Prehistory
Spinosaurus: Stromer's Egyptian Find and Its Loss in 1944
Stromer named Spinosaurus aegyptiacus in 1915, but the original fossils were destroyed in an Allied air raid on Munich in April 1944, leaving only drawings, notes and photographs.
Region
Africa
Modern Era
Eddington's Eclipse Expedition (1919): Proving Einstein Right
The measured deflection of starlight agreed with Einstein's prediction rather than Newton's, making general relativity and Einstein world famous.
Modern Era
Italian Invasion of Ethiopia (1935): Mussolini's Colonial War
Italy occupied Addis Ababa and annexed Ethiopia in May 1936; League of Nations sanctions failed, and Italian rule lasted until 1941.
Modern Era
Attack on Mers-el-Kébir (1940): Britain Strikes the French Fleet
The battleship Bretagne was sunk and other ships damaged, with about 1,300 French sailors killed; Anglo-French relations broke down.
Modern Era
Siege of Malta (1940–1942): The George Cross Island Under Fire
Malta held out; the convoys of 1942 and the Allied victory in North Africa lifted the siege, and the island was awarded the George Cross.
Modern Era
Siege of Tobruk (1941): How the Rats of Tobruk Held Out
The Allied garrison held Tobruk for about 241 days until it was relieved during Operation Crusader in late November 1941.
Modern Era
Battle of Gazala (1942): Rommel's Victory and the Fall of Tobruk
Decisive Axis victory; the British Eighth Army was driven back into Egypt and Tobruk surrendered with over 30,000 Allied troops.
Modern Era
Operation Torch (1942): The Allied Landings in North Africa
Allied success: Vichy French forces in Morocco and Algeria ceased resistance within days, but Germany occupied the rest of France and rushed troops into Tunisia.
Modern Era
Second Battle of El Alamein (1942): Montgomery Defeats Rommel
Decisive Allied victory; the Axis Panzer Army Africa was driven out of Egypt and began a retreat that ended with its surrender in Tunisia in May 1943.
Modern Era
Battle of Kasserine Pass (1943): America's First Defeat in Africa
Axis tactical victory; US forces were driven back but the Axis offensive was halted at Thala and Rommel withdrew.
Modern Era
Casablanca Conference (1943): Unconditional Surrender Demanded
The Allies agreed to invade Sicily, to step up the bombing of Germany and the war on U-boats, and publicly demanded the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers.
Contemporary
Mau Mau Uprising 1952-1960: Revolt against British Rule in Kenya
The revolt was militarily defeated by 1956, but it hastened the end of colonial rule; Kenya became independent in December 1963.