The Battle of El Alamein

A presentation by Sean Cheng

period 3
 The Introduction
● The Campaign of El Alamein is divided into two
battles: The First Battle of El Alamein and The
Second Battle of El Alamein.
● There was very limited participation from the
United States; it only provided resources and
equipments to the British.
● The main commander of the German Army was
Erwin “The Desert Fox” Rommel.
● The main commanders of the British Army were
Claude Auchinleck and Bernard Montgomery.
 The Introduction continued
● The El Alamein Campaign was part of the North
African Campaign; the battles took place in the
desert.
● The First Battle of El Alamein halted Axis
advances in Africa.
● The Second Battle of El Alamein pushed the
Axis back to Tunisia (also in North Africa).
Typical (Safari) British Soldier Typical (Angry) German Soldier
 The First Battle of El Alamein

July 1 – July 27, 1942

Axis Commander: Erwin Rommel (German)
Allied Commander: Claude Auchinleck (British)
Result of the Battle: The Axis' furthest and final
advance into Egypt (basically Africa) is halted.
 The Gazala Retreat
● The Allied Eighth Army retreated from the
Gazala line to Mersa Matruh under the
command of Neil Ritchie.
● General Claude Auchinleck took command of
the Eighth Army on June 25.
● Instead of fighting at the Mersa Matruh position,
which had an open left flank, Auchinleck
withdrew near El Alamein on the Mediterranean
coast, which only had one flank to defend.
 The Mersa Matruh Battle
● Auchinleck fought battles at Mersa Matruh on June 26
and then at Fuka on June 28 while preparing the
Alamein defenses, delaying Germans. The plan was to
inflict damage but also to retreat safely.
● However, poor communication and coordination
between the X Corps and XIII Corps led to the
German's overrunning of Mersa Matruh and capturing
6,000 prisoners; The XIII Corps were surrounded and
had to retreat, leaving the southern flank of X corps
exposed.
● There were heavy casualties while they were
retreating; Indian 29th Infantry Brigade at Fuka faced
destruction.
 The Defenses at El Alamein
● Auchinleck formed strong defensive
boxes at each end of the El Alamein line
and connected them with trenches and
gun emplacements.
● th
The Indian 18 Infantry Brigade arrived
too late, leaving the position vulnerable to
armoured attack.
 The Panzer Army Africa Attacks
●
 German 90th Light Infantry Division attacked but was 
repelled by the South African 1st Division in the El Alamein 
box. (June 30)
●
 21st Panzer Division attacked Deir el Shein on July 1st. On 
the following day, the Indian Brigade ended up being 
overrun after a series of struggles. Axis Armour was then 
pushed back, by Auchinleck and his compiled mix of 
infantry and artillery group, from Ruweisat Ridge, which 
was reinforced later that night. (July 1 – 2)
●
Rommel and the Italian XX Motorised Corps attacked along 
 The Eighth Army Counter-attack
●
 Auchinleck commanded the New Zealand Brigade 
to launch a counterattack on the Ariete Armoured 
rd
Division on July 3  and 5 .th
●
Auchinleck penetrated an Italian sector, but lost 
parts of the area when they counterattacked.
 The Defense of Rommel
● The Allied Desert Air Force had been attacking
Rommel's long supply lines while British troops
attacked the rear of the Axis army.
● Rommel decided that he needed to regroup and let
his forces rest.
● Meanwhile, the Allies were accumulating
reinforcements back at the Alamein box and
Ruweisat position.
 The Eighth Army's Offensive Strike
●
 On July 10th, Auchinleck attacks Tel el Eisa with the 9th Australian Division. 
Though the Allies captured prisoners and dealt damage, the Axis forces repelled the 
attack. 

●
Auchinleck attacks again on July 14th and 22nd but fails. The British tanks were not 
experienced and were vulnerable to the antitank crews. They tried to retreat but 
ended up in a minefield. 

●
6­pounder guns of the Indian 5th Infantry Brigade were effective against the 21st 
Panzer Division, causing them to withdraw. 

●
Italian counterattacks on Tel el Eisa on July 14th and 17th inflicted enormous losses 
for the Australian troops.

●
On July 27th, Auchinleck launched two more attacks in Tel el Eisa and at Miteiriya, 
both of which were failures. In the latter battle, minefields and lack of armoured 
support caused many over 600 casualties for the Allies.
 The Conclusion of the First Battle
● Both sides inflicted enormous amounts of damage
on each other during the first Major Battle of El
Alamein.
● The Axis advance in Africa was stopped because of
Allied efforts.
● Auchinleck was replaced by Gott, who was killed
while moving up to take command. Bernard
Montgomery took Gott's place instead.
 The Second Battle of El Alamein
October 23 – November 5, 1942
Axis commander: Erwin "The Desert Fox" Rommel 
(German)
Allied commander: Bernard Montgomery (British)
Major outcomes: Allies ended Axis attempt to control 
Egypt, the Suez Canal, and the Middle Eastern oil 
fields. The Allied victory ended the Axis expansion in 
Africa.
 The Introduction extended
●
While Montgomery was replacing Auchinleck and preparing 
to regroup his forces, Rommel decided to attack, despite his 
lack of reinforcements and supplies. His attack failed, forcing 
him to “dig in”. 
●
Rommel was tightly defended, leaving only one flank open for 
the Allies to attack. After about 6 weeks or regrouping, 
Montgomery and the Eighth Army was mobilized.
 The Allied Plan
● Montgomery planned “Operation Lightfoot” to
destroy German armour. Infantry and engineers had
to clear the minefields for the Allied armour to go
through.
● The Commonwealth forces planned “Operation
Bertram”, focusing on deception. Fake piles of
ammunition and supplies were made, dummy
pipelines were constructed, and fake tanks were
used to fool the Axis. The Axis were led to believe
that the Allies were going to attack from the South.
 The Axis Plan
●
As the Commonwealth forces were gaining more 
reinforcements from Britain, India, Australia, and the United 
States, Rommel was receiving no major reinforcements at all 
because Germany was focusing on the Eastern Front. 
●
Rommel was basically waiting and hoping for the German 
forces to overrun the Soviets in Stalingrad, allowing them to 
move toward Persia and forcing the British to reinforce their 
troops in the Middle East. 
●
Since the Commonwealth force's attack was imminent, 
Rommel had created the “Devil's Gardens”, an area which 
had half a million anti­tank and anti­personel mines. 
 The Layout of the Second Battle

The Second Battle of El Alamein is divided 
into five phases: The Break­in, the 
crumbling, the counter, Operation 
Supercharge, and the breakout.
 The Break-in (Oct. 23-24)
Operation Lightfoot began with heavy 
artillery fire for about five and a half hours, 
firing 600 rounds from 882 guns. Infantry 
and mine sweepers started clearing the 
minefields for the armoured vehicles. A 
battle was taking place at Ruweisat Ridge at 
the same time, serving as a distraction for 
the Germans. 
 The Crumbling (Oct. 24-25)
● German communications were destroyed and Georg Stumme, an
Axis commander who replaced Rommel while he was in Germany,
died of a heart attack.
● Because Rommel's defenses were so deep, the Allies did not clear all
of his minefields, leaving the armour idle. Because of this, artillery
and Allied Desert Air Force attacked Axis positions.
●
A major tank battle between the 15th Panzer Division, Italian Littorio
Division, and the 1st Armoured Division occurred at Kidney Ridge.
Though over 100 tanks were destroyed, neither side gained victory.
● Fighting had been stopped once the Allies gained Miteriya Ridge;
Montgomery ordered the 7th Armoured Division at Ruweisat Ridge to
regroup with the X Corps. He ordered everyone to focus on Kidney
Ridge and Tell el Eisa, which were vital for Rommel's defense.
 The “Snipe” Position
The Rifle Brigade was at a position southwest of
Kidney Ridge codenamed Snipe. At 4 P.M., British
tanks accidentally attacked one of their own positions,
causing damage. Then at 5 P.M., just an hour after the
accident, Rommel sent German and Italian tanks to
attack. The Rifle Brigade only had four anti-tank guns
that were working, but those four were enough to take
out 37 of 40 tanks. Rommel withdrew the surviving
three tanks and sent a new squad. Only nine tanks
survived the next assault. Though the Rifle Brigade
had only three guns with nine rounds in all, the
Germans gave up on the assault of Snipe.
 The Counter (Oct. 26-28)
● In order to breakthrough the coast road, the
Australians were pushing beyond Tell el Eisa toward
an enemy-held position known as “Thompson’s
Post.”
● The British had 800 tanks mobilized while the Axis
only had about 330 tanks
● Because the tanker Luisiano had been sunk outside
the Tobruk harbor, the Axis had no gasoline to
retreat. Rommel understood this and decided that
they had “only one choice and that is to fight to the
end at Alamein.”
 continued...
● On October 30, the Australians continued attacking, trying
to reach “Thompson’s Post”, which they conquered that
night.
● The next day, Rommel launched four attacks against the
Allies’ newly gained position. The battle was very intense,
but the Axis did not achieve anything.
● On November 1, Rommel tried one more attack, which
failed, resulting in lost men and equipment. Rommel knew
there was no hope and began to plan the retreat to Fuka.
● Though 1,200 tons of fuel arrived, it was too late and had to
be blown up in order to keep it away from the Allies.
 Operation Supercharge (Nov. 1-2)
● The plan for this operation was to destroy enemy
armour, force the enemy to fight in the open, reduce
Axis fuel, attack and occupy enemy supply lines,
and cause disintegration of the enemy army
● The objective was Tell el Aqqaqir, which was the
Axis base of defense.
● The attack began with an aerial bombing on Tell el
Aqqaqir and Sidi Abdel Rahman that lasted for
seven hours. A barrage of 360 guns, firing 15,000
rounds, followed and lasted for four and a half
hours.
 continued...
● The 151st and 152nd Infantry Brigades, New
Zealand division, and the British 9th Armoured
Brigade were instructed to attack first
● Though the infantry completed most of their
objectives, the minefields were not cleared until the
next morning.
● The 9th Armoured Brigade marched, starting at 8
P.M. on November 1 with about 130 tanks.
However, it arrived with only 94 tanks left.
 continued...
● Though the attack should have started at 5.:45 A.M.,
Currie ordered the brigade to regroup, postponing
the attack for 30 minutes.
● The German and Italian anti-tank weapons, which
were Pak 38, Italian 47mm, and 24 88mm flak guns,
started firing upon the tanks. Though a formidable
amount of damage was inflicted, the Axis could not
stop the Allied advance. Around 35 guns were
destroyed and many prisoners were taken. In all, the
brigade lost 70 tanks and 170 crew members.
 continued...
● Though the brigade failed to create the gap for the
1st Armoured Division to break through, the
German and Italian tank reserves were crippled.
● On November 2, the remaining 15th Panzer, 21st
Panzer, and the Littorio Armoured Divisions
counterattacked the 1st Armoured Division and 9th
Armoured Brigade. However, these Brigades were
dug in with a screen of anti-tank guns, artillery, and
air support. The counterattack failed, causing the
axis to lose about 100 tanks.
 The Conclusion of Operation
Supercharge
● Rommel called to Ariete to join the defense around
Tell el Aqqaqir.
● The Axis had only 32 tanks left on the entire front
of the campaign of El Alamein.
● The Afrika Korps were engaged in an intense battle
at Tell el Aqqaqir as Rommel began to withdraw to
Fuka.
 The Break-out (Nov. 3-7)
● Rommel messaged Hitler asking for permission to
withdraw because of the current situation. However,
Hitler refused and ordered Rommel to stay put.
● Basically, the Axis had only 41 tanks left while the
British had 150. The British destroyed every single
Axis tank, creating the “Panzer Graveyard.”
● Rommel's men continued to fight until a hole had
been cut in the Axis line. Rommel decided that “his
men came first” and ordered a massive retreat to
Tunisia.
 continued...
● The last assaults of the campaign in El Alamein
began on November 4 . th
● st th th
The 1 , 7 , and 10 Armoured Divisions stormed
through German lines and began attacking in the
open desert.
● The Axis retreated as the Allies attacked and
destroyed the Ariete Division, the Littorio Division
and the Trieste Motorised Division.
 continued...
● German propaganda continued to announce the
tragedies of the British although the campaign in El
Alamein was basically over.
● The Bologna and Trento Divisions tried fighting
their way out of El Alamein, but got lost in the
desert and surrendered because they were dying
from dehydration.
The End of the Battle of El Alamein
● Rommel's army lost 75,000 men, 1,000 guns,
and 500 tanks; they had to retreat or face
destruction from the Eighth Army.
● Rommel destroyed equipment and supplies as
he retreated, placing mines and booby traps
too.
● Rommel ended up retreating to Sirte.
● The Allies gain control of Tripoli, causing
Rommel to retreat to Tunisia.
 continued...
● Rommel met with Hans-Jurgen von Arnim's
Fifth Panzer Army to defend Tunisia from the
Eighth Army from the east and the First Army
from the west.
● 18th Army was formed under Harold Alexander.
Planned to disrupt supply line of Italian First Army,
but failed because of Rommel's strike against U.S. II
Corps.
 Bibliography
● http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_El_A
lamein
● http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_E
l_Alamein
● http://www.world-war-2.info/battles/bt_5.php
● http://www.world-war-2.info/battles/bt_4.php
The End! (of the presentation)