In the wake of its victory at the Battle of
Gazala, Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel’s Panzerarmee pressed the British forces
toward Egypt. The 8th Army of General Claude Auchinleck pushed back during the first
battle of el Alamein, battering both armies and causing a stalemate . Lacking reinforcements and
supplies and with each passage of time improving the situation for the allies, Rommel elected
to go on the offensive again, suffering a minor defeat at the battle of Alam el Halfa . Now
the Panzerarmee were tossed onto the defensive, allowing the allies a chance to strike back.
This episode is the second battle of El Alamein. These decisive battles of Rommel’s north
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game, check out the link in the description. After their defeat at the battle of Gazala , the
British were pushed east toward Egypt as far as Mersa Matruh. General Claude Auchinleck relieved
Lt General Neil Ritchie and took command of the 8th Army, but the British war planners knew they
could not hope to mount an effective defense at Mersa Matruh. Thus they elected to make a fighting
withdrawal 150 miles east to El Alamein. It was also recognized that if the Axis held a forward
base as far east as Mersa Matruh, they could expose the crucial naval base at Alexandria and
the population of Cairo to aerial bombardment. This would threaten to force the evacuation
of the Mediterranean fleet from its main port. Upon taking command, Auchinleck immediately
ordered fortifications to be made at El Alamein. If it fell, so would Egypt.
Meanwhile, Rommel’s Panzerarmee was in hot pursuit, surviving off abandoned British fuel
and munitions but seeing an increase in an aerial bombardment from the Desert Air Force . The chaos
of the British retreat saw the loss of vital stores and supplies. Virtually all the fighting
stores, clothing, food, petrol and ammunition of the 8th Army had been based near Tobruk
and Belhamed. The speed of the Panzerarmee's advance led to a catastrophic situation where the
British withdrew from supply dump to supply dump, basically handing over the logistical support the
Rommel needed to push east. Dumps from Tobruk, Belhamed, El-Salloum, and Capuzzo all the way
to Mersa Matruh and later El Daba would be seized. The 8th Army lost thousands upon
thousands of tons of war supplies and, most crucial to Rommel’s forces, fuel. Despite
this, Rommel's speartip, the Afrika Korps, had severely reduced in number since the battle
of Gazala. On June 29th, they could only count 55 battleworthy tanks. For the Italians, it was
even worse at 15. The fuel for the Panzerarmee was draining the further east they went.
After dealing a lethal blow to the 8th Army’s armor at the battle of Gazala, Rommel now
sought to trap their infantry at Mersa Matruh. But Rommel had a growing problem. The further
his Panzerarmeee travelled east, the longer the supply line became and the more vulnerable
to attacks from the Desert Air Force. Rommel’s reconnaissance units reached the outskirts
of Mersa Matruh on the night of June 25th, but allied attacks on his supply line delayed
his attack until the following afternoon. The 8th Army managed to perform a fighting withdrawal
from June 26th to the 29th, but countless men, fuel and supplies were captured. As a result,
Rommel directed the Afrika Korps to try and cut off the 8th Army’s retreat as both sides raced
towards El Alamein. It became a confusing mess, with the intermingling of opposing columns making
it difficult to distinguish friend from foe. It was a truly grave situation as the Axis
immediately began to work, operating aircraft from the Matruh airfields. Scraps of burnt paper
floated down all over Cario on July 1st of 1942, as the British General Headquarters in the Middle
East and their embassy began burning thousands of confidential documents. Rumors fanned by Axis
propaganda spread like wildfire through Egypt, claiming that Rommel would be at the gates
at any moment. The Mediterranean fleet, now under threat of aerial bombing, fled the naval
base, sailing for the Canal Zone and Palestine. People began fleeing Cairo when they saw the
smoke in the air. British hold over Egypt was trembling, and this infamously
became known as “Ash Wednesday.” Not all was lost, as the 8th Army gathered at El
Alamein for what seemed to be their last stand. On July 1st, the 8th Army only had 137
tanks in their unit's line, with another 42 in transit. Back in the base workshops
, over 902 more tanks were being worked on. The British chose to defend a line going
from the sea to the Qattara Depression. If Rommel wished to outflank them, he would have
to cross far south through the Sahara Desert. Auchinleck had at his disposal a varied
force formed from the wreckage of Gazala, Tobruk and Mersa Matruh, along with some
fresh forces arriving from the east. The 8th Army at El Alamein was a multinational
force consisting of troops from the British Empire and allied governments. There were
British, Australian, Indian, New Zealand, South African, Free French, Greek and Polish .
El Alamein’s name arose from the railway halt built by the British in the 1920s. British
engineers had placed two flags in the sand to mark the half of the track, thus named el Alamein,
meaning “two flags.” To its north was a coastal road, and to its south, an undifferentiated
desert marked by two low ridges, the Miteiriya and Ruweisat. Further south was the Qattara
Depression, with the treacherous Sahara Desert below it. Auchinleck had three large defensive
boxes built across the bottleneck of Alamein. The most vital box was built around the railway
station at Alamein , followed by the Bab el Qattara box and Naq Abu Dweis box. Minefields and
barbed wire connected the distance between the boxes. Auchinleck deployed his forces intending
to use fixed defensive positions to channel and disorganize Rommel’s advance while keeping in
the mobile reserve units for flanking maneuvers . Auchinleck hoped to create a bottleneck at El
Alamein to thwart Rommel’s favored form of attack, sweeping into the enemy from the rear.
By June 30th, Rommel’s Panzerarmee approached the Alamein line exhausted, and though the
captured British supplies proved useful, the Axis logistical supply lines were stretched
noticeably thin. Rommel elected to deploy the 21st and 15th Panzer divisions with the 90th
light division to penetrate between the northern Alamein box and Deir el Abyad, hoping to take
the rear of the 13th Corps. It was his favored strategy that had produced results on numerous
occasions. Rommel unleashed his Panzer spearhead between the coast and Deir el Abyad. His 90th
light division turned north to cut the coastal road while the 21st and 15th Panzer divisions
swung south into the rear of the 13th Corps . Meanwhile, the Italian 20th Corps advanced upon
the Qattara box. Sandstorms and the Desert Air Force delayed the 21st and 15th Panzer divisions,
and soon they fell upon heavy resistance from the 18th Indian infantry brigade near Deir el Shein.
The 90th light division was likewise hampered by Artillery from the South Africans, grounding them
to a halt. In an effort to cut the coastal road, Rommel redirected the 21st and 15th Panzer
divisions to hit Ruweisat ridge before turning north. But the Desert Air Force aided the British
formations to hold the ridge , and soon two days saw failed repeated Axis attacks, alongside a
valiant counterattack by the New Zealanders. Rommel’s forces were exhausted, and his
Panzerarmee speartip was depleted , giving him no choice but to dig in, taking a defensive stance.
The logistical supply lines to the Axis-held ports in North Africa were very far away, causing
massive delays , while the Allies enjoyed the advantage of much shorter ones. While pausing,
Rommel hoped to receive reinforcements and resupply, allowing him to launch another assault.
Meanwhile, Auchinleck had just been bolstered by the newly arrived 9th Australian division and
two Indian infantry brigades. At this point, Auchinleck believed the time was ripe to launch
his own offensive, so he ordered the 30th Corps to advance west against Tel el Eisa and Tel el Makh
Khad. From July 10th, the British counterattacked, succeeded in capturing their objectives and
repelled numerous Axis counterattacks . Rommel's forces began to concentrate north , when
Auchinleck unleashed Operation Bacon on the 14th. It was directed at the Italian
17th “Pavia” and “Brescia” Divisions in front of Ruweisat ridge . The New Zealanders and
Indian 5th infantry brigade made three successive attacks and repelled numerous counterattacks
from the 21st and 15th Panzer divisions. The battle began to wind down, prompting
Auchinleck on the 17th to order the Australians and 44th Royal Tank Regiment to attack Miteirya
Ridge to take pressure from Ruweisat . To this, Rommel sent the Italian “Trento” and “Trieste”
Divisions backed with some Panzer armor . The tides had turned on Rommel by this point.
Auchinleck had received numerous reinforcements and now held a two-to-one advantage in armor
. Auchinleck unleashed a violent offensive at Ruweisat on the 21st. The Indians attacked west
of the ridge while the New Zealanders advanced towards El Mreir . At El Mreir, German armor
counterattacked, halting their advance, and the Indians were unable to seize Deir el Shein .
Meanwhile, the 23rd armored brigade ran into but a stalemate emerged by the 22nd . Auchinleck
then unleashed Operation Manhood as a final attempt to break Rommel's forces in the
northern sector . The plan called for a reinforced 30th corps to perform a breakthrough at
Miteirya, intending to advance upon Deir el Dhib and El Wishka, which would cut off the Axis supply
lines. On the night of July 26th, the offensive began, and it quickly turned into a disaster. Days
of fighting saw Auchinleck finally toss in the towel on the 31st, ordering offensive operations
to cease . The battle fell into a stalemate, the British had halted the Axis advance, but it cost
them dearly. The 8th Army had suffered over 13,000 casualties while the Axis suffered 10,000, with
another 7000 taken prisoner. Alongside the valiant efforts of the 8th Army, it would turn out to be
significant delays in the logistical supply line for the Axis that hampered Rommel’s offensive.
After the first battle of El Alamein, the stalemate caused both sides to dig in and
regroup. By July 1942, General Claude Auchinleck had lost the confidence of Dominion and British
commanders . On August 12th, while visiting Cairo, Sir Winston Churchill replaced Auchinleck with
General Sir Harold Alexander as Commander-in-chief and the commander of the 13th Corps, Lt General
William Gott, would command the 8th Army. However, during his flight to Cairo, Gott’s Bristol Bombay
was shot down by two Messerschmitt BF 109s. His pilot managed to crash land, but the Germans
strafed them, killing them both. Thus Churchill ordered Lt General Bernard Montgomery to
take command of the 8th Army on August 13th. Meanwhile, Rommel was dealing with two major
obstacles, time and distance. July of 1942 saw the Panzerarmee moving from crisis to crisis,
relying on petrol, ammunition, food and even uniforms captured from Allied stocks. Rommel was
begging high command for supplies and fuel, but Nazi Germany’s priority at this time was directed
at the Eastern Front, resulting in very limited supplies reaching North Africa. On top of this,
the Axis supplies that were earmarked for North Africa were piling up in Europe, unable to get to
the Panzerarmee in North Africa quickly enough. Supplies needed to be loaded at Naples,
Piraeus, and Athens and loaded onto Italian merchant marines hampered by a lack of fuel oil .
To make matters worse, the North African ports were grossly underdeveloped and too far away from
the frontlines. Allied bombing raids, merchant attacks and the lack of petrol made for a chronic
shortage of everything Rommel needed to perform offensives, while the Allies enjoyed logistical
superiority. The 8th Army was supplied with men and war materials from the United Kingdom, India,
Australia and New Zealand, with vehicles like the new Sherman Tanks coming from the United States.
Alongside much better logistics, the Allies had another trick up their sleeve. Ultra was feeding
the British air and naval forces from Malta and Egypt to focus their efforts against high-value
targets like Italian tankers. Ultra allowed the British to focus their limited resources to have
a disproportionate effect on the Panzerarmee’s logistics, without giving away the breaking of
Axis codes. In fact, Ultra was so far-reaching and accurate that the 8th Army would have nearly
perfect intelligence on Rommel’s order of battle, supply position and offensive intentions.
By October the 25th, Ultra would report the Panzerarmee was down to 3 days' worth of fuel
with only two days worth sitting east of Tobruk. Rommel received word the Allies were soon to
receive a 100,000 long tons convoy to Egypt due in September that would tilt the balance against him
. Nearly out of fuel and running low on supplies, he elected to gamble, launching an offensive to
seize the delta before the 8th Army made defeat inevitable. This resulted in the battle of Alam el
Halfa , but Ultra anticipated Rommel’s offensive, reporting to Montgomery there was a planned attack
against the southern sector. Montgomery left a gap in the southern sector while deploying the bulk
of his artillery and armor around Alam el Halfa. Alongside this, Ultra provided the
Desert Air Force with an exact idea of Rommel’s order of battle and movements
so they could provide lethal coverage. Rommel’s offensive began the night of August
30th, taking advantage of a full moon. Things went disastrously from the offset for
Rommel’s forces. The RAF unleashed raids upon vehicle concentrations , minefields presumed to
be thinly dispersed were much deeper and British armored divisions inflicted tremendous casualties
. Despite the losses, Rommel’s forces pushed past the minefields attempting to outflank the allies,
but they ran into intense resistance . On the 1st of September, lack of fuel crippled the
21st Panzer Division, leaving the 15th Panzer Division to lead the charge and being
quickly repulsed . Rommel was forced to order a withdrawal, highlighting intense Allied air
superiority and a lack of fuel as the cause. The Panzerarmee ran out of supplies, crucially
that of fuel, and thus was forced onto the defensive. The 8th Army had an opportunity to
finish off the Afrika Korps as it was strung out between the minefields and Alam el Halfa,
but Montgomery elected to hold back and await the large reinforcement convoy. This caused
Rommel to complain to Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring, “the Swine isn’t attacking!”.
Both sides dug in and sowed their minefields, barbed wire and other fortifications.
Alexander and Montgomery were waiting until their superiority of force was established
before launching an offensive. In the meantime, Montgomery began planning Operation Lightfoot.
Operation Lightfoot would see a main thrust made in the north, cutting through two corridors of
Axis minefields to capture the enemy positions between the coast and the Miteirya ridge . A
secondary thrust would be made south to seize the Himeimat, drawing the enemy armor away
from the main thrust . Montgomery envisioned a 12-day battle involving 3 phases: kicking in
the door, a dog fight, then breaking the enemy. The plan’s first night of actions would see four
infantry battalions crossing the Oxalic line, with engineers and scorpions clearing and marking
two lanes through the minefields. Thus it was crucial the operation commenced on the night
of a full moon. The operation depended on the 8th Army’s 30th corps bridgehead, 4 assaulting
infantry divisions who would confront two dug-in infantry divisions . If the bridgehead force could
not break through, the armor of the 10th Corps would be unable to press home their numerical
advantage due to the Axis anti-tan gun defense. To help deceive Rommel as to where the main thrust
was coming from, Operation Bertram was executed. This operation saw waste materials under
camouflage nets that looked like ammunition dumps were employed in forward areas. Axis
intelligence knew these to be obvious decoys, but unbeknownst to them, the Allies switched
the decoys with actual war supplies to create launching points at the last minute. The
131st brigade of the 44th Home Counties division would also execute Operation Braganza, a
parachute assault aimed at capturing the Munassib depression. If successful, this would threaten
the Axis hold on to their forward minefields. As for the Axis plans, Rommel had become
increasingly ill , and by September 23rd, returned to Germany on sick leave. He requested
Panzer General Heinz Guderian as his replacement, but instead, the Panzerarmee received General der
Panzertruppe Georg Stumme . Stumme, like Rommel, understood the 8th Army’s growing material
superiority but was still confident their army could win a defensive battle. Between September
24th and October 20th, utilizing plans formed by Rommel, Stumme thinned out the front lines
to create a more extended defense in depth. To do this, he created mine boxes, which Rommel
called “devil’s gardens” , laid out like a chequerboard for the forces to alternate from.
These mine boxes would contain mines, barbed wire and outposts covered by enfilading fire simulating
a stronger front but allowed Panzerarmee’s mobile reserves to concentrate on counterattacks.
Unfortunately, Rommel elected to divide instead of concentrate his reserve, deploying the 15th Panzer
and 133rd Armored Littorio Division north and the 21st Panzer and 132nd Ariete Division south too
far apart to support one another, which the allied intelligence noted and exploited. The 8th Army
held superiority over the Panzerarmee in nearly all aspects , and the Panzerarmee severely lacked
fuel, greatly hindering their maneuverability. Operation Lightfoot kicked off at 21:40
on October 23rd with a 1000-gun barrage. Over 882 shells were “time-on-target” calculated
to hit the 40-mile front simultaneously . After 20 minutes, the bombardment became a creeping barrage
to support the infantry’s advance. Meanwhile, at 21:55, the 24th Australian Brigade performed
a simulated “Chinese” diversionary attack to mislead the Axis defenders into believing the
northern flank attack extended to the sea, forcing them to disperse over a wider area. At
22:00, the Desert Air Force began bombing the Tel el Aqqaqir and Kidney areas while Bostons laid
smoke screens to cover the infantry’s advance. The intense bombardments destroyed the 15th Panzer
divisional HQ communications from the offset, causing massive disorder. At 22:00, four infantry
divisions of the 30th Corps headed by scorpions and engineers led the way through the minefield .
To the south near Jebel Kalakh, the 7th Armored Division, supported by the 1st French Brigade,
launched a diversionary attack against the 21st Panzer and Ariete Divisions . Further north,
the 50th Northumbrian infantry division clashed with the 17th Pavia and 27th Brescia infantry
divisions with some elements of the 185th Folgore infantry division. In front of Ruweisat ridge,
a diversionary attack was made by the Indian 4th infantry division. The feint attacks were all
successful, but the engineers and minesweepers in the north were struggling. Despite delays,
at 02:00 the allied armor began their advance with traffic jams quickly emerging.
Stumme ordered a counterattack at dawn, sending the 15th Panzer and Littorio
Divisions to regain the main defensive line. The 51st Highland Division, supported by
armored brigades and the Desert Air Force, repulsed the counterattack at Miteiriya ridge.
Stumme travelled to the frontlines by car to assess the situation and was attacked, seeing
staff officer Colonel Andreas Buchting shot dead . Stumme leapt out of the car and would be
later found dead, suffering from a heart attack. Temporary command fell to General der Panzertruppe
Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma, who continued Stummes counterattack as it was, not believing enlarging
it would be necessary to seal off the allied penetrations. German high command received
word of the offensive, prompting Hitler to order Rommel to return to North Africa. However,
the time between Stumme’s death and Rommel's arrival gave the 8th Army the most precious
commodity in the middle of a battle: time. By dusk, the 15th Panzer and Littorio divisions
engaged the 1st armored division around the Kidney, leading to a large tank battle . At 10:00,
disaster struck the Sherwood Rangers and 3rd Royal tank regiment as the Luftwaffe destroyed 25
vehicles carrying petrol and supplies . The allied engineers continued to struggle through
the minefields as the bulk of British armor waited at Oxalic. At this point, the battle
began to see concentrations at the Miteirya, Kidney and Tel el Eisa areas. Rommel arrived
on the afternoon of the 25th, stopping at Rome first to plead with Enno von Rintelen for
more fuel and ammunition from the Italians. His arrival at the front boosted morale,
but Rommel knew the situation was very dire. The 30th Corps advanced northwards towards the
coast, causing the bulk of the fighting to occur around Tel el Eisa . That night Rommel assessed
the situation, finding most units under strength, with supplies running out and only enough fuel
for three days. He was convinced the Allied main assault would come north and ordered Point 29 to
be recaptured . His counterattack was repulsed by heavy Allied artillery and aerial bombing,
though some Italian units managed to seize Hill 28 . Outside the battlefield, the most
significant air action occurred on this day. The Italian tankers Proserpina and Tergestea were
torpedoed outside Tobruk, and the Luisiano off the Greek coast, sinking the fuel Rommel needed
desperately to win the battle . By the 26th, the 30th Corps captured the bridgehead west of the
second mine belt, while the 10th corps struggled to break through the Axis anti-tank defenses,
causing heavy casualties . At 23:00 the Snipe and Woodcock outposts were assaulted , prompting two
counter attacks . The next day at 16:00, Rommel launched a major attack, sending the 15th Panzer
and Ariete Divisions to dislodge the allies at the Snipe area . The Axis forces were repulsed, but
the British were also forced to withdraw due to heavy casualties. Montgomery then sent the British
133rd Lorried infantry brigade to recapture both areas . To the north the German 90th light
division began an attack against Point 29 as the 15th and 21st Panzer division joined the fight
at the Snipe, still failing to make any ground. During the night of the 28th, Montgomery ordered
the 10th corps to go on the defensive , while the offensive would concentrate north. The Australian
20th infantry brigade and British 40th royal tank regiment advanced northwest of Point 29 while the
26th Australian infantry brigade and 46th royal tank brigade advanced northeast upon Thompsons
Post. The northwest push achieved its objective, but the northeast push was repulsed . Both sides'
vehicle repair crews were working overtime to get more armor into the fight. By the 30th, 800
allied tanks remained operational while Rommel was down to 81 German and 197 Italian tanks
with barely any fuel making it to the front . Beginning on the night of the 31st, Montgomery
launched multiple attacks near Point 29 and the coastal sector as a diversion . This was met by
4 successive counter attacks by the 21st Panzer division against Thompsons post, each repulsed.
On November 1st, Rommel received word the tankers Tripolino and Ostia had been sunk , meaning
he now could only rely on fuel flown over from Crete . Yet even they were being intercepted
by the RAF. With 90 tanks remaining against over 800 allied and no fuel to be found, Rommel
bitterly began planning a withdrawal to Fuka. At 01:00 on November 2nd, Montgomery unleashed
Operation Supercharge, aimed at delivering the killing blow towards Tel el Aqqaqir. The 2nd
New Zealand division spearheaded the thrust under heavy artillery fire around the Rahman
track, with the 1st armored division breaking out behind them into the open to attack Rommel’s
armor . It was a terribly risky maneuver as it was aimed at the largest concentration of
Axis anti-tank guns. To aid the operation, the Desert Air Force bombed the area for 7 hours
while Artillery bombarded it for 4.5 hours . The 90th light division and a battalion of the 15th
panzer division were quickly overrun, leaving a single Bersaglieri infantry battalion to man the
line. The 28th Maori battalion captured the right flank and the 133rd lorried infantry captured
the left, allowing the Royal Dragoons to slip out causing chaos as they raided Axis communication
lines. At 6:15 94 tanks of the British 9th armored brigade smashed into the German gun line ,
overrunning them in 30 minutes . By dawn, the 1st armored division poured through the gap facing a
failed counterattack by the remains of the 21st, 15th Panzer and Littorio divisions . By the late
afternoon the British 133rd Lorried and 151st infantry brigades stormed the Snipe and Skinflint
outposts overrunning the Trieste Division. That night, Rommel’s staff informed
him only 30 tanks were operational, so he elected to initiate his withdrawal plan,
first sending word to Hitler of his intentions. Hitler responded by 13:30 the next day ordering
him to stand his ground . To compromise, Rommel ordered some units to begin withdrawing
during the night and for others to dig in . From November 2nd to the 4th the allies broke
multiple axis lines . On November 3rd, Rommel ordered the Italian 21st and 10th Corps
alongside the 90th light division to hold off the enemy while the Afrika Korps began their
withdrawal . That night Montgomery unleashed an offensive that saw Tel el Aqqaqir captured by
the morning . The allies began pursuing the axis forces fleeing towards Fuka, trying to cut off
their escape . The 1st and 7th armored divisions caught the 21st Panzer and Ariete divisions ,
seeing the Italians fighting to the last man. The Bologna and Trento divisions tried
to make a fighting withdrawal west, but were forced to surrender as they were on
the brink of death from dehydration and spent every bullet they had. The Littorio and Trieste
Divisions would likewise be annihilated later that day and Italian Folgore parachute Division were
taken prisoner after running out of ammunition. At this point with no more reserves and his
rearguards on the verge of being eliminated, Rommel again requested permission to withdraw
from Hitler. While waiting for a response, Von Thoma was captured and the Ariete and
Trento Divisions reported they were encircled. Without waiting for a response from Hitler at
17:30 Rommel issued the general retreat orders. On November the 5th the allied penetrated
deeper behind the Axis lines, trying to cut off the Axis retreat by seizing Sidi Haneish
and Mersa Matruh . Both assaults failed short of their objectives, having run out of fuel.
By 11:00 on the 6th, fuel reached the front, allowing them to continue their advance . The
7th armored division clashed and nearly trapped the 21st Panzer division before finally reaching
Mersa Matruh . From the 7th to the 11th, Rommel’s forces evacuate Mersa Matruh and Sidi Barrani
before they are pushed out of Egypt completely . The battle of El Alamein was over, no more would
the 8th Army reel back across the desert towards the Egyptian frontier. The second battle of
el Alamein cost the Panzerarmee an estimated 36,939 casualties against the 8th Army’s 13,560
casualties . It was a decisive turning point for the North African campaign and an end to
the Western Desert Campaign. In the words of Sir Winston Churchill “It may almost be said,
‘Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat”. The battle for El
Alamein had done serious harm to the Panzerarmee, destroying much of their equipment and removing
several divisions from their order of battle. Of 600 tanks, two-thirds were abandoned because
of combat damage or through lack of fuel. The remaining elements of the 21st and 15th Panzer
divisions could only muster 80 or so tanks, while the 90th light and 164th divisions were reduced
to the strength of regimental groups. The Italian divisions had all but disintegrated. However
while the victory had been decisive, it could have been overwhelming. When planning operation
Supercharge, Montgomery did not adequately create a ‘corps de chasse’. Montgomery should have held
such a force in reserve, ready to move through an appropriate gap to chase Rommel’s fleeing forces
down. As a result Rommel would slip out of Egypt. Rommel defied the “stand to the last” orders of
Adolf Hitler, trying to save the remainder of his Panzerarmee. On November the 8th, Rommel
received word allied landings were occurring in Algeria and Morocco . Facing the prospect
of a large body of allied forces to his rear, Rommel withdrew to El Agheila. Tobruk changed
hands for the last time on November 13th. The allies captured nearly 10,000 tons
of Axis equipment at Tobruk that Rommel desperately needed. The garrison at Tobruk
was nearly encircled by Montomery’s forces, but they managed to slip away towards Benghazi.
It would be a short stay there as on the 20th, Benghazi fell forcing the Axis forces to retreat
to Mersa Brega. Meanwhile at El Agheila, Rommel argued with his superiors that he should withdraw
the forces to Tunis as soon as possible, but they all wanted him to make a last stand at the El
Agheila-Mersa Brega line. Eventually Mussolini got Hitler to agree to order Rommel to make
the stand as a means of defending Tripolitania. Rommel’s supply position had not improved,
the allies were destroying all attempts to get materials over to him. Short on men,
equipment and with nearly no fuel left he elected to hold out until strong allied pressure
was found and then he would retire. On December 11th the 8th Army began to attack his forces,
prompting Rommel to start the withdrawal process. By the afternoon of the 12th, 8th Army patrols
began to figure out the Axis lines were thinning, prompting Montgomery to order the New Zealanders
to launch a major offensive on the night of the 14th. However by the night of the 12th, Rommel
had withdrawn most of his forces and now only a rearguard remained. Yet again, the Desert Fox had
slipped out of Montgomery’s fingers. He took his forces closer to Tripoli, where he would enjoy
shorter supply lines and more room to maneuver. Rommel would later plan a defense at Gabes
Gap in Tunisia, but now the 2nd US Corps, Free French forces, and British 1st Army were
combatting the Army Group Africa in Tunisia. In late January, the Allies captured Tripoli,
casting the Axis forces out of Africa. Because of the victory at El Alamein, a large
concentration of allied forces were in the Mediterranean, which led to Operation Husky, the
Allied invasion of Sicily and the beginning of the Italian campaign. Churchill described the
campaign against Italy as an attack against the soft underbelly of Europe, akin to the Axis
Achilles Heel. This all, in turn, tied down large numbers of German troops into the Mediterranean
theatre, which otherwise would have been fighting the Soviets on the Eastern Front or awaiting the
allies at France. Had Rommel won at El Alamein, he might have had additional troops for when
he took up command as the defender of Normandy and perhaps the outcome of Operation
Overlord would have gone differently. We will talk about WW2 more in the coming weeks,
in our ongoing Pacific War series and beyond, so make sure you are subscribed and pressed
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