The Western Desert campaign (Desert War) took place in the deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main theatre in the North African campaign of the Second World War. Military operations began in June 1940 with the Italian declaration of war and …

Learn more about the Western Desert campaign during World War II in Egypt and Libya between 1940-1943.

Nov 14, 2024 · The Western Desert Campaign, also known as the Desert War, was a pivotal theater of World War II, fought across the arid expanses of Egypt and Libya. Spanning from June 1940 to May 1943, this campaign formed the backbone of the broader North African Campaign and showcased the strategic importance of North Africa.

The grim struggle that rolled back and forth across the North African desert from 1940 to 1943 resulted in the first major Allied victory of the Second World War.

When Italy declared war on 10 June 1940, the Italian Army in Libya threatened the vital Suez Canal in British-occupied Egypt. Italian forces attacked Egypt on 13 September. General O’Connor’s Western Desert Force was outnumbered, but his commander-in-chief, General Wavell, ordered a surprise attack at Sidi Barrani three days later.

Operation Compass (also Italian: Battaglia della Marmarica) was the first large British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) during the Second World War.

Jul 5, 2013 · THE DESERT MOSAIC: victories, defeats, intelligence, counterintelligence and deception were ingredients of the hard-fought campaign that turned the tide for the Anglo-American allies in World War II. Some of the episodes read like fiction.

Aug 5, 2024 · The desert campaigns in North Africa during the Second World War (1939-45) provided soldiers on all sides with a set of particular challenges. Scorching day temperatures, freezing night temperatures, sand and flies getting everywhere, the rationing of water, a poor and monotonous diet of tinned food, and the serious risk of being killed or ...

Jan 14, 2025 · In the Western Desert, a major offensive against Rommel ’s front was undertaken on November 18, 1941, by the British 8th Army, commanded by Cunningham under the command in chief of Wavell’s successor in the Middle East, General Sir …

The 'Campaign for the Western Desert', sometimes known as the 'Desert War', was fought in the deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main strategic undertaking in the North African theatre (11 June 1940/4 February 1943).