October 15th, 2021

The Second World War in Africa (1939-45)

North Africa Campaign (1940-3)
French Africa
African Soldiers outside Africa
Second Colonial Occupation
Veterans

North Africa Campaign (1940-3)

Italian Invasion of Egypt – Aug 1940
Deutsches Afrikakorps – Feb 1941
Erwin Rommel
Tobruk – bypassed as there would have to be a siege, etc. During Rommel’s first offensive they
hold, but eventually they are beaten, and it is a tremendous blow to the British war effort.
First (July 1942, stopping the Axis) and Second (Oct-Nov 1942, counterattack) Battles of El
Alamein – funnelling of attackers into a concentrated point because of the Qattara(?) depression
Bernard Montgomery (Monty)
South African Divisions – White combat troops, black support troops
Operation Torch – Nov 1942, American push eastwards from Morocco and Algeria
Tunisia Campaign – Nov 1942 to May 1943 – at the end of it there was a big pocket of Axis
troops near Carthage area in Tunisia and eventually they are encircled.
Battle of Kasserine Pass – Feb. 1943 – Americans are defeated and given a bit of a reverse here,
but they just keep coming

French Africa
Fall of France – June 1940
Pseudo-civil war; Vichy France vs. Free France – most French officials are loyal to the officials
back home. Most of the west African colonies sided with Vichy; most of the central African ones
(Chad and southwards, excl. Gabon) side with Free France. Madagascar and Syria were also
loyal to Vichy. The Vichy territories pretended to be neutral but sent resources back home that
would eventually find their way to the Germans.

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Charles De Gaulle, Felix Eboue (Caribbean black man who really was not fond of Hitler’s racial
policies)
Battle of Dakar – Sept. 1940, Royal Navy ships are sent to escort an expeditionary force to take
over the port, but it does not go very well.
Battle of Gabon – Nov. 1940, this one goes better. Here, the British land Free French troops in
Gabon and they eventually take over all of Gabon.
Japan Enters War – Dec. 1941, Japanese subs start operating in the Mozambique channel and the
British got worried that the Vichy officials would let the Japanese occupy Madagascar for naval
strategic purposes.
Operation Ironclad – May-Nov 1942, British and South African forces invade Madagascar

African Soldiers Outside Africa

France 1940
African POWs in Europe
Italy – SAAF, 6th SA Armoured Div., African Pioneer Corps (High Commission territories of
Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland), Free French; South African shift to armoured division
because of recruiting issues. They do not do this until after North Africa Campaign, when it
would have been beneficial; rather, they do this in Italy, where it is mountainous, and the terrain
is not good for it.
Op. Brassard (Corsica) June 1944
Op. Dragoon (S. France) – Aug. 1944
“Blanchement” – whitening in the Free French forces. It was “embarrassing” for the Free French
to be reliant on African colonial troops; and it would be especially so if white metropolitan
French civilians were liberated by their black colonial subjects.
Thiaroye – Dec. 1944, Senegal: Uprising in the POW camp where 35 black troops are shot dead
by the French guards.
Force Publique – Middle East; cut off from Belgium so lacking in officers and leadership.
Ultimately they are used by the British as troops in Africa, as well as lots of rear echelon work
(logistics, security, etc.). Particularly they are used as POW camp guards in the Middle East.
Burma – Lots of British African forces in addition to the Indian forces of the British Raj, of
which Burma is a part. One of the West African divisions is the first troop in history to be
supplied entirely by air; and the Africans have slightly more resistance to tropical diseases.
Chindits – one of these African forces serves in the Chindits in Burma, operating behind the
lines.

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In South Africa joining the war is a real hot potato politically because of the whole Afrikaner
thing. It leads to the change of Prime Ministers – at the start of the war, J. B. M. Hertzog is Prime
Minister and he is an Afrikaner nationalist, so he is not into it. He leaves and Jan Smuts, who is
pro-British, takes over.

The Second Colonial Occupation

Urbanisation – ports and airfields are developed extensively; people go to the cities to work in
wartime production jobs
Land Expropriation
Increased Production (Mining and Agriculture)
Forced Labour – expanded during the wars because of increased production demands
Nationalism – poor conditions under colonial rule lead to lots of radicalisation and growth of
nationalist movements.
Decolonisation

After the decline during the interwar years, during the War colonialism comes back in a big way.

The Impact of African Veterans

Myth of African Veterans – went overseas, became war heroes, come back home to lead
nationalist movements. The ideas were more prevalent than the actual veterans themselves in the
movements.
Gold Coast 1948 – veterans massacred; veterans protest in 1948 for better veterans’ benefits, 3
are shot and killed by colonial police and many are wounded. This triggers a massive backlash
across the country.

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