Panzer-Armee "AFRIKA" Kommandeurs

The Main Commanders of Panzer-Armee "AFRIKA" During the Campaign in North Africa
(February 1941-January 1943) (Under Construction to expand to May 1943 and add photographs of each Kommandeur) "NACHT"

From February 1941 to January 1943, 37 generals (or colonels) held major commands in Libya and Egypt (Panzer-Armee "AFRIKA", Deutsche Afrika Korps and the divisions of those two formations). This very high number is quite typical of a campaign that went through large numbers of commanders, especially division commanders. In the space of two years, 5./leichte "AFRIKA" Regiment to Division (later 21./Panzer-Division) and 15./Panzer-Division saw a succession of no less than eight different commanders, 90. Leichte Division, nine different commanders (from July 1941 to January 1943), 164./leichte "AFRIKA" Division six different commanders (from August 1942 to January 1943). These endless changes were caused by exhaustion, illness or injury (Rommel drove his commanding officers on at a fearful pace), illness (living conditions were very trying in the desert), and most of all the fact that a great many were taken out of the battle by wounds or injury (being obliged, owing to the nature of the terrain and the type of operations, to be present in the combat zone all the time). Out of the 37 generals (or colonels) who took over a major command during the course of the campaign, four (von Randow, von Prittwitz und Gaffron, Neumann-Silkow and Summermann) were killed in action - five if we include Rommel's replacement in command of the Panzer-Armee, Stumme, who died of a heart attack during a bombing raid - with another six wounded (Nehring, Fehn, von Liebenstein, von Bismarck, von Esebeck and Kleeman) and three taken prisoner (Crüwell, von Thoma and von Ravenstein). Altogether 14 of DAK generals were put out of action during the operations after being killed, wounded or captured, accounting for nearly 38% of the total in service in North Africa! In this regard, the beginning of the campaign saw a veritable bloodbath. During the first twelve months of fighting (March 1941-March 1942), Rommel lost no less than 6 commanders: von Prittwitz, commander of 15./PD was killed in April 1941; Neumann-Silkow and Summermann, commanders of 15./PD and 90./ le. "AFRIKA" Div. , suffered a similar fate in December 1941 ; von Ravenstein, commander of 21./PD, was captured in November 1941, Crüwell in March 1942; von Esebeck, commander of 15./PD, was wounded in July 1941. These very high figures again indicate the intensity of the battle in Libya and Egypt and the very difficult living conditions in which the men had to live, faced daily with a immensely testing climate and very poor food or nutritional supplies. They also reflect Rommel's style of command where, whatever his level of responsibility, the commander had at all times to be as close to the front line as possible in order properly to direct his troops. In this regard, Rommel himself led from the front and it is something of a miracle that the Panzer-Armee commander was not killed, wounded or captured. On the other hand, he did fall ill, and it was a physically (and morally) broken man who commanded Panzer-Armee "AFRIKA" during the final months of the campaign...

AFRIKAKORPS - Panzer Army Africa - Panzerarmee Afrika - German-Italian Panzer Army - Deutsch-Italienische Panzerarmee - Army Group Africa - Heeresgruppe Afrika

Panzergruppe later Panzer-Armee "Afrika" :

- Deutsche Afrikakorps (DAK) :

5./Leichte "AFRIKA" (Regiment) Division later 21. Panzer-Division:

15./Panzer-Division

90./ Leichte "AFRIKA" Division

164./Leichte "AFRIKA" Division

Bibliography

SOON!

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