World War II - By Benjamin Lang - May 2015 The Battle of El Alamein World War II - By Benjamin Lang - May 2015

WHAT In World War II The Battle of El Alamein was the battle of control for North Africa. To protect supply routes. To protect access to oil.

WHO: Countries V Great Britain Germany

V WHO: Leaders Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery “Monty” Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel V

El Alamein is 150 miles west of Cairo the capital of Egypt. WHERE: Egypt El Alamein is 150 miles west of Cairo the capital of Egypt.

WHAT: Timeline of Battle Events 1- 27 July 1942 The first battle of El Alamein. Erwin Rommel (Germany) attacks the Allies with huge losses for Germany. August & September 1942 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill placed General Bernard Law Montgomery “Monty” as 8th commander and the leader for El Alamein to try and motivate his soldiers. Monty added combat tanks to his team. October 23 – November 5 1942 The second battle of El Alamein. Monty started “Operation Lightfoot” – a two pronged attack using North and South forces attacking in parallel. Rommel ordered a general retreat.

WHEN First Battle of El Alamein Second Battle of El Alamein July 1, 1942 – July 27, 1942 Second Battle of El Alamein October 23, 1942 – November 5, 1942

OUTCOME The Allies won and Germany was forced out of Africa. Supply routes and oil fields were protected!

Four reasons why was this battle was important? Seen as a huge victory in World War Two and so improved morale. When the Allies won they had control of the Mediterranean sea (supply channel) and the middle east oil field (power). The battle ended the African campaign. It allowed the Allies navy easy access to Italy.

4 facts to know… Erwin Rommel was on sick leave when the battle began but having personally planned the defense commanded thirteen divisions and five hundred tanks, totaling about 100,000 men. Erwin Rommel's nickname was THE DESERT FOX because he constantly improvised and used tricks in order to outsmart his enemies with surprise attacks.  During the battle, both flanks were sealed by The Qattara Depression (salt marshes) and the Mediterranean Sea, which is strange because it was a desert war. A large part of the German Army attacking El Alamein were Italians.

Bibliography Fraser, David. ”battle of El Alamein.”history.com. houghton mifflin harcourt publishing company,1996. web. May 2 2015. Taylor, mike. battles of world war 2.New York: Abdo publishing company,1998.print. Tignor, Robert l.”El Alamein.”world book student. World book,2015.web. May 2 2015.