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When we last visited North Africa, things were going pretty well for the Germans. It was July of 1942, and Erwin Rommel was having a field day at British expense. The Field Marshal had pushed his opponent out of Libya and 200 miles east into Egypt. The British ended their retreat and threw down their stakes at a small railroad station called El Alamein, with Rommel in hot pursuit.
What came to be known as the First Battle of El Alamein lasted the entire month of July and ended with both sides completely exhausted. Supplies were low, vehicles badly needed repair, and the men were beyond wiped out, hungry, and in need of ammunition. If one were to “assign” victory to one side, it would probably have to be the British…but not by a lot. They had fortified El Alamein and had held against an aggressive and talented foe. Their retreat into Egypt had, at July’s end, been halted. They had worn the enemy down. And they still held Cairo, Alexandria, and the Suez Canal.
For both sides, August was resupply time. And if one were to “assign” victory to one side in this aspect of the war, it would probably have to go to the British…and by a lot. Rommel’s supply lines were extremely long. His closest port (Tobruk) was more than 400 miles back west. His best port, Tripoli, was worthless as it was well over 1,000 miles west.
His supplies, crossing the Mediterranean, were open to air attack from British squadrons operating from Malta. If you recall, Malta had been under intense attack since 1940. But Rommel’s aggression meant Luftwaffe fighters and bombers were retasked with assisting the Field Marshal. Malta was quickly re-armed, re-manned, and re-planed by the British. And now the Germans were feeling the bite as one supply ship after another was sent the Mediterranean’s floor.
The British were having a much better time of it. Having been backed up almost to Alexandria, their lines were negligible once supplies reached port. And with the U.S. now contributing to the cause, more stuff was arriving. The first examples of the M4 Sherman tank were arriving. Its 75mm gun was much more powerful, its armor was improved, and its design was fairly simple, making it a formidable weapon in the desert. Bigger anti-tank guns were also coming on-station…the better to put holes the Afrika Korps.
And Rommel knew the score. He knew his supply operations weren’t going well. He knew those of the British were. He knew that if he waited, he would be in dire straits. He knew he didn’t have enough fuel and ammunition for a sustained attack. But he believed that if he struck hard and fast, he might be able to defeat the British before they were ready.
On the night of August 30, 1942, Rommel basically gambled everything with an attack at Alma el Halfa. Situated just to the south and east of El Alamein, it was the Desert Fox’s attempt to finally surround the British and force a surrender. And the battle got off to a bad start for the Germans. They were spotted by the British RAF and attacked. When they hit the British minefields, they were bigger than expected. British armor had been instructed to give way in a defensive retreat to force the Germans (whose tanks only had enough fuel for 150 miles) to keep moving.
Within the first few hours, Field Marshal Rommel and his counterpart, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, both knew the battle would be a close-run thing. A week’s worth of war would determine the outcome.
Recommended Reading: Pendulum of War: The Three Battles of El Alamein
