Knowledge Bank

My thesis explores the integrated Anglo-American command organization, Allied Force Headquarters (AFHQ), and a select group of its General Staff officers within the context of the North Africa Campaign in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations from August of 1942 to May of 1943. It was during these months that AFHQ was created, tested, and subsequently altered, while its officers worked side-by-side with one another. AFHQ is unique as it was the first attempt at integrating the militaries of two nationalities into a single cohesive headquarters; serving as the precursor to the more widely known headquarters that oversaw the cross-channel invasion of northern Europe—the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). My thesis also dives deeper into the organizational make-up of AFHQ and the principles on which the headquarters was founded—"unity of command and effort" and "balanced personnel." As my research shows these to principles were critical in making the headquarters function effectively. Lasty, my findings have shown that while the common narrative of intense debate and animosity among allied officers still holds true, it was not wholesale and in fact the relationships of these men were much more complex than commonly believed. Due to the inability to gather adequate information on all of the officers in question I have used a select few as "case studies" in order to show the variation in relationships within the command. This study is not extensive, however, I hope to show that there is great potential for future studies in the headquarters organizations of World War II and also in the Mediterranean theater more generally.