War in the Desert (German Afrika Korps in film Part 1)
Heat over Africa’s ground, the sun is burning,
Our tank motors sing their song,
German tanks in the desert sand,
Figthting against England,
The treads are rattling, the motor is droning,
Tanks are rolling forward in Africa!
-Afrika Korps Marching Song
Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK), Afrika Korps, from late 1940 until its surrender in May 1943.
The Afrika Korps was the German expeditionary force in North Africa during the Desert Campaign of World War II.
Erwin Rommel popularly known as the "Desert Fox" was designated as commander, or German field marshal.
To fight a war of tanks in the desert, the two most essential provisions were fuel and water.
Also see The Western Desert Campaign (German Afrika Korps in film Part 2) for more films.
Our tank motors sing their song,
German tanks in the desert sand,
Figthting against England,
The treads are rattling, the motor is droning,
Tanks are rolling forward in Africa!
-Afrika Korps Marching Song
Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK), Afrika Korps, from late 1940 until its surrender in May 1943.
The Afrika Korps was the German expeditionary force in North Africa during the Desert Campaign of World War II.
Erwin Rommel popularly known as the "Desert Fox" was designated as commander, or German field marshal.
To fight a war of tanks in the desert, the two most essential provisions were fuel and water.
Also see The Western Desert Campaign (German Afrika Korps in film Part 2) for more films.
List activity
4K views
• 4 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
179 titles
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsFranchot ToneAnne BaxterAkim TamiroffIn the North African campaign a British straggler manages to pass himself off as a waiter at the hotel commandeered as Rommel's headquarters. He has thoughts of assassinating Rommel but his cover may have an even better use.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsPeter O'TooleAlec GuinnessAnthony QuinnThe story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.No Afrika Korps, but good background information of Desert region.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsRichard BurtonJohn ColicosClinton GreynIn 1942 Libya, a German-speaking British Intelligence officer uses former British POWs, some dressed in German uniforms, to fulfill a secret sabotage mission inside German-captured Tobruk.
- DirectorWolfgang SchleifStarsAdrian HovenElisabeth MüllerPeter van EyckIn 1942 the Germans devised an operation to introduce in Egypt spies to provoke a rebellion against the British.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsRock HudsonGeorge PeppardNigel GreenA Canadian POW major is rescued by a special British military unit made up of Germans to help lead an attack on a major German fuel depot in Tobruk, Libya.
- DirectorJohn Llewellyn MoxeyStarsJames Robertson JusticeAdrian HovenNiall MacGinnisA German Agent in Libya is allowed to get back to Rommel with false information.
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsMichael CaineNigel DavenportNigel GreenDuring World War II a group of British commandos in North Africa disguised as Italian soldiers must travel behind enemy lines and destroy a vital German oil depot.
- DirectorBrian Trenchard-SmithStarsJim BelushiAlan David LeeSimon WestawayA tank commander and his men along with a group of assorted stragglers they picked up along the way try to keep a limited supply of water away from the Nazis.
- DirectorGuy GreenStarsRichard AttenboroughJohn GregsonMichael CraigSent to destroy a German petrol dump in the North African desert, a British commando team unexpectedly discovers a large German tank unit, and must inform headquarters in time.
- DirectorVáclav MarhoulStarsJan MedunaPetr VanekRobert NebrenskýSet in the Libyan Desert in World War II, a battalion of Czech soldiers face the siege of Tobruk.
- DirectorNiki SteinStarsUlrich TukurTim BergmannJohannes SilberschneiderThe story of the final seven months in the life of German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.No Afrika Korps, but good background information of North Africa region.
- DirectorEnzo MonteleoneStarsPaolo BrigugliaPierfrancesco FavinoLuciano ScarpaWar seen through the eyes of Serra, a university student from Palermo who volunteers in 1942 to fight in Africa. He is assigned to the Pavia Division on the southern line in Egypt. Rommel and the Axis forces are bogged down; it's October, the British prepare an offensive. At first, boredom, heat, hunger, and thirst bedevil the Italians; then the Brits attack, and there's no luck or heroism in death. Finally, it's retreat in confusion. Serra, his sergeant Rizzo, and his lieutenant Fiori take a last walk toward home. It's said that each soldier gets three miracles; when Serra's are used up, what then?
- StarsJoshua AcasonAlexandra NellDavid PartridgeAs the Germans sweep all before them in Europe, the Anglo-Australian garrison in the small town of Tobruk, Libya, inspires the world by resisting the most celebrated German general of the Second World War.
- DirectorRoy BoultingDavid MacDonaldStarsHarold AlexanderWinston ChurchillAdolf HitlerThe Allied campaign to drive Germany and Italy from North Africa is analysed, with the major portion of the film examining the battles at El Alamein, including a re-enactment.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsJohn MillsAnthony QuayleSylvia SymsDuring World War II in North Africa, a medical field unit must cross the desert in their ambulance in order to reach the British lines in Alexandria.
- DirectorAlfred WeidenmannStarsJoachim HansenMarianne KochHansjörg FelmyBiographic Movie of the German fighter ace, who was killed in a plane crash after over 150 kills in North Africa.
- DirectorAlfonso BresciaStarsAnton DiffringCarl ParkerUgo AdinolfiDuring WWII, US Lieutenant Morris and British captain Hull are assigned in a mission to kill Rommel.
- DirectorCharles ChauvelStarsGrant TaylorPeter FinchChips RaffertyTells the story of three men--Bluey, a tough two fisted drover (Taylor), Milo, a laconic dingo trapper (Rafferty), and Pete, an intellectual English "new chum" (Finch). Together they serve in North Africa, fighting against the forces of Rommel in what has now become one of Australia's greatest wartime legends--The Rats of Tobruk.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsRichard BurtonCurd JürgensRuth RomanA commander receives a citation for an attack on Erwin Rommel's headquarters, which is actually undeserved, as the commander is unfit for his job. On top of that, unbeknownst to him, his wife is having an affair with one of his officers.
- CreatorTom GriesStarsChristopher GeorgeGary RaymondEric BraedenThe World War II North African missions of an Allied commando patrol squad of the Long Range Desert Group.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsHenry FondaMaureen O'HaraThomas MitchellDuring a WW2 patrol in the North-African desert, a Canadian corporal reminisces about his sweetheart and must lead his platoon when the sergeant gets wounded.
- DirectorGiorgio FerroniStarsFrederick StaffordGeorge HiltonMichael RennieWorld war two drama about the 1942 North Africa battle at El Alamein between the Allies and the Axis forces.
- DirectorAlan LandsburgStarsEdmond O'Brien
- DirectorAnthony MinghellaStarsRalph FiennesJuliette BinocheWillem DafoeAt the close of World War II, a young nurse tends to a badly burned plane crash victim. His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair.
- DirectorMoustapha AkkadStarsAnthony QuinnOliver ReedRod SteigerIn 1929, Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini appoints General Rodolfo Graziani as colonial governor to Italian Libya with orders to stamp-out all resistance from Libyan nationalists led by rebel guerrilla leader Omar Mukhtar.No Afrika Korps, but good background information of North Africa region.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGeorge C. ScottKarl MaldenStephen YoungThe World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton.
- DirectorRobin BarnwellStarsJonathan DimblebyThis is the story of how the men who fought and died in the Battle of El Alamein were players in a volatile drama scripted by Churchill, Roosevelt, Mussolini and Hitler in the war capitals of London, Washington, Rome and Berlin. Based on Dimbleby's book, Destiny in the Desert, the film sheds new light on the significance of this key campaign, on which Churchill gambled both his own future and that of Britain itself.
- DirectorLuigi BatzellaStarsRichard HarrisonLea LanderIsarco RavaioliDurng World War II, an American major is captured by the Germans and thrown into a POW camp run by a sadistic Nazi officer, whose main pleasures are whipping the local female population and torturing prisoners. The major organizes an escape attempt using the camp's nubile female doctor as a hostage.
- DirectorBurt TopperStarsWally CampoBrandon CarrollFred GavlinWWII drama set in Tunisia. Five American soldiers become separated from their unit without radio communication
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsLee MarvinMark HamillRobert CarradineA hardened sergeant and the four core members of his infantry unit try to survive World War II as they move from battle to battle throughout Europe.
- StarsErwin RommelNewsreel footage showing the exploits of Gen. Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps during World War II.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsGene TierneyBruce CabotGeorge SandersIn 1941, a mysterious Somaliland woman helps the British against the Germans.
- DirectorLeón KlimovskyStarsJack PalanceAndrea BosicIvan PalanceDuring World War II, a tough officer organizes a commando raid into Germany.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.Pre Afrika Korps!
- DirectorSergio MartinoStarsJason ConneryFrancesco QuinnJinny SteffanIn 1942, a commando is assigned to protect Winston Churchill when it is learned that the Nazis are plotting to kidnap him.
- DirectorCamillo BazzoniStarsAldo RayTano CimarosaUgo FangareggiWorld War 2 - a British commando squad is tasked with attacking the "secret" German airfield from which German fighters have been attacking bombers which are trying to stop German tanks from reinforcing the D Day defences.
- StarsRobin WardRalf RathsKenneth PollackThe history of the most notable armored fighting vehicle engagements is told.Episode: The Battle of Tunisia (2012)
- DirectorJesús FrancoStarsManuel GélinEduardo FajardoFrance LomayAn expedition searching for treasure supposedly buried by the German army in the African desert during WWII comes up against an army of Nazi zombies guarding the fortune.
- 1973–197452m8.5 (420)TV EpisodeStarsLaurence OlivierPaola ColacicchiDavid BelchemThe desert war, starting with Italy's invasion of Egypt and the attacks and counterattacks between Germany and Italy and the Commonwealth forces, the Axis defeat at El Alamein.
- 1983– 21m5.5 (10)TV EpisodeDirectorDon HoranStarsPatrick O'NealErwin RommelThe birth of the Afrika Korps and it's leader Erwin Rommel who was to earn the pseudonym Desert Fox.
- DirectorStuart GillardStarsGary KroegerGretchen GermanMarc SingerThe French Foreign Legion will never be the same after the uproarious World War II exploits of Sgt. Duke Roscoe and his band of military misfits. It's a hilarious "war movie" that will leave you shell-shocked with laughter.
- DirectorMichael RelphStarsAlfred MarksSidney JamesDora BryanWW2 British entertainment troupe bring comedy and chaos to North Africa.
- DirectorArmando CrispinoStarsLee Van CleefJack KellyGiampiero AlbertiniDuring World War II, an Italian-American commando outfit disguised as an Italian Army unit is parachuted behind Axis lines in North Africa.
- DirectorBrian Desmond HurstStarsDonald SindenAnthony SteelAnna Maria SandriIn the African desert, a British soldier romances a native chief's daughter and helps the tribe fight off a German attack.
- DirectorDuilio ColettiStarsFausto TozziEttore ManniMonica ClayIn the summer of 1942, during the Second World War, a group of young paratroopers from the Folgore Division, after having been subjected to a long and tiring training in Italy, was transported by air to the Libyan desert to cover the Italian-German front.
- DirectorGarson KaninCarol ReedStarsDwight D. EisenhowerLeslie BanksWinston ChurchillA documentary account of the allied invasion of Europe during World War II compiled from the footage shot by nearly 1400 cameramen.
- DirectorAndré de la VarreStarsPaul P. Devlin
- DirectorDino RisiStarsColucheBeppe GrilloBernard BlierThe medical sub-lieutenant Marcello Lupi, endowed with a great humanity and common sense, at the end of 1940 was assigned to a health section installed near the oasis of Sorman, Libya and commanded by Major Bellucci.
- DirectorUmberto LenziStarsKen ClarkHorst FrankJeanne ValérieGerman commandos are dropped behind enemy lines in the Sahara Desert and tasked with getting to Casablanca to assassinate Allied leaders.
- DirectorGoffredo AlessandriniStarsCarlo NinchiMario FerrariDoris DurantiLeft without reinforcements, Italian troops in Libia must defend themselves down to the last man against the British.
- DirectorHenri VerneuilStarsJean-Paul BelmondoJacques VilleretMichel ConstantinIn 1943 in Tunisia, a unit of the French Foreign Legion fights the Germans over possession of a bank treasure in gold bars.
- DirectorKen AnnakinStarsYvonne De CarloPeter UstinovDavid TomlinsonIn World War II, desert hotel proprietors Emad and Yasmin are caught between the warring armies and have to constantly shift their political allegiance to whichever army happens to control the area.
- DirectorYoussef ChahineStarsNaglaa FathiAhmed ZakiFarid ShawqiYehia is a young man living in the cosmopolitan Alexandria during World War II. Inspired by American movies and Shakespeare, he aspires to be an actor, but struggles to pursue his Hollywood dream, given the constraints of his life in the middle class and the horrors of war.
- DirectorJohn BoultingRoy BoultingFrank CapraStarsLeo GennBurgess MeredithBernard MilesDocumentary made by the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
- DirectorKarin AlbouStarsLizzie BrocheréOlympe BorvalNajib OudghiriThe Nazi occupation of Tunisia strains the bonds of friendship between a Muslim woman and a Sephardic Jewish woman who are both preparing for their marriages.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsSean ConneryHarry AndrewsIan BannenIn a North African military prison during World War II, five new prisoners struggle to survive in the face of brutal punishment and sadistic guards.
- DirectorTerence YoungStarsVictor MatureLeo GennAnthony NewleyDuring WW2 in North Africa, an American sergeant serving with the British 8th Army is captured by the Germans but he hatches various plans of escape from the POW camp.
- StarsRobert MitchumJane SeymourHart BochnerThe trials of the Henry and the Jastrow families amidst the events after the U.S.'s entry into World War II.
- DirectorCurtis BernhardtStarsHumphrey BogartLee J. CobbMärta TorénA cynical American expatriate gets involved in smuggling and gun-running for the rebels during the 1925 Syrian insurgency against French occupation.No Afrika Korps, but good background information of North Africa region.
- DirectorJosé Luis MerinoStarsStelvio RosiErna SchurerGuy MadisonA group of German Tank Crew fight to survive in france while a french woman falls in love with the German lieutenant
- DirectorTerence YoungStarsAlan LaddLeo GennSusan StephenIn 1940, an American claiming to be Canadian volunteers for the British Army's paratroop school.
- DirectorMark AtkinsStarsScott MartinStephanie BeranRoss BrooksAs World War II rages, the Allies are about to push the Germans out of North Africa. That's when the Germans turn up the heat, unleashing their secret weapon - dragons.
- DirectorDenys de La PatellièreStarsHardy KrügerLino VenturaMaurice BiraudDuring World War II, French commandos join forces with a German officer in order to survive the African desert.
- DirectorMaurizio PradeauxStarsRichard HarrisonPilar VelázquezGiacomo Rossi StuartThe mission: The British have to carry out a plan hatched by Churchill himself to blow up a French dam, by bringing in commandos led by the twin brother of the German commander.
- DirectorMichael CarrerasStarsRaymond FrancisJohn PaulKieron MooreA small band of British soldiers is sent on a mission to hold up a German advance.
- DirectorGianfranco ParoliniStarsGianni GarkoMargaret LeeKlaus KinskiFive oddball American commandos infiltrate a well-guarded villa to steal the documents for "Plan K", which the Nazis intend to use to drive the Allies out of Italy.
- DirectorRobert MarkowitzStarsLaurence FishburneAllen PayneMalcolm-Jamal WarnerThe true story of how a group of African-American pilots overcame racist opposition to become one of the finest United States fighter groups in World War II.
- DirectorZbynek BrynychStarsJosef BláhaRadoslav BrzobohatýEduard CupákThe year is 1943. The war is raging between the Germans and the Allies in North Africa. A truck with a Czech crew, Lieutenant Navara (Radoslav Brzobohatý) and six soldiers, escapes from the Foreign Legion fortress. Their aim is to reach the Allies and fight against Nazism. The truck is destroyed by a German army plane, which is hit by enemy fire in its turn. One Czech soldier dies in the attack, the driver is badly wounded, and Navara has serious burns on his face. The group has very little water and must reach an oasis that is 60 km away.
- DirectorKen AnnakinAndrew MartonGerd OswaldStarsJohn WayneRobert RyanRichard BurtonThe events of D-Day, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsMarlon BrandoMontgomery CliftDean MartinThe lives of three young men, a German and two Americans, during WWII.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordSean ConneryAlison DoodyIn 1938, after his father goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones finds himself up against the Nazis again to stop them from obtaining its powers.No Afrika Korps, but good background information.
- DirectorHarry WattStarsJack LambertGrant SutherlandGordon JacksonThe Nine men of the title are a British WWII Army patrol stuck in a desert fort during the African campaign. The Men must defend the fort against the Italian and German troops until they cam be relieved.
- DirectorJosé Luis MerinoStarsCraig HillManuel ZarzoAnnabella IncontreraThe story of a group of American commandos assigned to kidnap General Rommel. But the soldiers are caught by the Germans who decide to use their plan against them. Replacing the American soldiers with German soldiers, and with the help of a fake "kidnapped" Rommel, they plan to kill General Eisenhower.
- DirectorJames BeveridgeStarsLorne GreeneA Second World War documentary film produced for and by the National Film Board of Canada in 1942 as part of the "Canada Carries On" short documentary series. It uses stock footage, dating back to the First World War, in its theme of showing how dependent modern war vehicles are on having a fuel supply source. In the First World War, Britain's sea power was preserved through the maintenance of a series of coaling stations dotting the Seven Seas. With the change to oil, rather than coal, the necessities for European nations, without home supply, are dependent on the Near-and-Far East where the pipe-lines and oil production have to be defended against attacks by the Axis powers. Canada's role in oil production is also highlighted.
- DirectorTerence YoungStarsVictor MatureLeo GennAnthony NewleyDuring WW2 in North Africa, an American sergeant serving with the British 8th Army is captured by the Germans but he hatches various plans of escape from the POW camp.
- DirectorMahmoud Ayad DrezaKhaled Mustafa KhushaimStarsAl Amin NassefHamedah El KhogahAli KadakAn epic war film about the battle between the Italian and Libyan armies.
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsTom CruiseBill NighyCarice van HoutenA dramatization of the July 20, 1944 assassination and political coup plot by desperate renegade German Army officers against Adolf Hitler during World War II.
- DirectorZoltan KordaStarsHumphrey BogartBruce BennettJ. Carrol NaishAfter the fall of Tobruk in 1942, during the Allied retreat in the Libyan desert, an American tank picks-up a motley group of survivors but they face advancing Germans and a lack of water.
- DirectorRachid BoucharebStarsSamy NaceriRoschdy ZemSami BouajilaDuring World War II, four North African men enlist in the French army to liberate that country from German oppression, and to fight French discrimination.
- DirectorDavid Lowell RichStarsLloyd BridgesRoy ThinnesEric BraedenIn the North African desert in World War II, a damaged American fighter plane that is unable to take off tries to evade and destroy a pursuing Nazi tank.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsRichard BurtonJames MasonRobert NewtonRichard Burton plays a Scottish Army officer put in charge of a disparate band of ANZAC troops on the perimeter of Tobruk with the German Army doing their best to dislodge them.
- DirectorSimon WincerStarsPeter PhelpsNick WatersJohn LarkingIn 1917 when the British forces are bogged down in front of the Turkish and German lines in Palestine they rely on the Australian light horse regiment to break the deadlock.No Afrika Korps, but good background information of region.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsVictor McLaglenBoris KarloffWallace FordA dozen British soldiers, lost in a Mesopotamian desert during World War I, are menaced by unseen Arab enemies.No Afrika Korps, but good background information of Desert region.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsJames MasonCedric HardwickeJessica TandyThe story of the final years of the respected World War II German general, Erwin Rommel.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsMark W. ClarkKenneth AndersonAndrew CunninghamDocumentary depicting and explaining the Allied campaign against the Germans in North Africa.
- 1983– 21m5.5 (10)TV EpisodeDirectorDon HoranStarsPatrick O'NealErwin RommelThe birth of the Afrika Korps and it's leader Erwin Rommel who was to earn the pseudonym Desert Fox.
- DirectorUmberto LenziStarsHelmut BergerSamantha EggarGiuliano GemmaHow World War II affected the lives of a German family and an American family, both of whom had sons and fathers fighting in the war.
- 1973–197452m8.5 (420)TV EpisodeStarsLaurence OlivierPaola ColacicchiDavid BelchemThe desert war, starting with Italy's invasion of Egypt and the attacks and counterattacks between Germany and Italy and the Commonwealth forces, the Axis defeat at El Alamein.
- DirectorJames FargoStarsAnthony QuinnMichael SarrazinChristopher LeeIn 1948, at the U.S. embassy in Zadestan, a young diplomat is ordered to find the missing daughter of an influential U.S. Senator.No Afrika Korps, but good background information of Desert region.
- DirectorZoltan KordaStarsHumphrey BogartBruce BennettJ. Carrol NaishAfter the fall of Tobruk in 1942, during the Allied retreat in the Libyan desert, an American tank picks-up a motley group of survivors but they face advancing Germans and a lack of water.
- DirectorWolfgang SchleifStarsAdrian HovenElisabeth MüllerPeter van EyckIn 1942 the Germans devised an operation to introduce in Egypt spies to provoke a rebellion against the British.
- DirectorAlfred WeidenmannStarsJoachim HansenMarianne KochHansjörg FelmyBiographic Movie of the German fighter ace, who was killed in a plane crash after over 150 kills in North Africa.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.No Afrika Korps, but good background information of North Africa region.
- DirectorAnthony MinghellaStarsRalph FiennesJuliette BinocheWillem DafoeAt the close of World War II, a young nurse tends to a badly burned plane crash victim. His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair.
- DirectorMoustapha AkkadStarsAnthony QuinnOliver ReedRod SteigerIn 1929, Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini appoints General Rodolfo Graziani as colonial governor to Italian Libya with orders to stamp-out all resistance from Libyan nationalists led by rebel guerrilla leader Omar Mukhtar.No Afrika Korps, but good background information of North Africa region.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.Pre Afrika Korps!