A German expeditionary force of two divisions under the command of Rommel, sent to N Africa (Mar 1941) to reinforce Italian troops there. It had been given special desert training in Germany, and proved highly effective in desert warfare between 1941 and 1944.
The German Afrika Korps (German: Deutsches Afrikakorps, DAK listen (help·info)) was the corps-level headquarters controlling the German Panzer divisions in Libya and Egypt during the North African Campaign of World War II.
Organization
The Afrika Korps was formed, on February 19, 1941, after the German Armed Forces High Command (OKW) had decided to send an expeditionary force to Libya to support the Italian army, which had been routed by an Allied counteroffensive, Operation Compass. The German expeditionary force, commanded by Erwin Rommel, at first consisted only of the 5th Panzer Regiment and various other small units. These elements were organized into the 5th Light Division when they arrived in Africa in February. In the spring the 5th Light Division was joined by the 15th Panzer Division, though it did not arrive until after Rommel had made a counter-offensive and re-taken most of Cyrenaica and gone back over to the defensive.
On October 1, 1941, the German 5th Light Division was redesignated as the 21st Panzer Division, still attached to the Afrika Korps.
During the summer of 1941 OKW invested more command structure in Africa by creating a new headquarters called Panzer Group Africa (Panzergruppe Afrika). On August 15 Panzer Group Africa was activated with Rommel in command, and command of the Afrika Korps was turned over to Ludwig Crüwell. The Panzer Group controlled the Afrika Korps 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 Panzer Army Africa (Panzerarmee Afrika) on January 30, 1942.)
After the defeat at El Alamein and the Allied invasion in Morocco and Algeria Operation Torch, OKW once more upgraded 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, under the command of Col.-Gen.
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 an Italian general, 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.
Terminological notes
Strictly speaking the term Afrika Korps refers only to the corps headquarters and its attached units, though it is commonly used by amateur writers, the news media and veteran Allied soldiers, as a name for all the German units in North Africa before the retreat to Tunisia. The most notable of those other units were the Afrika zbV ("special purpose") Division, which was created as an infantry division and slowly upgraded to a fully motorized division, and then redesignated as the 90th Light Afrika Division; the 164th Light Afrika Division, also an infantry division; There were also eight Italian divisions under Rommel's command in Panzer Army Afrika, including two armored divisions with very inferior equipment, two motorized divisions, three infantry divisions, and one Folgore parachute division. For instance, the 5th Light Division had an organization very similar to the 21st Panzer Division, whereas the 164th Light Afrika Division was at first a partially motorized infantry division and never had any tanks at all. The 15th Panzer Division was reconstituted as the 15th Panzergrenadier Division, the 90th Light Division was reconstituted as the 90th Panzergrenadier Division, and the 21st Panzer Division was reconstituted under its own name
Afrika Korps marching songs
Translation:
Hot over African ground, the sun is glowing.
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