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As the number of German troops committed to the North African CampaignofWorld War II grew from the initial commitment of a small corps, the Germans developed a more elaborate command structure and placed the enlarged Afrika Korps, with Italian units under this new Italian and German command and a succession of commands were created to manage Axis forces in Africa:
When the Afrika Korps was formed on 11 January 1941 it was subordinated to the Italian chain of command in Africa. In the middle of 1941 Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW, Armed Forces High Command) created a larger command structure in Africa, forming a new headquarters, Panzer Group Africa (Panzergruppe Afrika, Gruppo Corazzato Africa). On 15 August 1941, Panzer Group Africa was activated with newly promoted General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel in command. The Panzer Group controlled the Afrika Korps and other units that were sent to Africa (notably the 90th Light Infantry Division), and the Italian X Corps and XX Corps.
Panzer Group Africa was renamed Panzer Army Africa (Panzerarmee Afrika, Armata Corazzata Africa) on 30 January 1942. (A German Panzer group was an army-level headquarters. As the war progressed all of the Panzer groups were renamed Panzer Armies.)
Panzer Army Africa was renamed German-Italian Panzer Army' (Deutsch-Italienische Panzerarmee, Armata Corazzata Italo-Tedesca) in October 1942 during the long retreat after the defeat at the Second Battle of El Alamein during the Western Desert Campaign.
In February 1943, the headquarters was expanded and called Army Group Africa (Heeresgruppe Afrika, Gruppo d'Armate Africa) to manage the defence of Tunisia during the final stages of the North African Campaign. Army Group Africa included the German Fifth Panzer Army (5. Panzerarmee) and the Italian 1st Army. Command of the Army Group was turned over from RommeltoHans-Jürgen von Arnim in March. He surrendered the Army Group on 13 May 1943, ending the Axis presence in Africa.
Throughout its existence, this headquarters controlled the Afrika Korps and for most of its life it controlled a number of other German and Italian units as well. Not all German units in Africa subordinate to the Afrika Korps; some were reserves for the Panzer Army and some were occasionally subordinated to Italian armies or corps. The following overview of its components is taken from lexikon-der-wehrmacht de, with dates corrected (see references).
As of September 1941: (during Rommel's first push into the Western Desert)
From February 1943:
| No. | Portrait | Commander | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
| Rommel, ErwinGeneraloberst Erwin Rommel (1891–1944) | 1 September 1941 | 9 March 1942 | 189 days |
| 2 |
| Crüwell, LudwigGeneral der Panzertruppe Ludwig Crüwell (1892–1958) | 9 March 1942 | 19 March 1942 | 10 days |
| (1) |
| Rommel, ErwinGeneralfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel (1891–1944) | 19 March 1942 | 22 September 1942 | 187 days |
| 3 |
| Stumme, GeorgGeneral der Panzertruppe Georg Stumme (1886–1942) | 22 September 1942 | 24 October 1942 † | 32 days |
| - |
| Thoma, WilhelmGeneralleutnant Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma (1891–1948) Acting | 24 October 1942 | 25 October 1942 | 1 day |
| (1) |
| Rommel, ErwinGeneralfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel (1891–1944) | 25 October 1942 | 26 November 1942 | 32 days |
| 4 |
| Fehn, GustavGeneral der Panzertruppe Gustav Fehn (1892–1945) | 26 November 1942 | 2 December 1942 | 6 days |
| (1) |
| Rommel, ErwinGeneralfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel (1891–1944) | 2 December 1942 | 22 February 1943 | 82 days |
| 5 |
| Arnim, HansGeneraloberst Hans-Jürgen von Arnim (1889–1962) | 10 March 1943 | 13 May 1943 | 64 days |
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Army Groups of the German Army (1935–1945)
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