Western Desert campaign

The Western Desert campaign, often called the Desert War, was a major theater of the Second World War.

It took place across the vast, arid landscapes of Egypt and Libya. The conflict was a struggle for control over North Africa and vital supply routes. One of the most important locations was the Suez Canal in Egypt. This canal was a critical link for British communications with territories in the Far East and the Indian Ocean. The campaign involved massive movements of troops, tanks, and supplies across a harsh and unforgiving environment.

The geography of the Western Desert presented constant challenges to military operations.

The fighting mostly occurred on a flat, stony plain stretching from Marsa Matruh in Egypt to Gazala on the Libyan coast. Most movement followed a single paved road. To the south lay the Sand Sea, which acted as a natural limit to the desert. The weather was extreme, with miserable heat in the spring and summer and freezing cold at night. A hot desert wind called the sirocco frequently blew clouds of fine sand. This sand coated everything from food to machinery, and it could clog the lungs and eyes of soldiers.

Logistics, or the management of supplies, determined much of the campaign's progress.

For the Axis powers, supplying troops was a massive task. They had to haul goods over enormous distances by road. Because of this, many trucks were often broken or unserviceable. In fact, about one third of Axis lorries were often out of order. Furthermore, between 35 and 50 percent of fuel deliveries were used just to transport the remaining fuel to the front lines. The Axis also struggled with sea routes, as 16 percent of their supply shipments were sunk between 1940 and 1943.

The British faced their own logistical hurdles, especially regarding water. They had to build pipelines and dig wells, but many wells only provided salt water. To manage resources, they created the Middle East Supply Centre (MESC). This organization helped coordinate imports and encouraged local production. By March 1943, the MESC had helped replace the equivalent of 100 Liberty ship deliveries through local crops. They increased the production of potatoes, dairy, fish, and cooking oil. They even used cattle drives from Sudan to reduce the need for refrigerated shipping.

The war began in June 1940 when Italy declared war.

In September 1940, Italian forces invaded Egypt from Libya. The British responded with Operation Compass in December 1940.

This five-day raid was highly successful and led to the destruction of the Italian 10th Army. In response, Benito Mussolini requested help from Adolf Hitler. Germany sent a small force to Tripoli in January 1941. Soon, the German general Erwin Rommel took command and led Operation Sonnenblume.

This operation pushed Allied forces back toward Egypt and led to the siege of the port at Tobruk.

Fighting continued through several intense stages of movement and counter-attacks.

In late 1941, the Axis forces were temporarily defeated during Operation Crusader. However, in early 1942, Axis forces drove the Allies back again. They captured the port of Tobruk following the Battle of Gazala.

This forced the Allies to retreat to El Alamein.

There, the British Eighth Army fought two defensive battles. In October 1942, they won the Second Battle of El Alamein.

This victory allowed the Allies to push Axis forces out of Libya and toward Tunisia.

The campaign reached its conclusion through combined Allied efforts. While the Eighth Army pushed from the east, the Allied First Army invaded Tunisia from the west during Operation Torch.

This two-pronged approach trapped the remaining Axis forces. By May 1943, the Axis forces in North Africa surrendered. The war in this region was also heavily influenced by global events. When Germany launched Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union, the desert became a secondary concern for the German high command. This shift allowed the Allies to increase their strength with more personnel and American supplies, including new tanks.