By: Kolin Bothun

 El Alamein is a small railroad town near the coast of Egypt  The battle took place in between El Alamein and a bowl like area called the Qattara Depression  This battle front stretched over 40 miles  Barbed wire and landmines were laid over the 40 mile front  El Alamein was the last obstacle between the Germans and Cairo

 8 th Army Commander: Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery aka “Monty”  DAF Commander: “Mary” Coningham  British 8 th Army: 10 th,13 th,30 th Corps  Desert Air Force  Long Range Desert Group  SAS  Total Forces: 195,000 infantry and 1,029 tanks  Objective: Halt any further German advance and Drive them out of Egypt

 Armor: American made Grant and Sherman tanks  Infantry Small Arms: Lee Enfield bolt- action rifle, Sten sub- machine gun, Bren light- machine gun, and Vickers machine gun  Artillery: 25 pdr and 6 pdr anti- tank gun

 Deutsches Afrika Korps Commander: Lieutenant-General Erwin Rommel aka “The Desert Fox”  DAK: 15 th and 20 th Panzer Divisions and 90 th Light Infantry Division and assorted Italian units  Total Forces: 104,000 infantry and 496 tanks  Objective: Hold all gains made in North Africa

 Armor: Mark III and Mark IV Panzer  Infantry Small Arms: Kar98k bolt- action rifle, MP40 sub- machine gun, and MG34 light- machine gun  Artillery: Flak 88mm anti- tank gun

 After taking command of the 8 th Army “Monty” put the soldiers through training exercise in the fundamentals of desert warfare  In an effort to trick the Germans in to where the attack was coming from the Brits made 3 dummy regiments of artillery and a dummy water pipeline running from the coast 20 miles to the south  The Germans were lacking in everything from infantry to tanks giving the Brits a 2 to 1 advantage over them  On September 23, 1942 Erwin Rommel fell sick and returned to his home in Austria leaving General Georg Stumme in command of the DAK

 At 9:30 pm October 23, 1942 the attack begins with a massive barrage of British artillery on the German positions  Early in the fight German General Stumme suffers a heart attack and dies leaving the DAK temporarily leaderless  “Monty’s” infantry begin their attack shortly after the guns open up  British sappers in charge of removing the mines only make the gaps wide enough for the armor to move through single file leaving them easy prey for the German 88’s  The attack stalls cause the Brits can’t get enough of the armor through the minefield to support the infantry

 The night of Oct “Monty” orders his armor forward again and due to a combination of German artillery and the Luftwaffe he is left with 900 working tanks out of his original 1,029  After learning of the disaster ensuing with his armored units “Monty” decides that he can sacrifice his armor but not his infantry and orders the attack to press forward regardless of armor loss  Oct. 25 Rommel returns to the DAK and assumes command again  Oct. 26 “Monty’s” forces are slowed to a halt some short of objectives that should have been taken 8hrs. ago

 After receiving word that the 9 th Australian Division had gone pass its objective and captured a bit of high ground in the north that has a view of the costal road and decides to make a push to capture the road and cut Rommel’s supplies.  Rommel aware of a possible strike in the north takes a gamble and shifts his 90 th Division and 21 st Panzer Division to the north knowing that if the Brits don’t strike there he won’t have enough gas to shift his forces again  After discovering that Rommel has moved 2 of his Divisions north to stop the strike “Monty” instead orders an attack 5 miles to the south  The operation codenamed “Super Charge” was to commence on Nov. 2

 The plan was that the Aussies would continue their attack in the north while the 30 th Corps attacked a section of road that was concentrated with German guns  At 1am Nov British guns opened up the fire creeping forward 100 yards every 3mins. creating a shield for the infantry to advance behind.  After advancing within 2000 yards of the German guns the 1 st Armored Division and 9 th Armored Brigade with supporting infantry over ran the guns

 After the Brits over ran the guns Rommel desperately tried to counter attack the British Armor but lost 35 of his tanks  Rommel in despair over his defeat ordered and retreat 60 miles to the west  Using an old WW1 term for the Germans “Monty” declared in triumph “The Boches are finished- finished!”  The British objective of halting any further German advance and driving them out of Egypt is completed successfully