British copy of Field Marshal Rommel's annotated map of El Alamein, 23 October 1942

Erwin Rommel was given command of the newly formed 'Afrikakorps' in February 1941and tasked with coming to the rescue of Germany's Italian allies who had been routed by the Allies in North Africa. In the months that followed he proved to be a master of desert warfare and earned the nickname of the 'Desert Fox'. His instinct for handling armoured formations combined with the qualitative superiority of German units enabled the 'Afrikakorps' to consistently outmatch the Allies, often against heavy odds.

Yet whilst clearly a master tactician and superlative battlefield commander, Rommel failed to fully appreciate North Africa's lowly place in German grand strategy and the severe logistical constraints this placed upon his forces. German tactical dominance was thus counteracted by Allied logistical superiority. This gave rise to the see-saw warfare of the North African theatre, which saw the front move repeatedly back and forth over Libya and Egypt.

The decisive shift came towards the end of 1942 when a re-equipped Allied force under the command of Rommel's nemesis, General Bernard Law Montgomery, inflicted a serious defeat upon the Axis forces at El Alamein. This combined with the Anglo-American landings along the coast of Morocco and Algeria, rendered the Axis position in North Africa untenable. In spite of this, Rommel conducted a brilliant fighting retreat to Tunisia before being recalled to Germany.