List of North African campaign battles

The North African campaign of World War II, sometimes called the "Desert War", includes the campaigns in Egypt and Libya (often referred to as the Western Desert campaign or the "Egypt–Libya Campaign") and those campaigns in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia (usually referred to as the Tunisian campaign. This is not a comprehensive list of all engagements and generally does not cover isolated skirmishes of units smaller than a company in size.

This is part of the more comprehensive list of World War II battles.

1940

June 14–16: First Battle of Fort Capuzzo
June 17: Battle of Girba^[1]
September: Second Battle of Fort Capuzzo
September 9–16: Italian invasion of Egypt
December 9 – February 9, 1941: Operation Compass
- December 8: Battle of the Camps
- December 9: Battle of Nibeiwa
- December 10: Third Battle of Fort Capuzzo
- December 20–21 March 1941: Siege of Giarabub

1941

Operation Compass continued
- January 3–5: First Battle of Bardia
- January 9–26: First Battle of Tobruk^[2]
- January 25: First Battle of Mechili
- January 24–26: Battle of Derna
- February 5: Fall of Benghazi
- February 5–7: Battle of Beda Fomm

Operation Sunflower
- March 21–23: Battle of the Oasis
- March 24: First Battle of El Agheila
- April 6–8: Second Battle of Mechili
- April 10 – November 27: Siege of Tobruk
- April 12: Second Battle of Bardia^[3]
- April 12: First Battle of Sollum^[3]
- April 12: Fourth Battle of Fort Capuzzo^[3]
- April 30: First Battle of Halfaya Pass^[3]
Operation Brevity
- May 15: Second Battle of Halfaya Pass
- May 15–16: Fifth Battle of Fort Capuzzo^[4]
Operation Skorpion
- May 27: Third Battle of Halfaya Pass^[5]^[6]
Operation Battleaxe
- June 15–17: Fourth Battle of Halfaya Pass^[3]
- June 15: Battle for Point 206
- June 15–16: Battle for Hafid Ridge^[3]
- June 15–16: Sixth Battle of Fort Capuzzo
- June 16: Battle of Sidi Omar
- June 17: Battle of Sidi Suleiman
Operation Crusader
- November 19: First Action at Bir el Gubi
- November 19 - December 1: Battle of Sidi Rezegh
- November 21 – December 7: Second Battle of Tobruk
- November 21: Battle of Bir el Haiad
- November 22: Battle of Bir Ghirba
- November 22: Second Battle of Sidi Omar
- November 27: Battle of Bir el Chleta
- November 29 - December 4: Battle of Ed Dedu
- November 29 - December 1: Battle of Belhamed
- December 1: Battle of Zaafran
- December 2: Battle of Belhamed Road
- December 3–7: Second Action at Bir el Gubi
- December 11–27: First Battle of Cyrenaica Line^[3]
  - December 13: Battle of Alem Hamza
  - December 13–14: Battle of Point 204
- December 23: Battle of Antelat^[3]
- December 23: Second Battle of Beda Fomm^[3]

1942

Operation Crusader continued
- January 2: Battle of Bardia
- January 12: Third Battle of Sollum
Operation Theseus
- January 21: Second Battle of El Agheila
- January 23: Second Battle of Cyrenaica Line^[7]
- January 28: Second Battle of Benghazi^[7]
- Battle of Gazala^[8]
  - May 27: Battle of Retma Box^[7]
  - Battle of the Cauldron^[7]
    - May 27 – June 12: Battle of El Adem
    - May 28 – June 10: Battle of Bir Hakeim^[7]
    - May 31: Battle of the 150th Brigade Box^[7]
    - June 13: Battle of Knightsbridge^[7]
  - June 15: Battle of Point 650
  - June 20: Fall of Tobruk^[7]
Operation Aida
- June 26–28: Battle of Mersa Matruh
- June 28: Battle of Fuka
- June 30: Battle of the El Alamein Box
- July 1-27: First Battle of El Alamein
  - July 1–2: First Battle of the Coast Road
  - July 1: Battle of Deir el Shein
  - July 2: First Battle of Ruweisat Ridge
  - July 3–5: Battle of the Qattara box (Also known as Battle of the Kaponga box)
  - July 10: First Battle of Tel el Eisa
  - July 14: Second Battle of Ruweisat Ridge
  - July 14: Second Battle of Tel el Eisa
  - July 22: Third Battle of Ruweisat Ridge
  - July 27: Third Battle of Tel el Eisa
  - July 27: Battle of Miteiriya Ridge
August 30 – September 2: Battle of Alam el Halfa^[7]
September 2: Battle of Himeimat^[7]
Second Battle of El Alamein^[9]
- October 23–28: Operation Lightfoot
  - October 23–25: Battle of the Oxalic Line
  - October 23: Fourth Battle of Ruweisat Ridge
  - October 24–26: Battle of Kidney Ridge
  - October 25: Fourth Battle of Tell el Eisa
  - October 25–26: Battle of Point 29
- October 26–28: The German Counter Attack
  - October 27: Battle of Position Snipe
  - October 28 - November 1: Battle of Thompson's Post
- November 1–2: Operation Supercharge
  - November 2: Battle of Tell el Aqqaqir
  - November 2–4: Battle of Sidi Abdel Rahman
  - November 2: Battle of Himeimat^[7]
Operation Torch^[2]
- November 8–16 Battle of Casablanca
- November 8–10: Operation Blackstone
- November 8–10: Operation Brushwood
- November 8–10: Operation Goalpost
- November 8: Battle of Arzew
- November 8: Operation Reservist
- November 8: Battle of Tafarquay Airfield
- November 8: Battle of Youk-Les-Bains Airfield
- November 8: Battle of Algiers
  - November 8: Operation Terminal
Operation Supercharge continued
- November 7: Battle of Marsa Matruh
- November 9: Battle of Sidi Barrani
- November 9: Third Battle of Halfaya Pass
- November 13:Battle of Agedabia
- November 13: Third Battle of Torbuk
- November 17–26: Battle of Djebel Abiod
- November 20: Second Battle of Benghazi
- December 12: Second Battle of the Coast Road
- December 14–16: Second Battle of El Agheila^[7]
- December 15: Battle of Wadi Zem Zem (or Buerat)^[7]
- December 25: Battle of Sirte
Tunisia campaign
- November 24: First Battle of Medjez
- November 24: First Battle of Djedeida Airfield
- November 26: Battle of Djebel Abiod
- November 27: Second Battle of Medjez
- November 28: Second Battle of Djedeida Airfield
- December 1: First Battle of Tebourba
- December 2–3: First Battle of Faid Pass
- December 16–17: Battle of Maknassy
- December 22–23: First Battle of Longstop Hill
- December 22–25: Second Battle of Tebourba

1943

Eighth Army Offensive continued
- Jan. 23: Battle of Tripoli^[7]
Tunisian campaign continued
- January 14: Battle of Faïd Pass
- February 14–17: Battle of Sidi Bou Zid
- February 19–24: Battle of Kasserine Pass
- February 26 - March 4: Operation Ochsenkopf (Ox Head)
- March 6: Operation Capri
  - March 6: Battle of Medenine
- March 16–27: Operation Pugilist
  - March 16–23: Battle of Mareth^[10]
- March 23 – April 7: Battle of El Guettar
- March 26–28: Operation Supercharge II
  - March 26: Battle of Tebaga Gap^[11]
- April 6: Battle of Wadi Akarit
- April 22 – May 6: Operation Vulcan
- April 22–23: Second Battle of Longstop Hill
- May 6–13: Operation Strike^[12]

Footnotes

^ "Engagements – 1940". desertrats.org.uk. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "War in North Africa 1940–1942". World War II Multimedia Database. Archived from the original on February 13, 2008. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "History of the 7th Armored, List of Battles, 1941". Archived from the original on August 2, 2012.
^ Playfair, V.II pg. 162
^ Rommel, pg. 137
^ Playfair, V. II pg. 163
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ "Engagements – 1942". ian.a.paterson.btinternet.co.uk. Archived from the original on August 18, 2007. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
^ "Battle of Gazala"
^ "The Battle of El Alamein"
^ Playfair, V IV Map 31
^ Playfair, V IV Map 34
^ Playfair, V IV Pg 446

References

Long, Gavin (1961) [1952]. To Benghazi. Official History of Australia in the Second World War Series 1 (Army). Vol. I. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on September 8, 2007. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
Maughan, Barton (1966). Tobruk and El Alamein. Official History of Australia in the Second World War Series 1 (Army). Vol. III. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on September 8, 2007. Retrieved March 2, 2008.

World War II

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Participants

Allies	Algeria Australia Belgium Brazil Bulgaria (from September 1944) Canada China Cuba Czechoslovakia Denmark Ethiopia Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) Finland (from September 1944) France Free France Greece India Italy (from September 1943) Luxembourg Mexico Netherlands Newfoundland New Zealand Norway Philippines Poland Romania (from August 1944) Sierra Leone South Africa Southern Rhodesia Soviet Union Tuva United Kingdom British Empire United States Puerto Rico Yugoslavia
Axis	Albania protectorate Bulgaria (until September 1944) Wang Jingwei regime Independent State of Croatia Finland (until September 1944) German Reich Hungary Azad Hind French Indochina Iraq Italy (until September 1943) Italian Social Republic Empire of Japan Manchukuo Philippines Romania (until August 1944) Slovak Republic Thailand Vichy France
Neutral	Afghanistan Andorra Bhutan Ireland Liechtenstein Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland Tibet Vatican City
Resistance	Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Czech lands Denmark Dutch East Indies Estonia Ethiopia France Germany Greece Hong Kong Italy Japan Jews Korea Korean Liberation Army Korean Volunteer Army Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malaya Netherlands Northeast China Norway Philippines Poland Romania Thailand Soviet Union Slovakia Western Ukraine Vietnam Quốc dân Đảng Viet Minh Yugoslavia
POWs	Finnish prisoners in the Soviet Union German prisoners Soviet Union Azerbaijan United States United Kingdom Italian prisoners in the Soviet Union Japanese prisoners Soviet Union Soviet prisoners Finland atrocities by Germans Polish prisoners in the Soviet Union Romanian prisoners in the Soviet Union

Timeline

Prelude	Africa Second Italo-Ethiopian War Asia Second Sino-Japanese War Battles of Khalkhin Gol Europe Anschluss Munich Agreement Occupation of Czechoslovakia Operation Himmler Italian invasion of Albania
1939	Invasion of Poland Battle of the Atlantic Phoney War First Battle of Changsha Battle of South Guangxi Winter War 1939–1940 Winter Offensive
1940	Norwegian campaign German invasion of Denmark Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang German invasion of Luxembourg German invasion of the Netherlands German invasion of Belgium Battle of France Dunkirk evacuation Battle of Britain Battle of the Mediterranean North Africa West Africa British Somaliland Hundred Regiments Offensive Baltic states Eastern Romania Japanese invasion of French Indochina Italian invasion of Greece Compass
1941	Battle of South Henan Battle of Shanggao Invasion of Yugoslavia German invasion of Greece Battle of Crete Anglo-Iraqi War Battle of South Shanxi Syria–Lebanon campaign East African campaign Invasion of the Soviet Union Summer War Finland (Silver Fox) Lithuania Battle of Kiev Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran Second Battle of Changsha Siege of Leningrad Battle of Moscow Bombing of Gorky Siege of Sevastopol Attack on Pearl Harbor Japanese invasion of Thailand Fall of Hong Kong Fall of the Philippines Battle of Guam Battle of Wake Island Malayan campaign Battle of Borneo Japanese invasion of Burma Third Battle of Changsha Greek famine of 1941–1944
1942	Fall of Singapore Battle of the Java Sea St Nazaire Raid Battle of Christmas Island Battle of the Coral Sea Battle of Madagascar Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign Battle of Gazala Battle of Dutch Harbor Battle of Midway Aleutian Islands campaign Kiska Attu Blue First Battle of El Alamein Battle of Stalingrad Rzhev Jubilee Second Battle of El Alamein Guadalcanal campaign Torch Chinese famine of 1942–1943
1943	Tunisian campaign Battle of West Hubei Battle of Attu Bombing of Gorky Battle of Kursk Allied invasion of Sicily Smolensk Solomon Islands campaign Cottage Battle of the Dnieper Allied invasion of Italy Armistice of Cassibile Burma Northern Burma and Western Yunnan Changde Second Battle of Kiev Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign Tarawa Makin Bengal famine of 1943
1944	Tempest Monte Cassino / Anzio Korsun–Cherkassy Narva Ichi-Go Overlord Neptune Mariana and Palau Bagration Western Ukraine Second Battle of Guam Tannenberg Line Warsaw Uprising Eastern Romania Liberation of Paris Dragoon Gothic Line Belgrade offensive Lapland Market Garden Estonia Crossbow Pointblank Vietnamese famine of 1944–1945 Philippines (1944–1945) Leyte Syrmian Front Hungary Budapest Burma (1944–1945) Ardennes Bodenplatte Dutch famine of 1944–1945
1945	Vistula–Oder Battle of Manila Battle of Iwo Jima Indochina Vienna offensive Project Hula Western invasion of Germany Bratislava–Brno offensive Battle of Okinawa Second Guangxi campaign West Hunan Italy (Spring 1945) Battle of Berlin Prague offensive Surrender of Germany document Borneo Taipei Naval bombardment of Japan Manchuria Atomic bombings Debate South Sakhalin Kuril Islands Shumshu Surrender of Japan Potsdam Declaration document End of World War II in Asia