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| {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}}
| | #REDIRECT [[Timeline of the North African campaign]] |
| This is a '''timeline of the [[North African campaign]]'''.
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| == 1940 ==
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| •May 1940 — [[Army of Africa (France)]] — 14 regiments of [[zouave]]s, 42 regiments of Algerian, Tunisian and Moroccan [[tirailleurs]], 12 regiments and demi-brigades of the [[French Foreign Legion|Foreign Legion]] and 13 battalions of African Light Infantry were serving on all fronts.<ref>Ian Sumner & Francois Vauillier, page 11 The French Army 1939-45 (1), {{ISBN|1-85532-666-3}}</ref>
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| * 10 June: The Kingdom of Italy declares war upon France and the United Kingdom<ref>Playfair v.I, p. 109</ref>
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| * 14 June: British forces cross from Egypt into Libya and capture [[Fort Capuzzo]]<ref name="Paterson1940">{{cite web|url=http://www.ian.a.paterson.btinternet.co.uk/battles1940.htm|title=History of the British 7th Armoured Division: Engagements – 1940| last=Paterson| first=Ian A.|access-date=2008-01-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814061819/http://www.ian.a.paterson.btinternet.co.uk/battles1940.htm|archive-date=2007-08-14}}</ref>
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| * 16 June: The first tank battle of the North African campaign takes place, the "[[Frontier Wire (Libya)#Nezuet Ghirba|Engagement at Nezuet Ghirba]]"<ref name="Paterson1940" />
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| * July 1940: British navy shells French warships in the port of [[Oran]] to keep them out of German hands
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| * 13 September: Italian forces [[Italian invasion of Egypt|invade Egypt]] from [[Libya]]
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| * 16 September: Italian forces establish front east of [[Sidi Barrani]]
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| * 9 December: British and Indian forces launch [[Operation Compass]] with the Battle of Marmarica (Battle of the camps)
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| * 9 December: Indian forces [[Attack on Nibeiwa|capture Nibeiwa]] with cover from British artillery
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| * 9 December: British tanks and Indian troops overrun Tummar West followed by Tummar East
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| * 10 December: Indian forces capture [[Sidi Barrani]] with support from British artillery
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| * 11 December: British armoured forces arrived in Sofafi but Libyan and Italian divisions escaped
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| * 16 December: [[Sallum|Sollum]] retaken by Allies
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| == 1941 ==
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| * 5 January: [[Battle of Bardia|Bardia captured]] by British and Australian force
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| * 22 January: [[British capture of Tobruk|Tobruk captured]] by British and Australian force
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| * 30 January: Australians capture [[Derna, Libya|Derna]], [[Libya]]
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| * 5 February: [[Beda Fomm]] captured by British
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| * 6 February;
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| ** Fall of [[Benghazi]] to the [[Western Desert Force]].
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| ** Lieutenant-General [[Erwin Rommel]] is appointed commander of [[Afrika Korps]].
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| * 7 February: What remains of the [[Italian Tenth Army]] surrenders.
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| * 9 February: [[Winston Churchill|Churchill]] orders halt to British and Australian advance at [[El Agheila]] to allow withdrawal of troops to [[Battle of Greece|defend Greece]]
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| * 14 February: First units of the [[Afrika Korps]] under [[Erwin Rommel]] start to arrive in [[Libya]] during [[Operation Sonnenblume]]
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| * 24 March: Allied forces at El Agheila defeated; [[Erwin Rommel]] starts his advance.
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| * 4 April: Australian & British forces withdraw from [[Benghazi]]; Benghazi and [[Msus]] captured by Axis.
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| * 6 April: British 3rd Armored Brigade is captured in [[Derna, Libya|Derna]]
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| * 8 April: British, Indian and Australian forces captured at [[Mechili]]
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| * 10 April: [[Siege of Tobruk]] begins with Australian, British and Indian forces defending
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| * 15 April: British forces are pushed back to [[Sallum|Sollum]] on Egyptian border with Libya
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| * 30 April: Australian forces lose a small part of their positions in Tobruk during the Battle of Salient, roughly a 6th of Tobruk is now held by Germans
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| * 3 May: Australian counterattack at Tobruk fails
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| * 15 May: British troops launch [[Operation Brevity]] to gain more territory from which to launch [[Operation Battleaxe]] later in the year<ref>Playfair v. II, pp. 159–160</ref>
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| * 16 May: Italian forces attack Australian forces in Tobruk forcing them to withdraw{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} [who withdrew?]
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| * 16 May: Operation Brevity called off. Allied forces fall back onto the [[Halfaya Pass]], captured the previous day<ref>Playfair v.II, p. 162</ref>
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| * 26 May: German forces launch [[Operation Skorpion]] and move up to Halfaya Pass
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| * 27 May: German forces recapture Halfaya Pass; British troops are forced to withdraw<ref>Rommel, p. 137</ref>
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| * 15 June: British and Indian troops launch [[Operation Battleaxe]] which fails
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| * 5 July: [[Claude Auchinleck|Auchinleck]] replaces [[Archibald Wavell|Wavell]] as C-in-C [[Middle East Command]]
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| * 15 August: [[German Panzer Group Afrika]] activated with [[Erwin Rommel|Rommel]] in Command
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| * 18 September: German air raid on [[Cairo]] in which 39 Egyptian civilians are killed and nearly 100 injured, bringing condemnation against the Axis from the Arab and Muslim press. [[Radio Berlin]] later apologizes to its Arab listeners.
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| * 1 October: 5th Light Division renamed 21st Panzer Division
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| * 18 November: [[Claude Auchinleck|Auchinleck's]] [[Operation Crusader]] begins (Operation Crusader (18 November – 30 December 1941) with British, Indian, South African and New Zealander forces
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| * 21 November: British armoured division defeated at [[Operation Crusader#Sidi Rezegh|Sidi Rezegh]] and withdraws
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| * 22 November;
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| ** New Zealand forces attack Bir Ghirba but fail
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| ** Indian forces capture Sidi Omar
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| * 23 November: New Zealand forces capitalize on Indian advances to wreck Afrika Korps HQ at Bir el Chleta
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| * 23 November:
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| ** Rommel launches Panzer attacks on the British XXX Corps but faces resistance from SA, NZ and British forces
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| ** British and NZ forces withdraw towards Bir el Gubi
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| * 25 November:
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| ** Panzer attack on Indian forces at Sidi Omar is repulsed
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| ** In the second attack in the evening, Indian forces destroy the 5th Panzer Regiment of the 21st Panzer Division
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| * 26 November: [[Neil Ritchie|Ritchie]] replaces [[Alan Gordon Cunningham|Cunningham]] as commander Eighth Army
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| * 27 November: New Zealand troops at Sidi Azeiz defeated by overwhelming advance of Panzers and German infantry
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| * 28 November: 15th Panzer despite being outnumbered 2:1 forces British tanks to retreat, exposing the New Zealand forces at Ed Duda on the Tobruk by-pass
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| * 1 December: New Zealand troops in Sidi Rezegh suffer heavy casualties from Panzers
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| * 3 December:
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| ** German infantry suffers big defeat at the hand of New Zealand forces on the Bardia road near Menastir
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| ** German forces suffer losses against Indian forces and withdraw at Capuzzo (Trigh Capuzzo)
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| * 4 December:
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| ** NZ forces repulse German attack on Ed Duda
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| ** Indian forces face attrition in an uphill attempt to capture Point 174 against entrenched Italian forces without artillery support
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| * 9 December: Tobruk siege relieved by Eighth Army consisting of British, Indian, New Zealand and South African forces; White Knoll captured by the Polish Carpathian Brigade from the elements of the Italian Brescia Division
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| * 13 December;
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| ** 8th Army attacks [[Operation Crusader#Gazala line|Gazala line]]
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| ** NZ forces stopped at Alem Hamza
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| ** Indian forces take Point 204
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| ** Indian infantry face Afrika Korps and against heavy odds destroy 15 of 39 Panzers
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| * 14 December: Indian troops repel repeated Panzer attacks on Point 204
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| * 15 December: German advance overruns British forces en route to Point 204 but Indian forces at Point 204 hold on
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| * 16 December: Rommel facing reduced Panzer numbers orders withdrawal from the Gazala line
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| * 24 December: British forces capture [[Benghazi]]
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| * 25 December: [[Agedabia]] reached by the Allies
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| * 27 December: Rommel inflicts many losses on British tanks who have to withdraw allowing Rommel to fall back to El Agheila
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| * 31 December: Front lines return to El Agheila
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| == 1942 ==
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| * 21 January;
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| ** Rommel's second offensive begins
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| ** A lone He 111 of the ''[[Sonderkommando Blaich]]'' successfully bombs the [[Fort Lamy]] air field<ref>[http://www.wefly.ifield-park.co.uk/photogal/me1082.htm MESSERSCHMITT Bf 108 – 'TAIFUN']. Retrieved 29 April 2011</ref>
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| **{{lang|de|Panzerarmee Afrika}} begins [[Operation Theseus]]
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| * 23 January: [[Ajdabiya|Agedabia]] captured by Axis forces
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| * 29 January: Benghazi captured by Axis forces
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| * 4 February: Front line established between [[Gazala]] and [[Bir Hakeim]]
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| * 26 May: Axis forces assault the Gazala line, the [[Battle of Gazala]] (26 May to 21 June 1942) and [[Battle of Bir Hakeim]] begins
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| * 11 June: Axis forces begin offensive from "the Cauldron" position{{where|date=February 2021}}
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| * 13 June: "Black Saturday". Axis inflicts heavy defeat on British armoured divisions
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| * 21 June: [[Axis capture of Tobruk]]
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| * 28 June: [[Battle of Mersa Matruh|Mersa Matruh]], Egypt, falls to Rommel.
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| * 29 June: U.S. reports from Egypt of British military operations [[Bonner Fellers|stop using the compromised "Black Code"]] which the Axis were reading.
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| * 30 June: Axis forces reach [[El Alamein]] and attack the Allied defences, the [[First Battle of El Alamein]] begins
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| * 4 July: First Battle of El Alamein continues as Axis digs in and Eighth Army launches series of attacks
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| * 31 July: Auchinleck calls off offensive activities to allow Eighth Army to regroup and resupply
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| * 13 August: [[Harold Alexander|Alexander]] and [[Bernard Montgomery|Montgomery]] take command respectively of [[Middle East Command]] and [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|Eighth Army]]
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| * 30 August: Rommel launches unsuccessful [[Battle of Alam el Halfa]]
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| * 13 September: Allies launch unsuccessful [[Operation Agreement]], a large scale amphibious raid directed against [[Tobruk]]
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| * 23 October: Montgomery launches Operation Lightfoot starting the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]] (23 October – 11 November 1942)
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| * 5 November: Axis lines broken at El Alamein
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| * 8 November: [[Operation Torch]] is launched under the command of General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]], Allied forces land in [[Morocco]] and [[Algeria]].
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| * 9 November: Sidi Barrani captured by Eighth Army
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| * 10–27 November: [[Case Anton]]
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| * 13 November: [[Tobruk]] captured by Eighth Army
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| * 15 November: British forces capture [[Derna, Libya|Derna]] in Libya.
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| * 17 November: First Army (Operation Torch's Eastern Task Force) and Axis meet at [[Djebel Abiod]] in [[Tunisia]]
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| * 20 November: Benghazi captured by Eighth Army
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| * 27 November: First Army advance halted between Terbourba and Djedeida, 12 miles from [[Tunis]], by Axis counterattack
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| * 10 December: First Army front line pushed back to defensive positions east of Medjez el Bab
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| * 12 December: Eighth Army [[Battle of El Agheila|starts an offensive]] towards Axis forces near [[El Agheila]]
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| * 22 December: First Army starts three-day offensive towards Tebourba which fails
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| * 25 December: [[Sirte]] captured by Eighth Army
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| == 1943 ==
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| * Creation of the '''[[French Expeditionary Corps (1943–44)]]'''
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| * The '''[[French Liberation Army]]''' (French: {{Lang|fr|Armée française de la Libération}}, AFL) a reunified [[French Army]], is created in 1943 when the [[Armée d'Afrique|Army of Africa]] ({{Lang|fr|Armée d'Afrique}}) led by [[Henri Giraud|General Giraud]] is combined with the [[Free French forces|Free French Forces]] ({{Lang|fr|Forces Françaises Libres}}) of [[General de Gaulle]].{{sfn|Gerd-Rainer Horn|2020|p=16}}
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| *[[Italian campaign (World War II)]] begins (1943 to 1945)
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| * 23 January: [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] captured by British Eighth Army
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| * 30 January: Axis forces capture Faïd pass in central Tunisia
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| * 4 February: Axis forces in [[Libya]] retreat to [[Tunisia]]n border south of the [[Mareth Line]]
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| * 14 February: Axis advance from Faïd to launch [[Battle of Sidi Bou Zid]] and enter Sbeitla two days later
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| * 19 February: [[Battle of Kasserine Pass]] launched by Axis forces
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| * 6 March: Axis launch [[Operation Capri]] against Eighth Army at Medenine but lose 55 tanks. [[George S. Patton|Patton]] takes command of II Corps.
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| * 16 March: [[Battle of the Mareth Line]] begins<ref name="PlayfairIV31">Playfair, v.IV Map 31</ref>
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| * 19 March: Eighth Army launches Operation Pugilist
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| * 23 March: U.S. II Corps emerge from Kasserine to match the Axis at [[Battle of El Guettar]]. Battle of Mareth ends.<ref name="PlayfairIV31" />
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| * 26 March: Eighth Army launch ''Operation Supercharge II'' outflanking and making the Axis position at Mareth untenable. Battle of Tebaga Gap takes place.<ref>Playfair, v.IV Map 34</ref>
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| * 4 April: The 9-man crew of the US Air Force B-24 Liberator [[Lady Be Good (aircraft)|Lady Be Good]] fails to return from a bombing raid; the crew parachute from the aircraft but become lost and perish in the Libyan desert
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| * 6 April: Right wing of First Army links with Eighth Army. Battle of [[Wadi Akarit]] takes place.
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| * 22 April: Allied forces launch [[Operation Vulcan]]
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| * 6 May: Allied forces launch Operation Strike<ref>Playfair, v.IV Pg 446</ref>
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| * 7 May: British enter [[Tunis]], Americans enter [[Bizerte]]
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| * 13 May: [[Axis Powers]] surrender in Tunisia.
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| *14 May: [[Moncef Bey]] deposed in Tunisia
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| * 15 May: [[Muhammad VIII al-Amin]] installed as Bey of Tunisia
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| * 1 August: [[Operation Tidal Wave]] attacks Nazi oil refineries in Romania, from remote base at Benghazi, Libya
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| * 10 December: the Moroccan [[Istiqlal Party]] holds first congress under Gaulist/US auspices
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| ==1944==
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| *Food shortages and growth of [[Tunisian national movement|Tunisian]] and [[Algerian nationalism#Polarization and politicization at the time of WWII|Algerian nationalist movements]]
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| 15 August – [[Operation Dragoon]], Allied landing in Provence: Capture ports of Toulon and Marseille; AFL make up the majority of troops landing on French soil
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| ==1945==
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| *8 May: [[Sétif massacre]] of Algerian demonstrators for independence on the day of German surrender
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| == See also ==
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| * [[Western Desert Campaign]]
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| * [[Operation Torch]]
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| * [[Tunisia Campaign]]
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| == Footnotes ==
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| {{Reflist|30em}}
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| == References ==
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| * {{cite web|url=http://www.ian.a.paterson.btinternet.co.uk/battles1940.htm|title=History of the British 7th Armoured Division: Engagements – 1940| last=Paterson| first=Ian A.|access-date=2008-01-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814061819/http://www.ian.a.paterson.btinternet.co.uk/battles1940.htm|archive-date=2007-08-14}}
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| * {{cite book|first1=Major-General I.S.O.| last1=Playfair| author1-link=Ian Stanley Ord Playfair|first2=Commander G.M.S.|last2=with Stitt [[Royal Navy|RN]] | first3=Brigadier C.J.C.| last3=Molony| first4=Air Vice-Marshal S.E.| last4=Toomer |editor-last=Butler|editor-first=J.R.M|editor-link=James Ramsay Montagu Butler|series=History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series| title=The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume I The Early Successes Against Italy (to May 1941)| publisher=Naval & Military Press| year=2004| orig-year=1st. pub. [[HMSO]] 1954| isbn=1-84574-065-3|name-list-style=amp}}
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| * {{cite book|first1=Major-General I.S.O.| last1=Playfair|first2=Captain F.C.|last2=with Flynn R.N.| first3=Brigadier C.J.C.| last3=Molony| first4=Air Vice-Marshal S.E.| last4=Toomer |editor-last=Butler|editor-first=J.R.M|series=History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series| title=The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume II The Germans come to the help of their Ally (1941)| publisher=Naval & Military Press| year=2004| orig-year=1st. pub. HMSO 1956| isbn=1-84574-066-1|name-list-style=amp}}
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| * {{cite book|first1=Major-General I.S.O.| last1=Playfair| first2=Brigadier C.J.C.| last2=and Molony|first3=Captain F.C.|last3=with Flynn R.N.| first4=Group Captain T.P.| last4=Gleave |editor-last=Butler|editor-first=J.R.M|title=The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume IV: The Destruction of the Axis Forces in Africa |series=History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series| orig-year=1st. pub. HMSO 1966| year=2004| location=Uckfield, UK| publisher=Naval & Military Press|isbn=1-84574-068-8| name-list-style=amp}}
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| * {{cite book| first=Erwin |last=Rommel |author-link=Erwin Rommel|author2=Liddell-Hart, Basil (editor) |author-link2=Basil Liddell Hart | title=The Rommel Papers| publisher=Da Capo Press| year=1982| orig-year=1953 | isbn=0-306-80157-4}}
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| [[Category:North African campaign|*]]
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| [[Category:Libya in World War II|+]]
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| [[Category:United States military history timelines]]
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