El Alamein 1942 - Rommel Launches His Assault - Animated

foreign [Music] this video is sponsored by Company of Heroes 3 but more on that later the evening of the 30th of June 1942 the first South African division is feverishly preparing defensive positions around the tiny railway station of El Alamein while British tanks and vehicles of the eighth Army withdraw past them down Egypt's main Coastal Road an uneasy quiet takes hold after the last vehicles of the rear guard pass through the South African lines shortly afterwards the unmistakable sound of tank engines approaching from the West grows louder as the sun sets over the desert the South African artillery opens a short barrage forcing the Unseen enemy to Halt for the night however tomorrow will bring another battle against Britain's Nemesis in the desert Field Marshal Irvin Rommel British 8th Army stands in the way of Rommel and the axis conquest of Egypt the Desert War in North Africa has for now turned against the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth allies a month ago Rommel and his combined Italian German forces shattered the eighth Army at the Battle of gazala led by rommel's Elite Africa Corps the Panza Army Africa followed up their success at gazala and stunned the British by capturing the key port of to Brook on the 21st of June almost without a fight in Washington DC British prime minister Winston Churchill receives news of the fall of tabrook while meeting with U.S President Franklin Roosevelt in the Oval Office he later writes I did not attempt to hide from the president the shock that I had received it was a bitter moment defeat is one thing disgrace is another now Rommel and his forces are racing East towards the Nile River delta and beyond that the strategically vital Suez Canal the defeated Commonwealth forces ahead of him continues to flee East while Panic has taken hold across Egypt in the cities of Alexandria and Cairo British diplomats burn sensitive documents while civilian refugees clogged the roads leading East the British Mediterranean Fleet disperses to safer ports while axis sympathizers such as Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat prepare for rommel's seemingly imminent arrival Italian dictator Benito Mussolini has flown to North Africa as he expects to parade down the streets of Cairo after the Allies are defeated Rommel writes to his wife less than 100 miles to Alexandria General Claude okinlak commander-in-chief Middle East command has taken Direct Control of eighth Army after sacking his previous leader he inherits a disorganized and demoralized unit which has lost 50 percent of its fighting force killed wounded or captured although he makes contingencies which involve abandoning Northern Egypt ochenlech decides to dig in near the tiny rail station at El Alamein there are no prepared defenses in the area but it is a strong natural position the Alamein line stretches across 40 miles of desert over several low ridges and Hills to the north is the Mediterranean Sea while south of the line are the impassable salt marshes of the Katara depression unlike previous battles in the North Africa campaign Rommel cannot outflank the El Alamein position his forces must attack it head on okinlek believes that this is the perfect place to make a stand Orkin leg is also betting on Rommel outrunning his fragile supply lines which will weaken his push into Egypt in fact the axis units are in a desperate logistical situation despite their victories over the past month the problem has not been a lack of Supply but rather lack of reinforcement with many divisions operating below 50 combat effectiveness the Panza Army Africa is about to attack with only 70 tanks left and less than 300 field and anti-tank guns worse yet their rapid Advance has outrun the luftwaffe's air cover leaving the Africa core and its logistical train vulnerable to attack by the Allied Desert Air Force the axis forces are able to continue forward thanks to the capture of intact British Supply Depots but Rommel knows he will only have one chance to break the Alamein line before the arrival of Allied reinforcements the German field Marshal quickly draws up his battle plan on the night of the 30th of June he intends to use his successful strategy so far in the Desert War his infantry divisions will launch a frontal assault on the main enemy defenses to pin them in place while the mobile units of the Africa Corps will make a wide sweep around the British and take them from behind the weaker and less mobile Italian 10 and 20 core will follow and exploit the Breakthrough although his forces are heavily outnumbered roughly 52 000 to 8 000. Rommel is counting on his exhausted but determined men to pull off one more improbable victory at 3 20 am on the 1st of July the first phase of the attack begins in the North the German 90th light division is to bypass llamaine occupied by the first South African Division and then turned north towards the coast to encircle it without any time to perform an adequate reconnaissance the almost 1 700 men of the 90th light division a motorized division riding in trunks move forward in the Darkness however within minutes the leading units have become lost and drive right into the South African front line the South Africans engaged the enemy with heavy machine guns and mortars while the German motorized troops attempt to Dismount and fire back it does not take long for Commonwealth artillery to bracket the attackers who were soon pinned down by heavy fire okinlich is also employing his usual strategy the weekend eighth Army cannot man the entire Alamein line so auchenlech deploys his forces into boxes which are fortified positions based on key geographic features in the area these boxes defend the most crucial ground and avenues of Advance while a mobile Reserve will counter any attempts to bypass them the 90th light division will remain stuck for the rest of the morning further to the South the 15th and 21st Panzer divisions have been delayed by a heavy Sandstorm and are only able to get moving at 6 30 am this is the main body of the Africa Corps led by General Walter Nehring who believes his forces are outflanking the main British defensive box at the dear El abiad depression after which they can penetrate deep Behind Enemy Lines and encircle the bulk of eighth Army by now the sun has risen over the desert an Allied forward outposts spot the motorized vehicles of the 90th light the column of vehicles is soon hit by air attacks from the Desert Air Force which further delays the advance when the 55 tanks and dozens of half tracks of the Africa Corps spot the long-winding ruisat ridge they are suddenly hit by a vicious artillery barrage the approaches to the ridge are defended by British and Indian men of the brand new 18th Indian Brigade which forces nearing's men to halt in front of the dear El Shane depression frustrated with the constant delays narrowing decides to launch a frontal assault on the enemy line and in today's sponsor Company of Heroes 3 you yourself can take charge of this exact assault against the British and Indian forces at Dei el-shain Company of Heroes 3 is the ultimate mix of action tactics and strategy in the brand new console edition players can choose how they want to play Within absorbing authored journey through North Africa or deciding the course of conflict in Italy or even bypassing the narratives altogether and heading straight to online competition take control of the moment-to-moment action using the Tactical pause function to queue up Immaculate set-piece plays as well as the grand strategy and direction of the war with the dynamic campaign system with two single-player campaigns competitive multiplayer Co-op multiplayer and custom skirmishes Company of Heroes 3 console edition is the biggest and broadest launch in the franchise's history The Cinematic atmosphere brings skirmishes to life every gunshot explosion and loss environments change over time as the battle rages providing new Tactical opportunities and drastically altering the aesthetic of the world as he watched through the operations room series on LL main you can recreate the assaults in game and see how your Tactical Acumen compares to Rommel and ochilek in the desert of North Africa use my link in the description to download the incredible Company of Heroes 3 today at 10 AM German and Italian artillery including a mix of captured British and Soviet artillery opens an extended barrage on the Indian positions on the Ridgeline the recently activated 18th Indian Brigade arrived at the Alamein line only three days ago and its men have toiled day and night to construct adequate defenses yesterday Orkin Lake decided to abandon the position for fear that the Indians will be cut off by a German attack yet this order never arrives leaving the Indians to fend for themselves in their first taste of combat at 11 15 am the artillery Falls silent and two British officers captured by the axis at the Battle of gazala are sent to the Indian position with a white flag they are taken to Brigade headquarters where they pass on a message to the temporary Commander Lieutenant Colonel e c May that he has just 30 minutes to surrender 18th Brigade headquarters sent a response to the Germans over the radio we will fight it out the two captured officers are sent to 10th division headquarters where they reveal that the Africa Corps is having Supply problems a major intelligence coup for General okinlag the Desert Air Force will be targeting axis Supply columns for the rest of the battle meanwhile the German 90th light division has remained pinned down for over six hours its men lying flat on the ground to hide from enemy artillery finally a sandstorm blows through the area which provides much needed cover for the German motorized troops they remount their vehicles and disengage from the South African Defenders driving east to search for a track that will lead them to the coast they have no idea that they are about to enter a Killing Zone covered by seven Commonwealth artillery batteries the Africa Corps launches their attack on the western end of The rawisat Ridge at noon with its last 55 Panzer III and Panzer 4 tanks undercover from a heavy bombardment the Germans Advance using tactics which had been honed in the last 16 months of combat a Panzer company closes to within 2 000 yards of the Commonwealth defensive line and stops to Shell the enemy positions while assault guns anti-tank guns and infantry Rush forward once in position the Infantry opens fire using the newly introduced mg-42 machine guns to suppress the Indian Defenders the Africa Corps is the first German formation to receive these deadly weapons which have a firing rate of over 1 100 rounds per minute once a weak spot has been identified the panzers attack in three waves with the Infantry following the last wave the 18th Indian Brigade comprises around 2500 men eight older Valentine tanks and 59 artillery pieces to oppose this attack including only 18 anti-tank guns despite their material inferiority the Indians put up a stiff fight against the attackers six enemy vehicles are knocked out by mines forcing the panzos to be more cautious in their approach however the German troops soon find a gap in the Minefield and Advance towards the 800 Britains of the 2nd battalion fifth Essex regiment holding the northeast corner of the box assault Engineers armed with Bangalore Torpedoes rushed forward and attempt to blow a hole in the wire to allow the tanks to advance but heavy artillery and machine gun fire causes casualties among the engineers with the battle reaching a crescendo every man in the Essex Battalion is called to the front including the support Personnel everyone is a soldier in this fight Lieutenant Colonel May later reports that cooks Mass staff Clarks and Quartermasters were firing steadily improbably they are managing to hold off the Africa Corps for the time being to the north the 90th light division has successfully Advanced several miles past the LL main box and have reached the halfway point to the coast just when it seems the worst has passed for the 90th light its leading vehicles are once again hit by a massive artillery Barrage at 3 30 pm the division finds itself pinned down and helpless for the second time this day a South African forward observation officers call down ranging shots from Allied batteries hearing frantic calls on the radio for more support Rommel decides to go forward himself to get the division moving he and the 400 men of his battle staff or Camp staffel bring forward their mostly captured British Vehicles including Cruiser Crusader and Stuart tanks along with a mix of German anti-tank guns and race into the Maelstrom of fire with Rommel shouting at his men to keep advancing however the Commonwealth artillery soon destroys many of the camp schneffel's vehicles and Rommel finds himself taking cover next to his men on the ground the 90th light will be stuck here for the rest of the day and must dig in once Darkness Falls back at the foot of the roysat ridge the battle continues to rage the men of the Indian Brigade have fought well but ammunition is starting to run low and eighth Army's trucks struggle in the desert to sustain the ammo being expended their concentrated fire begins to slacken which finally allows the German Engineers to blow a sizable Gap in The Wire panzer3s and Panzer Falls Advance through the breach and are engaged at point-blank range by Indian howitzers and anti-tank guns several panzers are knocked out but the rest press on towards Brigade headquarters while the Infantry storm Indian defensive positions the leading Panthers are confronted with seven Matilda tanks defending Brigade headquarters and a Close Quarters tank Jewel breaks out however the matildas are no match for the German tanks which destroy them one by one by 4 pm the Africa Corps has overrun SEA company of the Essex Battalion threatening to cut off and destroy the 18th Indian Brigade Lieutenant Colonel May calls for reinforcements from the British first Armored Division but its tanks have been stuck in soft sand most of the day and are slow to make it to the front the Germans are suffering heavy casualties storming the ridge but they have encircled most of the Indian Brigade by 5 30 pm one of the cutoff units 4th Battalion of the 11th Sikh regiment is about to be overrun when its Commander decides to break out towards friendly lines from the unbattled Brigade headquarters Lieutenant Colonel May witnesses an awe-inspiring site as hundreds of Indian soldiers charged towards the German panzers waving their unraveled distinct white turbans second Battalion of the fifth Essex regiment stays behind in the pocket to provide covering fire for the breakout attempt many are gunt down by the panzers and enemy infantry but the line is too thin to stop all of them many Indians managed to penetrate the screen and reunite with Allied lines following the breakout the Germans turned their attention to the Essex Battalion and finally overrun the remaining troops on the east side of The roisat Ridge at 7 30 pm Lieutenant Colonel May is captured in The Last Stand of the Indian Brigade although General nearing is prepared to continue his Advance the belated arrival of the first Armored Division to his South locks his path the axis forces are subjected to a sleepless night as Desert Air Force fairy Albert calls constantly drop flares lighting the way for bombing runs by Vicar's Wellington bombers the first day of the battle of El Alamein is over with mixed results for both sides the British and Indians of the 18th Indian Brigade have fought a near Extinction with over 2 000 dead wounded or captured of the nearly 800 men in the 2nd battalion fifth Essex regiment only 12 make it back to Friendly lines yet the unit has inflicted heavy casualties on the Africa core destroying 18 of its 55 remaining tanks its sacrifice has also allowed British units to reinforce the Western half of the roisat ridge while the 90th light division remains pinned down in the North feeling as though Victory is slipping away Rommel decides on an all-out attack the following day using the same plan he hopes the arrival of the Italian 10th 20th and 21st Corps will bolster his flagging units foreign

Channel: The Operations Room

Views: 320,856

Keywords: History, Second World War, ww2, Documentary, el alamein, rommel, erwin rommel, 8th army, british army, australian army, indian army, desert fox

Id: EshnXpKbs1Q

Length: 17min 36sec (1056 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 08 2023