Afrika Korps

[Pannonian]

What exactly were the combined arms tactics where the Germans excelled? The Panzer II’s were fast scout tanks that could actually defeat the thin armor of some of the British cruiser tanks at close range and chew up infantry with High Explosive rounds from its 20 mm main gun. The Panzer III’s were the mainstay and could defeat most of the slower Allied armor by outflanking them. When the panzers were outmatched, the 88 mm flak guns could defeat any Allied tank from a considerable range. The British tanks were equipped with guns that did not fire HE rounds, so the 88’s could fire at them with impunity (until the M3 and M4 showed up). The German Panzer IV’s short 75 mm HE gun on the other hand, was able to take out Allied AT gun crews. In place of set piece artillery, the Luftwaffe provided Stukas to pummel desert fortresses. So the DAK had an answer to most tactical situations that the Allies could provide.

Rommel fought a “guerrilla blitzkrieg”, which his contemporaries in Russia did not employ. He often took his force into deep flanking maneuvers without what most generals would consider adequate logistical support on the premise that he would overrun Allied supply depots and thus use Allied fuel for his panzers and Allied food and water for his troops. Possession of the battlefield was paramount as destroyed panzers were cannibalized to repair damaged panzers and fuel and ammo was always stripped away. Rommel was also not against using captured Allied equipment. Twelve British Matildas were used by the DAK, often to the confusion of both sides. Still, the Afrika Korps often had fewer than 100 panzers operational. Never have so few done so much with so little.

Operation Compass. A British-Commonwealth force of around 35,000, with barely enough fuel to reach the Egyptian border, against an Italian force of around 150,000. Ended up clearing out the Italians from Cyrenaica, and would have continued into Tripolitania if the bulk of the force hadn't been transferred to Greece. A highlight of the campaign was the sending of a mobile column across open desert to cut off the retreat of the Italians, while simultaneously harassing them via the road route. I wonder if Rommel would have had the same success if O'Connor, who used Rommel's tactics before Rommel ever arrived on the scene, hadn't been captured early on.