Western Desert campaign in the context of "North African campaign"

The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 11 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert War), in Morocco and Algeria (Operation Torch), and in Tunisia (Tunisia campaign). The Allied war effort was dominated by the British Commonwealth and exiles from German-occupied Europe. The United States entered the war in December 1941 and began direct military assistance in North Africa on 11 May 1942.

Fighting in North Africa started with the British raids on Italian Libya on 11 June 1940 after Italy's entry into the Second World War on the German side. On 14 June, the British 11th Hussars and part of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment, (1st RTR) crossed the border from Egypt into Libya and captured Fort Capuzzo. This was followed by an Italian counter-offensive into Egypt and the capture of Sidi Barrani in September. The British recaptured Sidi Barrani in December during Operation Compass. The Italian 10th Army was destroyed and the German Afrika Korps was dispatched to North Africa in February 1941 in Operation Sonnenblume to reinforce the Italians and prevent an Axis defeat.

The Eighth Army was a field army of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed as the Western Army on 10 September 1941, in Egypt, before being renamed the Army of the Nile and then the Eighth Army on 26 September. It was created to better control the growing Allied force based in Egypt and to direct its efforts to lift the siege of Tobruk via Operation Crusader.

It later directed Allied forces through the remaining engagements of the Western Desert campaign, oversaw part of the Allied effort during the Tunisian campaign and finally led troops throughout the Italian campaign. During 1943, it made up part of the 18th Army Group before being assigned to the 15th Army Group (later, the Allied Armies in Italy).

The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. The Allies consisted of British Imperial Forces, including a Greek contingent, with American and French corps. Despite initial successes by the German and Italian forces brought from the mainland and which had withdrawn into and occupied Tunisia after their defeat in the Western Desert and the success of Operation Torch, massive supply interdiction efforts and Allied assaults from east and west led to the decisive defeat of the Axis. Over 260,000 German and Italian troops were taken as prisoners of war, including most of the Afrika Korps.

Fort Capuzzo (Italian: Ridotta Capuzzo) was a fort in the colony of Italian Libya, near the Libya–Egypt border, next to the Italian Frontier Wire. The Litoranea Balbo (Via Balbo) ran south from Bardia to Fort Capuzzo, 8 mi (13 km) inland, west of Sollum, then east across the Egyptian frontier to the port over the coastal escarpment. The fort was built during the Italian colonial repression of Senussi resistance in the Second Italo-Senussi War (1923–1931), as part of a barrier on the Libya–Egypt and Libya–Sudan borders.

The Frontier Wire and a line of forts including Fort Capuzzo were used to stop the Senussi from moving freely across the border. The fort had four crenellated walls enclosing a yard. Living quarters had been built around the edges and provided the base for border guards and Italian army armoured car patrols. A track ran south from the fort, just west of the frontier wire and the border, to Sidi Omar, Fort Maddalena and Giarabub. The fort changed hands several times during the Western Desert campaign (1940–1943) of the Second World War.

Keith Castellain Douglas (24 January 1920 – 9 June 1944) was an English poet and soldier noted for his war poetry during the Second World War and his wry memoir of the Western Desert campaign, Alamein to Zem Zem. He was killed in action during the invasion of Normandy.

The siege of Tobruk (/təˈbrʊk, toʊ-/) took place between 10 April and 27 November 1941, during the Western Desert campaign (1940–1943) of the Second World War. An Allied force, consisting mostly of the 9th Australian Division, commanded by Lieutenant-General Leslie Morshead, was besieged in the North African port of Tobruk by German and Italian forces. The tenacious defenders quickly became known as the Rats of Tobruk. After 231 days, they were finally relieved by the British Eighth Army.

In late 1940, the Allies had defeated the Italian 10th Army during Operation Compass (9 December 1940 – 9 February 1941) and trapped the remnants at Beda Fomm. On 22 January 1941, Tobruk's Italian garrison surrendered. But in early 1941, much of the British Western Desert Force was sent to the Greek and Syria–Lebanon campaigns, leaving only a skeleton force short of equipment and supplies.