German forces arrived in North Africa in February 1941 to shore up Italy’s collapsing position, but the limited mission conceived in Berlin soon collided with Erwin Rommel’s far more ambitious plans. This episode examines the creation of the Afrika Korps, the uneasy German-Italian command arrangement, the arrival of German ground and air units in Libya, and the supply problems that would shape every Axis advance across the desert—setting the stage for both Rommel’s legend and the long campaign ahead.
 
Credit Logo image: By Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-783-0150-28 / Valtingojer / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5477801 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

German forces arrived in North Africa in February 1941 to shore up Italy’s collapsing position, but the limited mission conceived in Berlin soon collided with Erwin Rommel’s far more ambitious plans. This episode examines the creation of the Afrika Korps, the uneasy German-Italian command arrangement, the arrival of German ground and air units in Libya, and the supply problems that would shape every Axis advance across the desert—setting the stage for both Rommel’s legend and the long campaign ahead.



Credit Logo image: By Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-783-0150-28 / Valtingojer / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5477801
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

279: North Africa '41 Pt. 1 - Why Are the Germans Here?

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