withdrawal from the war.