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The tactical brilliance of the theater commander, the fabled Rommel, could not overcome the logistics problems that confronted German forces in North Africa.
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the German theater commander in North Africa during World War II, achieved legendary status as the "Desert Fox" for his combat successes. However, logistics factors strongly influenced his actions, particularly during that critical period from his first offensive in March 1941 to his lastgasp offensive and high-water mark at Alam El Halfa in Egypt 18 months later. Even the most abbreviated analysis reveals the decisive role that logistics played in the outcome of this campaign. In fact, few campaigns in history illustrate so vividly the wisdom of the argument stated in Marine Corps doctrine, that "logistics establishes limits on what is operationally possible." However, the specific factors that contributed to the failure of German operational logistics in North Africa need closer scrutiny.
The role of Malta-the British-held island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea-in disrupting Axis lines of communication and thus defeating German designs in North Africa traditionally has been exaggerated. Instead, two logistics factors played a greater role in the ultimate demise of the vaunted Deutsches Afrika Korps. The first of these was the significant disconnect between German national strategic objectives in the theater and the goals of Rommel, the operational commander. This disconnect created an imbalance between operational ends and logistics means that dogged Rommel's efforts, from his spectacular beginning to his inglorious end. The second decisive logistics factor was the failure of Axis intratheater distribution systems. Careful analysis reveals that this intratheater chokepoint, rather than the intertheater constraints imposed by British control of Malta, was the true Achilles' heel of the Afrika Korps.
Context: Time, Place, Circumstance
An understanding of the historical context, including the factors of time, place, and circumstance (the strategic setting), is essential if the lessons of a campaign are to be applied today. The time under study is roughly the period from March 1941, when Rommel launched his first offensive into Cyrenaica (a region of northeast Libya), through August and September 1942, when he led the last major German offensive of the campaign to Alam El Halfa in Egypt. Other key events during the campaign included the first...