Map of WWII North Africa Campaign, 1940-1943

Simeon Netchev

by Simeon Netchev
published on 23 February 2026

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Map of WWII North Africa Campaign, 1940-1943 — The North Africa Campaign (1940–1943) formed a decisive theater of the World War II (1939–1945), centered on control of the strategic corridor linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Suez Canal and the Middle Eastern oil fields. The conflict unfolded during the rule of Benito Mussolini in Italy (ruled 1922–1943), Adolf Hitler in Germany (ruled 1933–1945), and Winston Churchill’s premiership in Britain (in office 1940–1945). Initially driven by Italian expansion from Libya into Egypt (September 1940), the campaign quickly evolved into a multinational struggle involving German, British Commonwealth, and later United States forces. Beyond territorial control, the campaign shaped Allied grand strategy by safeguarding imperial communications, protecting maritime routes, and preventing Axis access to vital resources.

*Operation Compass* (December 1940–February 1941) inflicted severe losses on Italian forces, prompting German intervention under General Erwin Rommel (1891–1944), whose Afrika Korps restored Axis momentum through mobile desert warfare. The balance shifted decisively at the Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October–11 November 1942), led by General Bernard Montgomery (1887–1976), while *Operation Torch* (November 1942) opened a western front with Anglo-American landings in Morocco and Algeria. Encircled in Tunisia, Axis forces surrendered in May 1943. The campaign demonstrated the importance of logistics, air superiority, and coalition warfare, and its outcome secured Allied dominance in the Mediterranean, enabling the invasion of Sicily and Italy later that year and marking a turning point in the wider war.

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About the Author

Simeon Netchev

Simeon is a freelance visual designer and history educator, passionate about the human stories that shape the past.

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External Links

Battles and campaigns : World War II, European and African theater

www.loc.gov

The struggle for North Africa, 1940-43 | National Army Museum

www.nam.ac.uk

Cite This Work

APA Style

Netchev, S. (2026, February 23). Map of WWII North Africa Campaign, 1940-1943. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/19274/map-of-wwii-north-africa-campaign-1940-1943/

Chicago Style

Netchev, Simeon. "Map of WWII North Africa Campaign, 1940-1943." World History Encyclopedia, February 23, 2026. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/19274/map-of-wwii-north-africa-campaign-1940-1943/.

MLA Style

Netchev, Simeon. "Map of WWII North Africa Campaign, 1940-1943." World History Encyclopedia, 23 Feb 2026, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/19274/map-of-wwii-north-africa-campaign-1940-1943/.