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. In early 1943, the 215th returned to australia and was. The battle lasted from 23 october to 5 november 1942. Edwin rommel, the commander of the axis forces in the desert wanted to take advantage of his success against the allies in the battle of gazala may 26 june 21 and reach the suez canal. Major g j lemmie le mesurier, officer commanding no.
Mpower jul 6 1942 one day in the desert war a field gun. After the first battle of elalamein, egypt 150 miles west of cairo, ended in a stalemate, the second one was decisive. By the summer of 1942, the allies were in trouble throughout europe. It was fought between two of the best commanders in world war ii, montgomery for the allies and rommel for the axis between 23 october 4 november 1942. The axis major defeat in africa great battles of the world series 7003 stavropoulos, dimitrios, stavropoulos, sotiris, parathiras, konstantinos, terniotis, john, nikolaou, charalambos, gedeon, dimitrios, panos, nicholas on. General montgomery, using battle plans prepared by gen auchinleck stopped rommel attempt to break through alam halfa towards river nile.
It marked the beginning of the end for the axis in north africa. The 228th battalion was an infantry battalion of the australian army, which served during the. The axis army of italy and germany suffered a decisive defeat by the british eighth army. First battle 127 july 1942 after victory at battle of gazala,rommel advance toward egypt was checked by general auchinleck second battle battle of alam halfa 30 august5 september 1942. 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. This article includes a list of related items that share the same name or similar names. By ken ford ken ford provides an indepth analysis of the battle that turned the tide in favour of the allies in africa. After the humiliation of dunkirk and the fall of france, the british army could now only stand up against the might of the axis forces in the desert of north africa.
Where a difficult patch was struck they frequently switched the direction. Your objective is to capture and hold the three flags to win the game. The battle was fought between the axis forces, led by general erwin rommel, and the allied forces, commanded by field marshal claude auchinleck. Australians fought in the battle, and im going to concentrate on them, and in particular on the ones who were killed in the epic struggle that began on 23 october 1942 and lasted until 5 november. To win this battle, you have to control more than half of the control. The german offensive begins in late may 1942 and sweeps aside the british forces. Edwin rommel, the commander of the axis forces in the desert wanted to take advantage of his success against the allies in the battle of gazala may 26. Pursued by field marshal erwin rommel, the british constructed an elaborate array of defenses commencing attacks on july 1, axis forces.
It is simply a designated patch of sand, marked by small red cross flags amid the barbed wire in the. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. After several days of heated battle, the allies mounted operation supercharge early on the morning of 2 november, breaking through the italogerman defenses and sending. There were in fact, some,000 british commonwealth casualties. In a battle ranging over hundred of miles of desert, the eight army now under the.
This was where the british stopped the advance of rommel and his afrika korps. Over three years, allied and axis forces engaged in an ongoing conflict in the north african region, with germanys commander, rommel, intent on capturing alexandria and the suez canal. The battle of britain was an aerial campaign of the german luftwaffe against the british royal air force. With the allies victorious, it was the watershed of the western desert campaign. The map is a simplified version of the battle, with luftwaffe. Following the wildly fluctuating fortunes of the opposing sides, there was a real risk that rommels afrika korps and his italian allies would break through a. By the time the second battle began on october 23, 1942, montgomery had nearly double what rommel had in the field. On the night of the 23 rd of october, montgomery made his move. The outcome of these bitterlyfought clashes finally ended rommels eastern drive towards alexandria and the suez canal, and forced a defeated and burned. Following the breakout at minqar qaim in late june 1942, the new zealand division fell back to the alamein line, where it took part in the first battle of alamein.
In august 1942, general claude auchinleck had been sacked as commanderinchief middle east command and his successor, lieutenantgeneral william gott was killed on his way to replace him as commander of the eighth army. The story of a marine grunt in the first battle of khe sanh april 1967 duration. The actions in the first campaign forced an end to the fighting by july 22nd. Len moore fought with the 2nd battalion kings royal rifle corps 2krrc across the deserts of north africa during ww2 from 1941 to 1943. The luftwaffes mission was to cripple the royal air force and set britain up for an invasion, codenamed operation sealion. The massive artillery bombardment of the evening of the 23rd was but a prelude to an attack led by the infantry. 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.
For over two years, the line of battle had swayed back and forth across the libyan and egyptian coastlines. Battles of elalamein, 127 july 1942, 23 october11 november 1942, world war ii events. A series of british counterattacks also achieved little, and the battle ended as a stalemate. As artillery pounded the german positions, soldiers cleared enemy minefields by the light of the full moon. Operation agreement, a british landing at tobruk during the night of 14 september, to rescue allied prisoners, was a failure. With the allies victorious, it marked a major turning point in the western desert campaign 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. There were three separate battles between july and november 1942, all fought to halt the advance of romme. Unit colour patch 194042, 228th battalion 7th division 2nd aif. The attack on russia operation barbarossa had pushed the russians back. Rommel, short of fuel and against british air superiority, could not fight a mobile battle to balance montgomerys superiority in combat troops.
The commonwealth troops, particularly the new zealanders, felt that their attacks had not been well handled. The axis major defeat in africa great battles of the world series 7003. The struggle for north africa, 194043 national army museum. Following the wildly fluctuating fortunes of the opposing sides, there was a real risk that rommels afrika korps and his italian allies would break through and seize cairo with catastrophic strategic and political implications for the allies. After dunkirk and successive defeats in resisting hitler across europe and africa, by 1942 allied morale was at a very low point. This battle is featured as a map for battlefield 1942, included as a bonus in the version 1.
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