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hello everyone, this is gaibong, back to hydrology again

yes, when seeing the north african battlefield, many people often say: ah, the german army in north africa only has 2 divisions, and there is no german force to contain it...

putting aside the fact that the divisions in north africa invested/consumed more motor vehicles, were more difficult to supply, and the replenishment of the sunken ships in the mediterranean caused certain losses, which are all problems that those who understand know. did the german army really only have two divisions in the north african battlefield? and are these two divisions really so simple in mind and limbs?

i. "it is possible that there were only two german divisions in north africa, but it is impossible that there were always two german divisions in north africa."

this sentence inevitably makes people think that he has done too much barrel bench press and has become changshu arnold (). in fact, it is not the case. it is just a joke.

there were only two german divisions in north africa. this did exist. in the early days of the german army's participation in the north african war, there were only two divisions: the 15th armored division and the 5th light division. this situation lasted only until june 26, 1941, when the african zbv division was established, and there were three divisions in north africa. (this african zbv division was the 90th light division in the future)

before june 26, the german army in africa was not just two divisions, but a medium-level motorized army!

take, for example, june 22, 1941, before operation barbarossa:

excluding the 40th motorized corps, which was not ready for combat, we will find that dak had a similar situation to the other 10 motorized corps on the eastern front. the mobile divisions and corps-affiliated units were all motorized, and some other non-motorized units were also attached (a regiment at the level of a reinforced combat group and 6 infantry battalions, which was half a division even without the lack of other division-affiliated units). in terms of corps-affiliated artillery, although dak did not have rocket launchers, the 6 artillery battalions were also of medium level and equipped with 4 battalions of french gpf 155mm cannons. because dak was in the mediterranean and faced a stronger british air force, it had more anti-aircraft units than any other german motorized corps.

in general, dak is a fairly standard motorized army in 1941. the number of army-level units that a military unit has cannot be ignored...

moreover, although dak has 1 armored division and 1 light division, it has 2 solid armored regiments of tanks, which is stronger than those motorized armies with only one armored division (14th, 46th, 56th motorized armies: please don't say it); and if we force to talk about military strength, dak's direct forces are basically equivalent to a division.

in the north african battlefield, a sdkfz8 is towing a gpf-t [k419 (f)]; this gun was redesigned by the french before world war ii to improve mobility. it can reach a speed of 36km/h. it is a modern improvement. only about 60 guns were equipped by the french army before the battle of france.

ii. there are really more than two divisions in north africa

on june 26, 1941, the german army established the african zbv division, and there were three divisions in north africa. by november 26, 1941, the african zbv division was composed of:

155th support troops regiment (3 battalions)

361st african regiment (2 battalions)

300zbv "oasis" battalion

3rd battalion, 255th infantry regiment

3rd battalion, 347th infantry regiment

580th reconnaissance company

361st artillery battalion

900th engineer battalion

605th armored destroyer battalion

190th signal company

in this way, the german army in north africa had 3 divisions. on november 27, the division was renamed the 90th light division. in addition, as early as september 1, the germans established the african armored group based on the dak army command. rommel commanded and controlled the dak in north africa and the italian 21st army at the same time:

therefore, the rumor that rommel could only be a corps commander was refuted from this point on. the troops under rommel's command in north africa had reached 3 german divisions and 5 italian divisions, which was at the level of a small army group.

the strength of the afrika korps was the same as that of the german army on the western front, which was long underestimated. it should be noted that 1941 was the weakest period for the german army in north africa, and it would be strengthened in 1942-1943.

to be continued...