Ramcke Brigade (also known as Fallschirmjäger-Brigade Afrika) is a German airborne unit that was active from 1942-1943. The brigade took its unofficial name, that is Ramcke Brigade, from the surname of its commander - Hermann Ramcke. The brigade was formed in 1942 and fought in North Africa from the very beginning, taking part in the 1st Battle of El-Alamein. In its course, the unit was surrounded, but its soldiers, despite heavy losses, managed to break through to their own lines in a daring way. In the period October-November 1942, the unit fought in the Second Battle of El-Alamein, suffering further losses, and after the defeat of the Axis states in this battle, it retreated through Tripolitania to Tunisia, where it fought in the last battles in North Africa. The capitulation of the unit takes place in May 1943. In full time, Ramcke Brigade had three parachute infantry battalions, a training battalion, an artillery battalion, an anti-tank and engineering company, as well as communications and sanitary units.
Afrika Korps (full German name: Deutsches Afrikakorps, abbreviated as DAK) is colloquially understood as the collective name of German land units fighting in North Africa in 1941-1943. The Afrika Korps was formed in February 1941, as a result of the painful defeats suffered by the Italian army during the battles with the British in Africa at the turn of 1940/1941. His main task was to come to the aid of the Italian ally and stop the advance of British troops in Libya. The commander of the unit was a general, and later a field marshal, Erwin Rommel. Initially, the DAK consisted of only the 5th Light Division (later transformed into the 21st Armored Division), in May 1941 it was joined by the 15th Armored Division, and at the end of 1941 - the 90th Light Division. It is worth adding that already in the middle of 1941 the Panzergruppe Afrika was founded, headed by Erwin Rommel, and it was joined by Afrika Korps. Despite the defensive tasks, the DAK (or more broadly the Panzergruppe Afrika) very quickly after landing - on the initiative of its commander - went into strictly offensive operations, inflicting a series of defeats in the desert on the British in 1941-1942. However, it was then that its commander was nicknamed the Desert Fox. At the same time, however, from the very beginning, DAK was troubled by supply problems, which had a negative impact on its ability to conduct offensive actions. He suffered a significant defeat during the Second Battle of El Alamein (October-November 1942), which forced the DAK to retreat as far as Tunisia, in which he fought until May 1943.