"They are certainly no good at war" Erwin Rommel (referring to the Italians)

"We have a very daring and skillful opponent against us. And may I say across the havoc of war, a great general."  Winston Churchill (commenting on Rommel)

"If the Germans cannot win this war, then they can rot." Adolph Hitler (To Rommel, 1943)

AFRIKAKORPS Organization

Again, the Deutsches AFRIKAKORPS, was the original German "Blocking Force" sent to Libya in February of 1941 during the North African Campaign of World War II. The force was a component element of the German contribution to Panzer Army Africa - Panzerarmee Afrika which evolved into the German-Italian Panzer Army - Deutsch-Italienische Panzerarmee and Army Group Africa - Heeresgruppe Afrika.

The AFRIKAKORPS (This is properly written in one word and not two words) was formed upon the arrival on February 12, 1941, of Gen. Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel after the German Armed Forces High Command Oberkommando des Wehrmacht/ OKW and Oberkommando des Heeres / OKH had decided to send a "blocking force" to Libya to support the failing Italian army, which had been routed by a Commonwealth Forces counter-offensive led by the British Eighth Army, in Operation Compass. The German "blocking force", commanded by Erwin Rommel, at first consisted of only the 5./leichte "AFRIKA" Panzer Regiment which was quickly cobbled together with armored equipment from the second regiment of the 3./Panzer Division which was stationed in France and various other small units attached for maintenance/repair, water purification/treatment and medical care. These elements were organized into the 5th Light Division (5./le "AFRIKA" PD) when they arrived in Africa from as early as January for some components but the armored equipment arrived during the period February 10-March 12, 1941. In late April and into May the 5th Light Division was joined by transference of the various elements constituting the 15th Panzer Division (15./PD) from Italy, though it did not completely arrive until after Rommel had made a counter-offensive and re-taken most of Cyrenaica. The AFRIKAKORPS had subsequently gone back over to a defensive posture. Parts of the 15./PD and in particular one of its early arrival elements, the 15./Kradsch�tzen Battalion, had been instrumental to support to Rommel's battlefield activities. At this time into the spring and summer of 1941, the AFRIKAKORPS consisted of the two divisions plus various smaller supporting units, and was officially subordinated to the Italian chain of command in Africa (though Rommel had conducted this initial offensive without proper authorization from his superiors including his direct authority Field Marshall Kesselring and his short lived Italian commander Marshall Graziani in North Africa... whom was shot down and killed by his own Italian anti-aircraft fire while flying into Tripoli!).

During the summer of 1941 OKW and Oberkommando des Heeres / OKH invested more command structure in Africa by creating a new headquarters called Panzer Group Africa (Panzergruppe Afrika). In August, 1941, the German 5th Light Division (5./le. "AFRIKA" PD) was redesignated 21st Panzer Division or commonly written as 21./PD, still attached to the now enlarged entity but still known as the AFRIKAKORPS. On August 15 Panzer Group Africa was activated with Rommel in command, and command of the AFRIKAKORPS was turned over to Ludwig Cr�well. The "Panzer Group Africa" controlled the AFRIKAKORPS plus some additional German units that were sent to Africa, as well as two corps of Italian units. (A German "group" was approximately the equivalent of an army in other militaries, and in fact Panzer Group Africa was redesignated as German Panzer Army Africa (Panzerarmee Afrika) on January 30, 1942.) Rommel was also promoted to the rank of Field Marshall.

The story of the AFRIKAKORPS and the North African Campaign is often told more simply as a series of commanders on both sides that were either replaced, captured or killed. We will share this understanding but also give the reader materials on the equipment in service and the simple soldier as well. An understanding of the politics and people that live in this region is of utmost necessity to grasp the basis of why the conflict even came to this region.

After the defeat of the German and Italian forces at El Alamein, in November of 1942 and the near simultaneous Allied invasion in Morocco and Algeria with Operation Torch landings on November 8, 1942 the OKW once more was forced to increase its presence in Africa by creating the XC Army Corps in Tunisia on November 19, 1942, and then creating a new 5th Panzer Army headquarters there as well on December 8, 1942 under the command of Colonel-General Hans-J�rgen von Arnim. On February 23, 1943 Panzer Army Africa, (now called the German-Italian Panzer Army,) was redesignated as the Italian 1st Army and put under the command of Italian general Giovanni Messe, while Rommel was placed in command of a new Army Group Africa (Heeresgruppe Afrika) created to control both the Italian 1st Army and the 5th Panzer Army. The remnants of the Africa Korps and other surviving units of the 1st Italian Army retreated into Tunisia. Command of the Army Group was turned over to von Arnim in March. On May 12-13, 1943 remnants of the Africa Korps along with all other remaining Axis forces in North Africa surrendered.

Strictly speaking the term "AFRIKAKORPS" refers to the original "Blocking force" which became part of the expanded German and Italian presence in North Africa. However it is sometimes used by the news media and veteran Allied soldiers as a name for all the German units in North Africa before the retreat into Tunisia. Some notable attached units include the 15./PD -15th Panzer Division, 21./PD-21st Panzer Division,  Sonderkomando z.b.V.288 and attachment to "Afrika' zbV ("special purpose") which was created as an infantry unit and slowly upgraded to a fully motorized division, and then redesignated as the 90./le "AFRIKA"-90th Light Afrika Division; the 164./le "AFRIKA" 164th Light Afrika Division, the 999./le "AFRIKA" - 999 Light "AFRIKA" Division, also the 334th Infantry division;  and the Luftwaffenj�ger-Brigade 1 or Fallschirmj�ger-Ramcke Brigade or often referred to as the Ramcke Parachute Brigade (named after its commander Gerhard Ramcke) just to name a few. There were also eight Italian divisions under Rommel's command in Panzer Army Afrika, including two armored divisions, two motorized divisions, three infantry divisions, and the Folgore parachute division. The army was supported by a number of smaller units from both the German and Italian armed forces.

The designation "Light" (German: Leichte) did not refer to a standardized table of organization and equipment (TOE) for the various German divisions that bore that designation. German unit organizations were based on tables of organization, (Kriegsst�rkenachweisungen or KStN). Every unit in the German Army raised had one, and all orders raising units indicated the corresponding KStN number and date which applied to them.

For instance, the 5th Light Division and the other 'leichte' units had an organization that was missing elements to make it a completed 'division' and it eventually became reinforced into the 21st Panzer Division-21./PD , whereas the 164th Light Afrika Division-164./le "AFRIKA" was at first a partially motorized infantry division and never had tanks but had armored cars and reconnaissance vehicles. Various German divisions in Africa occasionally reorganized or re-equipped without a change of name, or conversely were redesignated with a new name without any substantial reorganization. None of the German Armies fielded for service in North Africa completely met the service KStN's directed for their completion because of battle losses, sinkings across the Mediterranean while in transit and the tremendous wear of the desert environment.

What is the AANA Organization and its Core Values

The Fascist and Nazi regimes of Italy and Germany are long gone, replaced by democracies which are our friends and allies! We cannot forget the atrocities but need to forgive and forget as more than a half century has passed! (U.S. C.I.A.)

The "AANA" is a somewhat 'rebellious' collective of historical authors, researchers and enthusiasts that are combining their mutual 'love' of the historical subjects involved in the related campaigns of politics, men, material and war revolving around the Mediterranean Sea during World War Two. We are not an unbiased group! Each member has his own stint, viewpoints and a particular dedication to their own particular subject matters of interest. AANA Members use our collective membership to be a mutual sounding board and a rather unique system of checks and balances against each member's research findings for future publication. This system employed by our membership collective is to simply share our findings and uncover facts about particular events, people and equipment that our collective can then review and add to their personal knowledge base. Sharing within our diverse member group and their various countries of origin is the hallmark of success within our group.

At the forefront, our members do heartily agree on this core or fundamental value:

The soldier's story needs to be recorded and archived for future generations with no relevance to the country from which he fought and that foremost in our hearts, we both individually and as a group, will not tolerate bigotry or hatred of our fellow man because of his religion, country of origin, nor even his political beliefs!

Why AFRIKAKORPS.Org? Because it is the "NEW" Web Home of the "AANA" Research Group

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