As the number of German troops committed to the North African Campaign of World 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:Panzer Group Africa, August 1941 – January 1942; German-Italian force Panzer Army Africa, January–October 1942 German-Italian Panzer Army, October 1942 – February 1943 Army Group Africa, February–May 1943

The German Africa Corps, commonly known as Afrika Korps, was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the formation fought on in Africa, under various appellations, from March 1941 until its surrender in May 1943. The unit's best known commander was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.