How was combat in north Africa different than that in Europe?

Answer 1

It was a 'running combat' between to mobile expeditionary armies in a mostly empty desert and it had sieges of towns like Tobruk. Up to that point an all-powerful German army had in Europe crushed all resistance. Here they were for the first time evenly (and sometimes more than evenly) matched by the British and later, the Americans. In Europe up to that point, careful organization, planning and logistics had been a characteristic of all German operations. In Africa, improvisation and on-the-spot tactics were necessary, and logistics, supply and planning were - certainly for the German army - often a problem.