Panzer Korps Afrika Korps Serial Numberl
Napoleon Hauck
The Afrika Korps was restructured and renamed in August 1941. "Afrikakorps" was the official name of the force for less than six months but the officers and men used it for the duration. The Afrikakorps was the major German component of Panzerarmee Afrika, which was later renamed the Deutsch-Italienische Panzerarmee and finally renamed Heeresgruppe Afrika (Army Group Africa) during the 27 months of the Desert campaign.[7][8]
The 2 volumes forming this series will not only include well over 1,000 mostly unpublished photographs of the III SS Panzerkorps during 1943-45, but also a large number of previously unpublished personal battle descriptions by surviving officers and soldiers of this corps from the authors' archives of personal correspondence. The photographs are also accompanied by interesting unit histories, biographies, commentaries on weapons and vehicles, as well as analyses of battlefield tactics.
The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (Deutsches Afrikakorps, DAK) was the German Expeditionary Force in the North African Campaign during World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the formation fought on in Africa, under various appellations, from March 1941 until its surrender in May 1943 in Tunisia. The unit's best known commander was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, also known as "the Desert Fox".
Karl Fairburne first encountered the Afrikakorps in their Siege of Tobruk. One of its generals, General Franz Vahlen, was responsible for the mysterious Nazi project, Project Seuche, the main plot in Sniper Elite III.
The Afrika Korps was restructured and renamed in August 1941. "Afrikakorps" was the official name of the force for less than six months but the officers and men used it for the duration. The Afrikakorps was the major German component of Panzerarmee Afrika (Armoured Army Africa), which was later renamed the Deutsch-Italienische Panzerarmee (German-Italian Armoured Army) and finally renamed Heeresgruppe Afrika (Army Group Africa) during the 27 months of the Desert campaign.
Although they focus on their African campaign on fighting against the British Armed Forces alongside their Italian allies, some portions of it are lead by General Franz Vahlen to focus on creating the Ratte tank and defending Project Seuche's plans and resources. They are severely hampered by the sniper Karl Fairburne who is sabotaging the project and many died in the process. So feared he became, that Afrikakorps soldiers nicknamed him "Wüstengeist" - The Desert Ghost.
General Vahlen planned to overthrow Hitler after defeating the Allies, so a number of Afrikakorps officers, known as The Three Musketeers, planned to warn the Führer of this betrayal, but they were intercepted and kille by Karl. The Allied sniper then proceeds to destroy the Ratte, its factory and kill Vahlen. The Afrikakorps would fight on until the surrender of Tunis, in May 1943.
The Afrika Korps are the main enemy in Sniper Elite III, behaving the same as the Wehrmacht from the previous Sniper Elite games. The Afrika Korps appears in every level of the game, first appearing in the Siege of Tobruk. The Afrikakorps is shown working alongside the Italian Royal Army for the first time in Mission 2: Gaberoun, where Italian officers carry important documents regarding Project Seuche. The last time the Italians work with Project Seuche is in Mission 5: Siwa Oasis. The Afrikakorps works again with the Italians during Raubveugel's plot to kill Winston Churchill, also at the Siwa Oasis.
Snipers of the Afrikakorps first appear with the same appearance as Elites and later in ghillie suits. They are serious threats and must be dealt with immediatly. Regular snipers dress in their standard Fallschirmjäger gear, with camouflaged jump smocks, with ghillied snipers using yellow ghilie suits with grass and leaves tied into them, becoming almost invisible in the desert landscape. There is one sniper dressed simply as a grunt with pith helmet on the tower at the Kasserine Pass. All snipers are armed with scoped G43 rifles, with Luger pistols as their sidearm. Raubvogel's snipers do not use scopes on their rifles.
The Panzerkampfwagen II Ausführung C Deutsches Afrikakorps (Panzer II C DAK) (Sd.Kfz. Index: Sd.Kfz. 121) is a third variant of the Panzer II light tank family that was used by the Afrika Korps, a German expeditionary force in Africa during World War II's North African campaign. Initially sent as a defensive force to help Italy defend its African colonies, the formation fought in Africa under several names from March 1941 until its surrender in May 1943. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was the unit's most well-known commander. On 11 January 1941, the Afrika Korps was founded, and on 11 February, one of Adolf Hitler's favourite generals, Erwin Rommel, was appointed commander. Originally, Hans von Funck was supposed to lead it, but Hitler despised von Funck since he had been Werner von Fritsch's personal staff officer until von Fritsch was fired in 1938. Except for minor differences, the Panzer II C (DAK) is fairly similar to the standard Panzer II C variant. The Panzer II C (DAK) primarily operated in the desert with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Panzer Regiment, 21st Division. The cooling air intake and exhaust apertures were expanded in these tanks, and the radiator fan was replaced with a high-performance version to cope with the intense desert temperatures. In 1942, four poles were installed around the turret cupola to serve as a base for a Fla-MG anti-aircraft machine gun.
The Panzer II would serve in the initial stages of World War II in the Battle of Poland, France, and Operation Barbarossa as Germany's most numerous tank (By May 1940, there were about a thousand Panzer Is and IIs, but only 381 Panzer III and 290 Panzer IVs). The Panzer II also saw service in the German Afrika Korps (Deutsches Afrikakorps, "DAK") during the Northern Africa campaign. By 1941, it was clear that the Panzer II was starting to become obsolete, and with the increasing quantity of Panzer IIIs and IVs, the Panzer II was relegated to reconnaissance duties when going against the Allies.
The central philosophy of Rommel was the attack first, quickly, surprising and disorienting the enemy. Because the characteristics of desert warfare, the advance of large distances, pushing the enemy back to their lines, it was possible, using surprise and concentrated firepower. Their Achilles heel was logistics supplies, extremely difficult, as the Italians, responsible for supplying the troops, had to cross the Mediterranean in ships to supply the troops Afrikakorps. To further complicate the logistics operation, the landing supplies and fuel in Benghazi or Tripoli had to travel long distances in trucks to the front, even though they had conquered Tobruk and Mersa Matruh, more advanced positions. Some air refueling was done by the Luftwaffe, but in general inexpressive because it also did not live their best moments. Also, the African front was not the priority of the German High Command, so the Wehrmacht did not make great efforts to meet the needs of this front.
Starting from Tripoli, the Afrika korps ran the coast of North Africa, defeating the British, through Cyrenaica, Gazala, Tobruk, heading to Egypt, where he intended to take possession of fuel sources that would help Afrika korps to keep their tanks running. By this time the British were restructuring their forces in Egypt, aimed against an attack. This restructuring was mainly due to the lease plan signed with the United States, managed tactfully by Churchill, where Field Marshall Montgomery begins to receive many M4 Sherman and all kinds of
military equipment and supplies. At the half of 1942, the turning point occurred in the Second Battle of El Alamein, where the fuels of Afrika korps nearly end, and the English starts their offensive. Then begins the journey back to the Afrika korps, unless it had been allowed to rearrange the Führer behind the lines (the famous order of Hitler - Victory or death) until the surrender of what is left of Rommel's army in Medjez el Bab in May 1943. Rommel was already evacuated from the African theater in February 1943, admitted to a hospital in Germany.
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