Desert combats look like those in the Russian plains. Armoured and artillery attack first, infantry has to protect the fields.
The different classes using the classical weaponry (tanks, artillery, infantry and air force) are camouflaged sand-coloured. But the desert is compelling man and equipment: sand and dust damage equipments and it's not easy to clean them. The lack of workpieces is more fatal to the equipments than shells themselves.
When the Afrikakorps lands in Africa in march 1941, the Axis force has many tanks, in particular the Panzer III and IV and bulletproof vehicles more efficent than the Italian's and English ones.
One year after, the situation has changed : disabled tanks haven't been changed, workpieces to repair them hardly arrive to Africa. On the contrary, the English have received many modern vehicles, made in Great-Britain or in the USA, like the famous Sherman Tank which is firstly used in the rank of the VIIIth army.

Rommel tries to use the means left, the best way he can. He deploys, like the allies, a huge amount of mines in the fields to prevent tanks from passing trough, or, in a lower quantity, the “marshland”, to impede the enemy's advance.
To compensate the lack of tanks, Rommel uses anti-tanks cannons, even in attack. He modifies the 88 mm anti-aircraft, which turns to be the best anti-tank weapons of all WWII. Allies tanks are hooked in “mousetraps” made of anti-tanks cannons.
Bluff is becoming a weapon, trucks disguised in tanks deceive allies air observators. So the panzer are usually where nobody's waiting for them.
Undoubtedly, the German General turns himself to be very talented in adversity, but it's not enough. Allies, even in defeat, still manage to hurt German back lines with the SAS. Since july / august 1942, the unevenness between forces is becoming greater and Rommel can only delay his defeat. He flies to Germany to claim for reinforcement, which he'll never have, despite the promises.
As soon as English manage to control all the Mediterranean region, in the mid-1942, we can consider the Afrikakorps to be condemned to suffocation and its capacity to recycle old material can only be considerer as an expedient.