Hitler sent his army to North Africa starting in February 1941 (Operation Sonnenblume). General Erwin Rommel's Afrikakorps comprehensively outfought British forces in a classic blitzkrieg. Within weeks the British had been pushed back into Egypt. Rommel's offensive was finally stopped at the small railway halt of El Alamein, just 150 miles from Cairo. Later, Rommel tried again to break through the lines of the Allies during the Battle of Alam el Halfa and was defeated by the British commander, Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery.

Chrome plated Zippo with various engravings: «Cairo» and a dromedary before the pyramids with palm trees on the front and the owner's name «Andy Anderson» together with two large flowers on the front.