Rommel’s Afrika Korps pushed the Allies out of Libya – but the Germans’ success wasn’t to last
© Alamy
B y the end of January 1941, Allied forces were basking in the success of Operation Compass, their first major offensive by since the start of the war. Though thousands of Italian troops and their equipment had been captured, a new arrival on the continent was soon to reverse Allied fortunes. Erwin Rommel and the Afrika Korps wasted little time asserting themselves after their arrival in Tripoli 80 years ago. Their astonishing campaign drove the Allies back out of Libya and threatened the capture of Egypt, sealing Rommel and his Korps’ reputation in the Second World War.