The Museum of History and Holocaust Education at Kennesaw State University
The Kennesaw State University Department of Museums, Archives and Rare Books (MARB) presents exhibitions, public programs, collections, and educational services supporting KSU’s mission and encouraging dialogue about the past and its significance today. The Museum of History and Holocaust Education, as a unit of MARB, has developed a series of online modules, including this one, for university students to explore pivotal moments from the history of World War II and the Holocaust.
Title Image: British Tank Traversing the Sahara Desert, 1943. Courtesy Imperial War Museum
Image: Threads of Memory exhibition. Courtesy Museum of History and Holocaust Education
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Using the primary source material and content in this online unit, respond to the three essential questions found below. In your responses, include evidence from the content in this online unit. Please refer to the directions provided by your instructor on submitting your responses to these essential questions as well as to the questions posed throughout this unit.
- How did a colonial relationship differ from an allied partnership?
- How did resource management influence both the Allies’ and the Axis Powers’ strategies?
- What was the significance of the African theater of World War II? Do you think it was overshadowed by the Pacific and European theaters of the war? If so, why?
Table of Contents
- North African Campaign Overview
- Key Figures and Geography of the North African Campaign
- Allied Forces
- Axis Powers
- The Scramble for Africa
- Western Desert Campaign
- Operation Torch
- Tunisia Campaign
- The End of the War
- Remembering the African Theater
- Exploring the Independence Movement
- References
North African Campaign Overview
On September 13, 1940, Italian forces under Marshal Rodolfo Graziani launched an attack from Libya upon Western Egypt. Graziani hoped to debilitate British-occupied Egypt by taking control of a vital source of income and trade – the Suez Canal. The conflicts in Africa would snowball into numerous battles and campaigns eventually involving Britain, the United States, and France of the Allies and Germany and Italy of the Axis Powers.
The North African Campaign played a major role in the fall of Germany and the end of World War II. The Allies invaded Sicily in the summer of 1943 and, because of the second front in Africa, the Axis Powers lost access to essential resources in the Middle East, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. The phases of the North African campaign – Western Desert Campaign, Operation Torch, and the Tunisia Campaign - opened immense opportunities for the Allies to use their power and to gain ground into Germany and Italy.
Despite its strategic importance, the North African Campaign also illustrated the significance of colonial relations and resources during the war. By this time, every country involved in the campaign was under some form of imperial influence. These power structures, which dated back to the nineteenth century, were crucial for extracting the necessary resources to continue fueling the conflict. Strategists on both sides understood this and actively planned attacks in the hopes of gaining or retaining control of these resources. The North African Campaign is therefore a battle over colonialism rather than a purely logistical second front.
While making a path to Germany was certainly of importance, the various campaigns which occurred over these three years centered on pursuing or protecting occupied areas so as to extract them of their necessary resources. Understanding the importance of colonial dynamics to the North African Campaign only makes the end of the war – the period of decolonization and African independence – that much more ironic. While current accounts of World War II often focus on the European and Pacific theaters, Africa was a contentious and crucial hub for resources and battle during this tremendous global conflict.
Image: American Soldier Receiving an Award for Courageous Fighting in North Africa, 1941. Courtesy Library of Congress
KEY FIGURES and geography OF THE NORTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN
Many key actors and locations were involved during the four years of conflict in North Africa. Below, you will find biographical information on some of the major generals, commanders, and leaders of both the Axis and Allied Forces. In addition, there will be a video of an interactive map made by the BBC which visualizes the important battlegrounds and scope of the war.
This video from the BBC visualizes the conflict and movement of Axis and Allied troops during the North African Campaign. Watch the video and answer the following questions.
- What was the conflict like from 1939-1942?
- How did the arrival of U.S. Allied troops in 1943 change the scale of the conflict?
- Why do you think the war remained largely along the coast of North Africa?
This digital lesson was curated and designed by Thomas Patterson from Georgia State University in collaboration with staff from the Museum of History and Holocaust Education at Kennesaw State University.