El Alamein by Jack Murray (most popular novels of all time txt) 📕

was effectively fired and General Auchinleck took personal control of the 8th Army. He could not halt the advance of the wearied and depleted Axis troops who took Mersa Matruh on 27th June.

This Allies were in a retreat that became known as the 'Gazala Gallop'. This was a confused and mixed-up affair with both sides using captured equipment of the other. By 1st July 1942 all the units of the Armoured Division were on or behind the Alamein Line.

First Battle of el Alamein (July 1941)

An attempt to drive the Eighth Army out of the Alamein position took place in the First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942). The operation took place following the fall of Tobruk when British morale was low. Tobruk would now provide the Axis with a forward port, therefore shortening their supply lines. Rommel was keen to maintain Axis momentum despite being weakened by the battles at Gazala and the Cauldron. The plan was to attack the new British line at Alamein as soon as possible.

The attack began on 1st July. However, things soon started to go awry for the Axis who had underestimated Allied strength. German 90th Light and 15th Panzer Divisions became pinned between the two boxes held by the South Africans and Indians. Meanwhile the 21st Panzer Division became involved for the battle for the box at Dier-el-Shein held by the 18th Indian Brigade. This halted the German attack long enough for the British Armour to attack the flank of 15th Panzer on 2nd July.

By 3rd July, the Germans could only muster 26 serviceable tanks. This was still sufficient to inflict significant damage on the 1st Armoured Division. However, the Axis was now surrounded by the Allies, physically and spiritually exhausted with only a limited number of serviceable tanks. This was an opportunity for General Auchinleck, now in sole command following the departure of Ritchie, to deliver a potentially mortal blow to Rommel.

The plan was to pin the Germans down with 30 Corps and cut across their rear with 13 Corps, which included what was left of 7th Armoured Division. The advance of 13th Corps was resisted by 21st Panzer and no advantage was gained. Even with 15th Panzer now down to 15 tanks and 200 men, the Germans were then able to withdraw west in a relatively orderly manner.

By 5 July, the number of serviceable German tanks fell to around thirty. After a lull, the Axis planned to attack again, but the Eighth Army attacked first at Tel el Eisa which exhausted both sides. More Allied attacks followed before the battle drew to a close. German casualties were about 10,000 men; Italian casualties are unknown but 7,000 Axis prisoners were captured. There were around 13,250 Eighth Army losses.

A lull in the fighting followed while both sides repaired, reequipped and reinforced. Undaunted by the initial failure, Rommel launched an attack with 200 tanks and 2,000 infantry on 8th July. However, it was not a concerted effort and ended up with sporadic and uncoordinated fighting around the Alamein line for most of the month.

The critical situation at Alamein with the Axis around 60 miles from Cairo brought Winston Churchill to North Africa. Changes were made. Auchinleck had never fully gained Churchill’s confidence and was replaced by General ‘Strafer’ Gott. However, Gott was killed after returning to his plane which had been shot down by German fighters, to rescue the men trapped inside, having initially escaped himself.

His replacement was Lt-General Bernard Law Montgomery. "Monty" took over command of the 8th Army on 13th August 1942. With him came Lt-General Sir Oliver Leese to take over 30 Corps and Lt-General Brian Horrocks who took over 13 Corps.

Battle of Alam el Halfa (Aug 1941)

There was a lull in the fighting during the height of the summer. However, Rommel was acutely aware that it would be important to destroy the Allies and reach Cairo before Allied reinforcements, due in September, made an Axis victory in Africa impossible

The Alamein Line presented an enormous challenge for the Axis. The quaking sands and salt flats of the Qattara Depression meant that a southern flanking attack was out of the question. Allied flanks were secure for the first time. Therefore, General Montgomery was well dug in and intended building up his forces for his expected offensive in autumn. Rommel decided to attack Alam Halfa, in the south, at the end of August.

The Alamein Line was formidable. Defensive boxes were occupied by full divisions. from around the Commonwealth. A new strategy was emerging as Montgomery decided that the 8th Army divisions would fight as divisions and not go "swanning about in the blue" (the nickname for the desert). He formed an armoured Corp comprising the 1st and 10th Armoured Divisions. Ad hoc formations and columns were brought to an end as he felt they diluted strength.

The Axis now consisted of the 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions along with the 90th Light and a brigade of Parachute infantry. The Italians had the XX Corps in the field consisting of the Ariete and Littorio Armoured Divisions, the Trieste Motorised Division, plus the Trento, Bologna and Brescia infantry Divisions, as well as the Folgore Parachute Division.

Rommel still had supply problems thanks to the work of the RAF based in Malta. They prevented the Italian High Command supplying anywhere near enough petrol for the Axis forces. By now Rommel was ill, suffering from jaundice, stomach ailments and circulation problems that occasionally led to fainting fits.

He was not alone in feeling ill after two years in the field. Many of his senior officers were worn out. The physique of many of the Germans had declined due to the climate and battle exhaustion. 19,000 German troops had been in Africa since March 1941. Reinforcements had brought the four German divisions up to 90,000 men (34,000 fighting troops) and 12,600 vehicles.

The Axis had around 400 front line tanks (200 Panzers and a further 200 Italian tanks), versus the Allies 800+. More worrying for Rommel was the fact that his Mark