Panzer Army Africa

"Panzer Armee Afrika" redirects here. For the wargame, see Panzer Armee Afrika (board game).

The Panzerarmee Afrika, referred to as Gruppo Corazzato Africa in Italy, was a combined German-Italian field army that fought in the North African campaign during World War II. It consisted of one German corps and three Italian corps in the unit. As of 1943 the new command structure, the Army Group Africa, consisted of the German 5th Army and the Italian 1st Army. During the campaigns in North Africa the unit was under the Italian chain of command.

Panzerarmee Afrika/Gruppo Corazzato Africa
Active	15 August 1941 – 13 May 1943
Country	Germany  Italy
Branch	Heer ( Wehrmacht)  Royal Italian Army
Type	Field army
Role	Desert warfare Expeditionary warfare Tank warfare
Part of	Comando Supremo Oberbefehlshaber Süd
Engagements	North African campaign Western Desert campaign Tunisian campaign
Commanders
Notable commanders	Erwin Rommel Georg Stumme Hans-Jürgen von Arnim Giovanni Messe

History

Panzer Group Africa

When the Afrikakorps was formed on 11 January 1941 it was subordinated to the Italian chain of command in Africa. In the middle of 1941 the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW, Armed Forces High Command) created a larger command structure in Africa, forming a new headquarters, Panzer Group Africa (Panzergruppe Afrika, Gruppo Corazzato Africa). On 15 August 1941, Panzer Group Africa was activated with newly promoted General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel in command. The Panzer Group controlled the Afrikakorps and other units that were sent to North Africa.

Panzer Army Africa

Panzer Group Africa was renamed Panzer Army Africa (Panzerarmee Afrika, Armata Corazzata Africa) on 30 January 1942. (A German Panzer group was an army-level headquarters. As the war progressed all of the Panzer groups were renamed Panzer Armies.)

German-Italian Panzer Army

Panzer Army Africa was renamed German-Italian Panzer Army' (Deutsch-Italienische Panzerarmee, Armata Corazzata Italo-Tedesca) and subordinated to the Comando Supremo and to the Oberbefehlshaber Süd in October 1942 during the long retreat after the defeat at the Second Battle of El Alamein during the Western Desert Campaign.

Army Group Africa

In February 1943, the headquarters was expanded and called Army Group Africa (Heeresgruppe Afrika, Gruppo d'Armate Africa) to manage the defence of Tunisia during the final stages of the North African Campaign. Army Group Africa included the German Fifth Panzer Army (5. Panzerarmee) and the Italian 1st Army. Command of the Army Group was turned over from Rommel to Hans-Jürgen von Arnim in March. He surrendered the Army Group on 13 May 1943, ending the Axis presence in Africa.

Order of battle

Panzer Army Africa

• During the Western Desert Campaign:
  • Deutsches Afrikakorps
  • Italian XX Army Corps
  • Italian XXI Army Corps
  • Italian X Army Corps

Army Group Africa

• During the Tunisian Campaign:
  • German Fifth Army
  • Italian First Army

Commanders

No.	Portrait	Commander	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Rommel, ErwinGeneraloberst Erwin Rommel (1891–1944)	1 September 1941	9 March 1942	189 days
2		Crüwell, LudwigGeneral der Panzertruppe Ludwig Crüwell (1892–1958)	9 March 1942	19 March 1942	10 days
3		Rommel, ErwinGeneralfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel (1891–1944)	19 March 1942	22 September 1942	187 days
4		Stumme, GeorgGeneral der Panzertruppe Georg Stumme (1886–1942)	22 September 1942	24 October 1942 †	32 days
5		Thoma, WilhelmGeneralleutnant Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma (1891–1948) Acting	24 October 1942	25 October 1942	1 day
6		Rommel, ErwinGeneralfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel (1891–1944)	25 October 1942	26 November 1942	32 days
7		Fehn, GustavGeneral der Panzertruppe Gustav Fehn (1892–1945)	26 November 1942	2 December 1942	6 days
8		Rommel, ErwinGeneralfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel (1891–1944)	2 December 1942	22 February 1943	82 days
9		Maresciallo d'Italia Giovanni Messe[lower-alpha 2] (1883–1968)	22 February 1943	13 May 1943	80 days
10		Arnim, HansGeneraloberst Hans-Jürgen von Arnim (1889–1962)	10 March 1943	13 May 1943	64 days

See also

• List of World War II military units of Germany
• List of Italian divisions in World War II
• Panzer Division
• Fliegerführer Afrika
• Hans von Luck

Footnotes

1. The German-Italian Panzerarmee Afrika was renamed Italian First Army by General Messe and was deployed in the Southern front in Tunisia and fought until May 1943.
2. The German-Italian Panzerarmee Afrika was renamed Italian First Army by General Messe and was deployed in the Southern front in Tunisia and fought until May 1943.