The Axis forces, on the other hand, were weakening, with their supply lines strangled by Allied air and naval attacks. The Australian 9th Division, led by Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead, played a key role in two of these battles, enhancing its reputation earned defending Tobruk during 1941. He spoke to his troops and attempted to restore confidence in them. It was an awesome task and one that essentially failed. Rommel was also acutely aware that while he was being starved of supplies, the Allies were getting vast amounts through as they still controlled the Suez and were predominant in the Mediterranean. There were 2 battles of el Alamein, separated by the battle of Alam Halfa. To the north of this apparently unremarkable town was the Mediterranean Sea and to the south was the Qattara Depression. The ensuing traffic jams made the tanks easy targets for the German gunners using the feared 88 artillery gun. 10 am to 5 pm daily (except Christmas Day), Get your ticket to visit: awm.gov.au/visit. The struggle for North Africa saw the pendulum swing sharply in favour of the Axis from January 1942. The bombardment started on the night of 23 October, but crumbling the German defences proved more difficult than expected. Going through such a defence would prove to be a nightmare for the Allies.
Both sides by now critically weakened and disorganised, missed opportunities for decisive victories.
Their 75 mm gun shot a 6lb shell that could penetrate a Panzer at 2000 metres. The Allied victory at El Alamein lead to the retreat of the Afrika Korps and the German surrender in North Africa in May 1943.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'historylearningsite_co_uk-medrectangle-3','ezslot_0',129,'0','0'])); Rommel studying maps during the battle at El Alamein. When he was woken from his sleep to be told the news, it is said that he replied “excellent, excellent” and went back to sleep again. The men in the Allied forces respected ‘Monty’. Men of the 2/3rd Australian Pioneer Battalion behind the railway embankment near the Blockhouse. Bertram worked as Rommel became convinced that the attack would be in the south. The Germans were also short of fuel. We pay our respects to elders past and present.
Churchill grasped the bull by the horns./ he dismissed Auchinleck and replaced him with. By the summer of 1942, the Allies were in trouble throughout Europe. The Allies had more than 200,000 men and more than 1000 tanks. On the last day of August Rommel launched another offensive. He was a master of mobile warfare, but he had to change his preferred tactics due to a lack of fuel and transport. He only had 300 tanks left to the Allies 900+. The attack on Russia – Operation Barbarossa – had pushed the Russians back; U-boats 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.eval(ez_write_tag([[580,400],'historylearningsite_co_uk-medrectangle-4','ezslot_2',114,'0','0'])); Hence the war in the desert of North Africa was pivotal. Managed by Caboodle UX design studio in London, Citation: C N Trueman "The Battle of El Alamein", The Battle of El Alamein, fought in the deserts of, El Alamein is 150 miles west of Cairo. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. He ordered his tanks north and he was then helped by nature.
By August 1942, only 33% of what Rommel needed was getting through to him. However, once the sandstorm cleared, Rommel’s force was hit by Allied bombers that pounded the area where the Afrika Corps had their tanks. Auchinleck left for India.
Read more. Although General Claude Auchinleck had stopped Rommel in his tracks during the First Battle of El Alamein in early July 1942, Churchill was becoming increasingly impatient with progress in the Western Desert.
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Between the two armies was the ‘Devil’s Garden’. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled.
They were also armed with a six-pound artillery gun which was highly effective up to 1500 metres.
Each stretch of land cleared of mines was to be 24 feet – just enough to get a tank through in single file.
His army now began a headlong retreat that would soon see them ejected from Africa altogether. The Axis army of Italy and Germany suffered a decisive defeat by the British Eighth Army. The Axis forces comprised German and Italian troops and were known as Panzerarmee Afrika, led by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, “The Desert Fox”. Both now took time over the next few days to reorganise and lick their wounds. ‘Monty’ blamed his chief of tanks, Lumsden.
A change in command of the Eighth Army occurred in mid-August when Auchinleck was replaced by General Bernard Montgomery. Churchill, despite his status, faced the prospect of a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons if there was no forthcoming victory anywhere.
Churchill, despite his status, faced the prospect of a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons if there was no forthcoming victory anywhere. The First Battle of El Alamein was fought July 1-27, 1942, during World War II (1939-1945). However, the Australians had given Montgomery room to manoeuvre.
A diversionary attack in the south was meant to take in 50% of Rommel’s forces.
‘Monty’ next planned to make a move to the Mediterranean. The Australians spent the next few days fighting off heavy counterattacks as Rommel redirected much of his forces against them. During the El Alamein campaign half of Rommel's 100,000 man army was killed, wounded or taken prisoner. Question: Who won the Battle of El Alamein? On the night of 23 October 1942, a massive artillery barrage heralded the great Allied offensive. However, ‘Monty’ failed to do this. The main attack in the north was to last – according to Montgomery – just one night. Gunners of 2/8th Australian Field Regiment firing a 25-pounder during the July battle. ‘Monty’ next planned to make a move to the Mediterranean. Many of the tanks got lost and they were easy for the German 88 gunners to pick off. It convinced the British that they could beat the Germans and that Hitler was not invincible. Auchinleck had to send a memo to all his senior officers that ordered them to do all in their power to correct this: In August 1942, Winston Churchill was desperate for a victory as he believed that morale was being sapped in Britain.
The Battle of El Alamein, fought in the deserts of North Africa, is seen as one of the decisive victories of World War Two. The stretch of cleared land for the tanks proved to be Montgomery’s Achilles heel. The Battle of El Alamein was primarily fought between two of the outstanding commanders of World War Two, Montgomery, who succeeded the dismissed Auchinleck, and Rommel. The infantry had also not got as far as Montgomery had planned. The Battle of El Alamein was to prove a turning point in the war. This plan was to convince Rommel that the full-might of the Eighth Army would be used in the south. The Allies intercepted his message and Montgomery had the deciphered note in his hands by the next morning. 123 tanks of the 9th Armoured Brigade attacked the German lines. Having been badly defeated by Axis forces at Gazala in June 1942, the British Eighth Army retreated east into Egypt and assumed a defensive position near El Alamein. The Allied commander at the time, Claude Auchinleck – did not command the same respect among his own men. be near the Mediterranean and he moved a large amount of his Afrika Korps there. In this battle, some 300,000 men and some 1500 tanks were involved in a brutal battle. ‘Monty’ had a simple message for his troops on the eve of the battle: However, Rommel and the Afrika Korps had also been suffering. The engineers had to clear a five mile section through the ‘Devil’s Garden’. The Germans were also short of fuel.
The infantry units cleared the way for the armoured divisions, and Rommel, his army depleted and his petrol almost finished, decided the battle was lost. ‘Monty’s army in the north also had to ‘disappear’. Australian units attacked the Germans by the Mediterranean and Rommel had to move his tanks north to cover this. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. When Rommel attacked, Montgomery was asleep. The Battle of El Alamein begins On July 1, 1942, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is brought to a standstill in the battle for control of North Africa. The Allies had more than 200,000 men and more than 1000 tanks. The Panzerarmee had suffered crippling losses and Rommel was forced to order a general withdrawal, or face total annihilation. The Australian War Memorial acknowledges the traditional custodians of country. Lt Gen Montgomery (wearing slouch hat) shortly after taking command of the Eighth Army in August 1942. Allied infantrymen had varying opinions regarding armoured support, feeling that sometimes the tanks provided welcome support and protection, but also that sometimes they failed them completely. A sandstorm blew up which gave his tanks much needed cover from marauding British fighters. The Battle of El Alamein, fought in the deserts of North Africa, is seen as one of the decisive victories of World War Two.The Battle of El Alamein was primarily fought between two of the outstanding commanders of World War Two, Montgomery, who succeeded the dismissed Auchinleck, and Rommel.The Allied victory at El Alamein lead to the retreat of the Afrika Korps and the German … Allies: General Bernard Montgomery's 8th Army, consisting of 30th Corps, 13th Corps and 10th Corps (British, Australian, South African, Indian and French troops), Axis: Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Panzerarmee Afrika (German and Italian troops), Find out more about how the BBC is covering the. The victory also persuaded the French to start cooperating in the North African campaign.
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