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The Afrika Korps, were a German military unit led by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. The Afrika Korps entered the North African campaign to aid Germany's Italian allies when the Italians suffered a series of defeats at the hands of the British Commonwealth forces. Rommel launched an offensive from El Agheila which pushed the British back into Egypt. The British subsequently attacked advancing back to El Agheila. Again the Afrika Korps attacked pushing the British Commonwealth forces back to Egypt where the German advance was stopped at the first battle of El Alamein.
The British Commonwealth forces then defeated the Afrika Korps at Alam Halfa and the second battle of El Alamein in late 1942.
Shortly afterwards, the Allies launched Operation Torch which included Free French forces. Operation Torch was followed by Operation Retribution, and ultimately the defeat of the Afrika Korps, which forced their to surrender.
North Africa was steep learning curve for American forces, the Battle of Kasserine Pass being the near-distasterous defeat that lead to vital restructure, and change in tactics. The German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, was considered to be a gentleman (as far as German officers went), and later participated in a failed assassination attempt on Hitler. It was his opinion that the Australian Forces represented the elite units of the Allied forces in the North African 'Desert War', this was based on the successful defence of the besieged Tobruk (240 days), and the Australian infantry's innovative means of engaging the German 'Blitzkrieg' Panzer strategy, which up until then was unstoppable without the large-scale use of artillery.