At 80 pages, it needed to be focused tightly on the battle. Rommel explained the situation in north africa and stressed the. On the positive side, it was free for my kindle app. The war fought between the british and the germanitalian army. On march 7, rommel returned to germany on his own initiative for a personal meeting with hitler. Uboats were having a major effect on britain in the battle of the atlantic and western europe seemed to be fully in the control of the germans hence the war in the desert of north africa was pivotal. Decision in the desert is only going to get 2 stars. It ended the long fight for the western desert, and was the only great land battle won by the british and commonwealth forces without direct american participation. The battle was fought between the axis forces, led by general erwin rommel, and the allied forces, commanded by field marshal claude auchinleck. Axis forces were low on armored reserves and low on fuel. Two important world war ii battles were fought in the area. British forces in north africa were in chaos after tobruk fell to rommels forces in june 1942. Battles of elalamein, 127 july 1942, 23 october11 november 1942, world war ii events.
First battle 127 july 1942after victory at battle of gazala,rommel advance toward egypt was checked by general auchinleck. The real experiences of the soldiers is depicted, though limited by time. He had taken part in the battle of france, the invasion of yugoslavia and operation barbarossa, the invasion of the soviet union. His name was bernard montgomery and he intended to win the war in north africa once and for all. He was a recipient of the knights cross of the iron cross thoma is known for his indiscretion while a pow in the british captivity, when he unwittingly revealed the existence of the v1 flying bomb and the v2. In this battle, some 300,000 men and some 1500 tanks were involved in a brutal battle. After the first battle of elalamein, egypt 150 miles west of cairo, ended in a stalemate, the second one was decisive. The axis army of italy and germany suffered a decisive defeat by the british eighth army. The bulk of the british 8th army retreated past mersa matruh and field marshal erwin rommels afrika korps occupied sollum, haifaya pass and sidi barrani.
Despite their preparations, the german panzers were again unable to break through. General montgomery, using battle plans prepared by gen auchinleck stopped rommel attempt to break through alam halfa towards river nile. Pursued by field marshal erwin rommel, the british constructed an elaborate array of defenses commencing attacks on july 1, axis forces. On march 7, rommel returned to germany on his own initiative for a personal. A young volunteer serra arrives to the pavia division which was. It marked the beginning of the end for the axis in north africa. The attack on russia operation barbarossa had pushed the russians back. In the early years of world war ii, germany shocked the world with a devastating. The battle was to prove decisive in the north african campaign.
By the summer of 1942, the allies were in trouble throughout europe. After the first battle of elalamein, egypt 150 miles west of cairo, ended in a. The emptiness is subtly matteroffactually presented as the characters trudge through the desert. Nevertheless, 1st brigade moved into the alamein line on 9 september 1942, coming under command of the british 50th division, which had lost its 150th brigade during the battle of gazala in june. Supply lines were very long, and armored units had to be broken up so they did not have to make long drives. In the early years of world war ii, germany shocked the world with a devastating blitzkrieg, rapidly conquered most of europe, and pushed into. Rommel returned to germany to recuperate from illness shortly before the british offensive was launched, command passing to a subordinate. Giorgio ferroni, remigio del grosso, ernesto gastaldi, mino loy, luciano martino, frederick stafford, george hilton. Discuss why elalamein, stalingrad, midway, and dday were. A series of british counterattacks also achieved little, and the battle ended as a stalemate.
Rommel history channel series, part 1 the warrior full episode. The battle of alamein is more than a story of the major engagements so well known and oft told, it is also a story of little known elements that played important, if somewhat sidestage, roles in this first major tactical victory for the british army represented by the 8th army in this case. The war won by the british empire without the help of the united states and defeated the afrika korps and the italian army in africa. Chronically lacking fuel due to overstretched supply lines and allied control of mediterranean sea, the only thing germans and italians. However, the british were hampered by poor strategy and communications. A crucial battle between the weakened german forces and the resurgent british, the battle marked a major turning point in the campaign, ending axis hopes of occupying egypt, taking control of the suez canal, and gaining access to the middle eastern oil fields. Rommel returned to germany to recuperate from illness shortly before the. Second battle battle of alam halfa 30 august5 september 1942. The battle lasted from 23 october to 5 november 1942. The battle that turned the tide of the second world war. It was part of the western desert campaign of world war 2 was fought between the british eighth army led by general claude auchinleck and the axis forces consisting of german and italian units of panzerarmee afrika panzer army africa led by field marshal erwin rommel. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. This article includes a list of related items that share the same name or similar names. Before he left for germany on 23 september, rommel organised the defence and wrote a long.
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