Why did Churchill favour a North Africa campaign in 1942? Why not attack the Germans in Western Europe?

Answered on Quora.

Churchill’s reasons for pursuing a North African strategy as opposed to a direct attack on Western Europe were driven by several major factors

1. The opposition of the British military brass to a land war in Western Europe - don’t forget that the horrors of the Somme was not far removed;
2. He needed to protect Egypt and the Suez Canal from falling into Axis hands if it indeed fell this could endanger British interests in India and the Far East;
3. The British Army was not up to the strength in 1942 for fighting head-on with the Wehrmacht in Western Europe in 1942 not after the debacle at Dunkirk and before that the failure in Norway;
4. North Africa offered Britain a theater for military success which Churchill very much needed to sustain the morale of the populace (German forces were also depleted in North Africa to sustain the war in the East so that he was choosing his battles well);
5. Failure to secure North Africa would have effectively turned the Mediterranean Sea into an Axis controlled lake (Italy had a considerable navy force here as well);
6. There was a concern as well that if the Germans were successful in North Africa they would have swept onward to the Middle East Oil Fields that would have provided them with fuel to sustain the war effort indefinitely. This may have turned the tide in their favour on the Eastern Front as well.
7. Securing North Africa would provide bases to harass German/Italian shipping in the Mediterranean