Strategy

Battles of North Africa 1941

The campaign in North Africa was the primary focus of both Italy and the British Empire in the first half of World War Two. Mussolini believed this was to be the opportunity to prove the Italian value to the Axis alliance. For the British, it was the first time that they began to make progress on land after the ignominious withdrawal from France. Coupled with the strategic victory in the air during the Battle of Britain, the success in Operation Compass in December 1940 strengthened morale across the British Commonwealth. Both sides had significant constraints; the British were recovering from their strategic defeat in France, the Italians were struggling to support the war effort with an underdeveloped economy while the Germans were focused on the launching of the invasion of Russia (Unternehmen Barbarossa) in June 1941. The desert though was to be the ultimate victor. The logistical requirements to support an army in extended operations was to prove beyond the ability of either side and the 1941 engagements were to be marked by theater wide advances and retreats multiple times. This third release in the Panzer Battles franchise is focused on many of the large and small battles that occurred in eastern Libya and western Egypt as well as Greece. It is a departure from the more static battles of the earlier titles and maneuver engagements are much more prevalent.