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North African campaign battles (1940–1943)

19 articles

Battle of Alam el Halfa

The Battle of Alam el Halfa was fought in Egypt from 30 August to early September 1942, when Montgomery's British Eighth Army stopped Rommel's last offensive in North Africa.

Battle of Bardia

The Battle of Bardia was a January 1941 assault in which the Australian 6th Division captured the fortified Italian harbor town of Bardia in Libya, taking about 40,000 prisoners.

Battle of Beda Fomm

The Battle of Beda Fomm was the final engagement of the British Operation Compass offensive, fought 5–7 February 1941 in Libya and ending with over 25,000 Italian prisoners.

Battle of Bir Hakeim

The Battle of Bir Hakeim was a June 1942 desert battle in Libya where the 1st Free French Brigade under General Kœnig resisted Rommel's German and Italian forces for over two weeks.

Battle of Enfidaville

The Battle of Enfidaville, or Operation Oration, was a British Eighth Army assault in Tunisia on 19–21 April 1943 that captured the town but failed to break through.

Battle of Fondouk Pass

The Battle of Fondouk Pass was a pair of Allied attacks in late March and early April 1943 against Axis positions in central Tunisia during World War II.

Battle of Halfaya Pass

The Battle of Halfaya Pass, known to British troops as Hellfire Pass, covers the 1941–1942 fights where British and Commonwealth forces repeatedly attacked a fortified Axis strongpoint on the Egypt-Libya frontier.

Battle of Kufra

The Battle of Kufra was a 1941 World War II engagement in which Free French forces under Colonel Leclerc captured the Italian-held oasis of Kufra in southeastern Libya.

Battle of Medenine

The Battle of Medenine was an Axis spoiling attack at Medenine, southern Tunisia, on 6 March 1943, repulsed in a day and Rommel's last offensive in Africa.

Battle of Medjez el Bab

The Battle of Medjez el Bab was a series of engagements in northern Tunisia from 1942 to 1943. Allied forces secured a strategic road junction leading toward Tunis.

Battle of Sidi Barrani

The Battle of Sidi Barrani was the opening phase of the British Operation Compass offensive, fought 9–11 December 1940, which destroyed the Italian 10th Army's fortified camps in Egypt.

Battle of Sidi Bou Zid

The Battle of Sidi Bou Zid was a February 1943 tank battle in central Tunisia where two German panzer divisions overwhelmed the inexperienced US 1st Armored Division.

Battle of Sidi Nsir

The Battle of Sidi Nsir was a 1943 defensive action in northern Tunisia where a British battalion and artillery battery delayed a German Tiger-tank thrust toward Beja.

Battle of Sidi Rezegh

The Battle of Sidi Rezegh was an armored battle near Tobruk, Libya, during Operation Crusader in November 1941, part of Rommel's first defeat in North Africa.

Battle of the Cauldron

The Battle of the Cauldron was the central phase of the Battle of Gazala in Libya, where Rommel's trapped Axis forces held out and destroyed British counterattacks in June 1942.

Battle of the Mareth Line

The Battle of the Mareth Line (20–26 March 1943) was a major North African battle where the British Eighth Army challenged the fortifications held by the Italo-German 1st Army.

Battle of Wadi Akarit

The Battle of Wadi Akarit, also called Operation Scipio, was a British Eighth Army attack in southern Tunisia on 6–7 April 1943 during the Tunisia Campaign.

Operation Agreement

Operation Agreement was a failed British-led amphibious and commando raid on the Axis-held port of Tobruk, Libya, on 13 September 1942, costing several hundred men killed or captured and three warships.

Operation Battleaxe

Operation Battleaxe was a failed British offensive in North Africa from 15 to 17 June 1941, launched to raise the siege of Tobruk during the Second World War.