27th July 1942: First Battle of El Alamein sees Allied forces in North Africa stop the Axis advance
Having been driven back at the Battle of Gazala in Libya the previous month, the British Eighth Army had retreated first to the Egyptian town of Marsa Matrouh that was 100 miles inside the border. They subsequently moved to the more easily defended line at El Alamein just 80 miles away from the city of Alexandria. This was effectively the Allies’ final hope of protecting Egypt’s Mediterranean ports, the British headquarters in Cairo, and ultimately the Suez Canal. The Allied position at Alamein marked the narrowest defensible area between the sea and the Qattara Depression, which lay 20 miles to the south. The position ensured that Erwin Rommel, the German tank commander, would be unable to use his favoured form of attack which involved outflanking his enemy. Furthermore, the position stretched the Axis supply line perilously thin and so starved the advancing army of water, fuel and ammunition. Despite these resource problems, Rommel ordered the 90th Light Infantry Division to begin its advance at 3am on 1 July. Although the Axis did eventually succeed in breaking through, the advance took most of the day and gave the Allies time to organise more defences along the line. The battle continued for nearly 4 weeks and saw both sides launch attacks and counter-attacks. It eventually ended in stalemate with both sides taking time to reorganise and re-equip. Significantly, however, the Allies had stopped the previously relentless Axis advance.
Having been driven back at the Battle of Gazala in Libya the previous month, the British Eighth Army had retreated first to the Egyptian town of Marsa Matrouh that was 100 miles inside the border. They subsequently moved to the more easily defended line at El Alamein just 80 miles away from the city of Alexandria. This was effectively the Allies’ final hope of protecting Egypt’s Mediterranean ports, the British headquarters in Cairo, and ultimately the Suez Canal. The Allied position at Alamein marked the narrowest defensible area between the sea and the Qattara Depression, which lay 20 miles to the south. The position ensured that Erwin Rommel, the German tank commander, would be unable to use his favoured form of attack which involved outflanking his enemy. Furthermore, the position stretched the Axis supply line perilously thin and so starved the advancing army of water, fuel and ammunition. Despite these resource problems, Rommel ordered the 90th Light Infantry Division to begin its advance at 3am on 1 July. Although the Axis did eventually succeed in breaking through, the advance took most of the day and gave the Allies time to organise more defences along the line. The battle continued for nearly 4 weeks and saw both sides launch attacks and counter-attacks. It eventually ended in stalemate with both sides taking time to reorganise and re-equip. Significantly, however, the Allies had stopped the previously relentless Axis advance.