Africa during WWII?

Question

Could I please get some info on the events that Africa was involved with during WWII. I would also like to know how they contributed to the war and any other useful information.

Names of the countries would be most helpful.

Answer 1

Essentially Africa was involved in two campaigns during World War II, the 'North African' and the 'East African' campaigns.

The East African campaign was to eject Italian forces from Ethiopia (which it had colonized before the War), and from British Somaliland (now Eritrea) which the Italians had invaded at the start of World War II. The British forces included British colonial officers from all over Africa, and Nigerian and Ghanaian troops, alongside Indian and British troops. The Italians were ultimately defeated.

The North African campaign was incomparably larger, longer and more complicated. Again it started with British forces (including Australians) attacking Italian forces that had invaded British held Egypt. When the Italian Army surrendered, Germany dispatched troops to Libya to reinforce the Italians and maintain pressure on the British. The Germans intention was to threaten and if possible take Egypt and disrupt Allied access to Middle Eastern oil. After being pressed back to Egypt by the Germans, the British again attacked and forced the Germans back to Tunisia.

The US had in the meantime landed at Morocco, and after fighting the French there (who saw themselves as allied to the Germans in line with the puppet regime set up in France under Petain) moved into Algiers. Only then were the French persuaded to 'change sides'. US and British forces then joined up in Tunisia to defeat (with difficulty) the German forces there.

South African troops were involved in the North African campaigns, while Nigerian and Ghanaians fought in East Africa. I believe that other British units were raised in Rhodesia and Kenya. By and large though, Africa was 'fought over' but Africans did not fight, having on the one hand little enthusiasm for taking up arms in support of any of their colonial masters, and on the other being given few opportunities to do so by colonial governments that were wary of arming and politicizing their subjects.

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And an oddity. The Nazi's planned (prior to 1940) to deport all of Europe's jews to Madagascar. The plan, which depended on the Nazi's having control of the seas fell through when Britain did not surrender (as it was expected to do - at least by the Germans - in 1940). When France fell, the French-administered Madagascar came under the control of the Vichy French (allied to the Germans). The British invaded the island in 1942 and installed a Free French administration.
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Answer 2

lets see: South Africans and Rhodesians were fighting Italians in Somalia, and Australians and New Zealanders were fighting Italians and Germans in Tripoli and Egypt, and Americans were fighting French and Germans in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia........and the Brits of course fighting Germans and Italians from Gibraltar to the Suez Canal.....

look up Patton, Eisenhower, Montgomery, Rommel, Tobruk, Malta, El Alamein.........indeed, the Western Allies war with the Axis powers spent the first year fighting in North Africa......

Answer 3

It was still there, still hot and muggy