Archives of World War II Remembered

Printer-Friendly Version

Battle of El Alamein
North African Theatre of Operations
By Jennifer King and Timothy Rollins
October 28, 2002

Reflections on World War II

In the North African Theatre, skirmishes were fought over long distances and a featureless terrain. Warfare resembled not land, but naval battles for far-flung outposts. Supply lines were critical to success, and the tanks weaved like battleships amongst the scattered forces. By 1940, the desert land had seesawed between the Allies and the Axis powers for a year since the declaration of war. The Italians, under Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, had penetrated Egypt at the Sidi Barrani, in September of 1940.

In December, British General Sir Archibald Wavell, badly outnumbered, nevertheless made mincemeat of the Italian forces. Wavell retook Egypt and marched into Libya, where he penetrated deep into Cyrenaica and captured nearly 130,000 Italian troops. Mussolini appealed to Hitler for aid, and the Fuhrer sent paratroopers and a German armored corps commanded by Field Marshall Erwin Rommel. American General George C. Marshall later credited this dilution of German forces as a contributor to Germany's eventual defeat.

Field Marshall Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) was a truly legendary German general. Born in 1891, in Wurttemberg, Rommel was a decorated veteran of WWI. He was given command of the 7th Panzer Division in February of 1940. In January of 1941, Rommel was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General. Shortly thereafter, he was given command of Deutsches Afrika Korps and was ordered to leave for Tripoli. Rommel's successful use of blitzkrieg stunned the British and they were routed from their positions in quick order. The British forces scurried back to Egypt, leaving behind an isolated British garrison holed up at the Libyan port of Tobruk.

Erwin Rommel received his nickname, the Desert Fox, (Der Wustenfuchs) around the same time he became the youngest man ever to be promoted to the rank of Field Marshall - in May of 1941. Throughout the rest of that year, both the Allies and the Axis worked to consolidate their positions. The Luftwaffe conducted a ceaseless aerial barrage against Alexandria, Port Said, Malta and the Suez Canal - Britain's vital lifeline to the Far East. In November, British troops were finally able to break through to Tobruk and relieve the beleaguered garrison. Rommel decided to launch a new offensive in mid-January, when he hoped to be able to pry more resources out of the German Army fighting on the Continent.

Throughout 1942, Rommel's forces staged a brilliant comeback, recapturing Tobruk in early June and reaching Marsa Matruh on 30 June. The British were now hemmed in at their main defensive position at El Alamein, 96 km west of Alexandria and 240 km west of Cairo. Rommel's forces were now exhausted, with only 50 tanks left. They relied upon captured supplies for reinforcement, and were virtually ignored by a Germany embroiled in the conflict on the Eastern Front. In September and October, both sides regrouped and an ailing Rommel decamped for convalescence in Germany. On 23 October, the British launched an offensive geared towards eliminating the German threat in North Africa.

The British High Command had replaced General Claude Auchinleck with General Sir Harold Alexander. At the same time, Lieutenant General Bernard L. Montgomery was chosen to lead the Eighth Army. "Monty" described by the recently deceased historian Stephen E. Ambrose as "a highly unlikable figure" nevertheless injected a spurt of optimism into his demoralized troops. "With characteristic immodesty" (Ambrose, again) Monty stated, "Give me a month and I can chase him (Rommel) out of Africa."

The British were reinforced with American armament, including 40-mm shells, trucks and newly minted Sherman tanks - which were the first produced by the Allies that matched the Panzer Mark IV in gunpower. American productivity was fast becoming an essential factor in winning the war. Another, highly secret ally was the breaking of the Enigma code by the program codenamed "Ultra". Ultra gave a priceless window into the German troop movements. The Germans, hubristically, assumed it was unbreakable.

The British opened with a 1000 gun bombardment on the night of 23/24 October, with a follow up by the "famous foot soldiers" of the British Army - "Britons, Australians, New Zealanders, Indians, South Africans and Highlanders.." British and American tanks rumbled behind, pushing the German troops farther south. Rommel protested Hitler's orders, "you must hold fast, never retreat, hurl every gun and every man into the fray", and after a fruitless rebuttal started his retreat on 2 November.

El Alamein was one of the early victories for the British and the relieved populace celebrated wildly upon hearing the news. *** (text quotations taken from The American Heritage New History of World War II, revised and updated by Stephen E. Ambrose)