battles of Alamein
Alamein, battles of (1942), part of the Western Desert campaigns in WW II. Alamein (or al-Alamayn) lies on the Egyptian coast some 60 miles (96 km) west of Alexandria. With the extremely inhospitable—if not impassable—Qattarah Depression lying just 40 miles (64 km) to the south, in summer 1942 Alamein took on vital strategic significance. The British Eighth Army, outperformed and pursued by Axis troops, sorely needed a defensive position, which could not be turned by the manoeuvrist Rommel. The survival of the Eighth Army would depend on their defence of the Alamein Line, as would Allied hopes of halting Rommel's rapid advance to the Suez Canal.
In June 1942, having been defeated at Gazala by Rommel's German-Italian army, and with the loss of Tobruk on 21 June, Auchinleck withdrew the Eighth Army to the Egyptian border. After the disastrous battle of Mersah Matruh, which it had been hoped would buy time to consolidate the defence of the Alamein Line, Auchinleck finally reached Alamein in early July. Rommel pursued Eighth Army throughout its withdrawal. However, his lines of communication were overextended and vulnerable to air attack. German fuel supplies could only be sent by sea, where they were also vulnerable to interdiction. As a result, German formations arrived at the Alamein Line too weak to break through it.
Rommel conducted a series of attacks against the Alamein Line, but with no success. Auchinleck responded with attacks of his own. The first, the battle of Tell el Eisa (10 July 1942), was an attempt by XXX Corps (Ramsden) to turn the German position from the northern end of the Alamein Line. Ramsden deployed two divisions (1st South African and 9th Australian), both of which secured their immediate objectives. But Rommel prevented further penetration and disrupted the overall plan. The second Eighth Army attack—the first battle of Ruweisat (14-16 July 1942) —was orchestrated by XIII Corps (Gott). The New Zealand and 5th Indian Divisions took on two Italian divisions—Brescia and Pavia. The Germans counter-attacked successfully in support of the Italians and retook lost positions. The second battle of Ruweisat (21-3 July 1942) was a night attack which, although initially successful, was at once sealed off by a German counter-attack. In both the Ruweisat battles, co-ordination and co-operation between infantry and armour was ad hoc and inadequate to the task. Unwilling to contemplate further failures and losses, Auchinleck opted to regroup and rebuild his force.
In August 1942, at Churchill's insistence, Auchinleck was replaced by Montgomery as commander of the Eighth Army, by now a somewhat demoralized force. The new commander set about turning Eighth Army into a confident, capable, aggressive, and successful force. The turning point for Eighth Army was undoubtedly the battle of Alam Halfa (30 August-7 September 1942), sometimes hailed as the first battle of Alamein. Montgomery's operational competence was displayed, as was his sense of caution and his reluctance to commit his forces unless conditions were overwhelmingly in his favour. Its attack blunted, the Afrika Korps withdrew to regroup; but Montgomery refused to counter-attack and pursue. Instead, firmly in command of a confident force, which had tasted victory, he waited for his moment.
After much deliberation and disagreement among the Allies, it had finally been agreed that the ‘Germany first’ strategy should begin in autumn 1942 with an attack against Axis forces in the Mediterranean. The outcome would be TORCH, the Anglo-American landings in the western Mediterranean. Against this strategic background, Montgomery's moment arrived on 23 October 1942, when he launched the Eighth Army's 230, 000 men and 1, 030 tanks against Rommel's 100, 000 men and 500 tanks. By 4 November 1942, the Afrika Korps had been routed. Days later, the TORCH landings took place in Morocco and Algeria, and, with the counter-offensive at Stalingrad on 19 November, WW II changed its course.
Montgomery executed his attack on Rommel (who was on sick leave in Germany when the battle began) in three phases. In the first, the ‘Break-In’, XXX Corps (Leese) attacked the Axis defence in its centre, heavily fortified and defended by minefields; XIII Corps (Horrocks) attacked in the south. Neither XXX nor XIII Corps were able to break through to exploit the more open country to the rear of the Axis position. Montgomery's second phase—the ‘Dog-fight’—therefore took place in the midst of the Axis position. Between 26 and 31 October Axis fortifications were steadily, and characteristically for Montgomery, reduced by attrition. Axis counter-attacks were repulsed with the use of air power. The final phase—the ‘Break-Out’—took place between 1 and 4 November. The reinforced New Zealand Division drilled through the weakened Axis defensive position, making it possible for X Corps, which had been in reserve, to break out into the Axis rear. Counter-attacking constantly, the Afrika Korps was nevertheless unable to wrong-foot Montgomery and resist the torrent. Those German and Italian divisions which were mobile fell into a headlong withdrawal, leaving infantry divisions to surrender. On 23 January 1943, Eighth Army reached Tripoli.
— Paul Cornish
