Operation Orient



Operation Orient (German: Fall Orient) was the code name given to the operation that envisioned Nazi Germany linking up with the Empire of Japan mainly through the Middle East. Not to be confused with the North African Campaign, which highlighted in Führer-Directive N°32 gave large priority to the capture of Tobruk and ultimately securing North Africa, Operation Orient focused mainly on securing the Middle East and its oil fields and linking up with Japanese forces after the fall of the Soviet Union.

The operation was to be initiated after the capture of the Caucasus, the securing of the territories in North Africa, and after resistance in the Soviet Union had finally been overthrown. The campaign largely depended on these successes, and after disastrous defeats at Stalingrad and El Alamein in late 1942 and early 1943, the plan was cancelled.