Alamein, El, Battle of

A Dictionary of World History | Date: 2000

Alamein, El, Battle of (October–November 1942) A critical battle in Egypt in World War II. In June 1942, the British took up a defensive position in Egypt. One flank rested on the Mediterranean at El Alamein and the other on the salt marshes of the Qattara Depression. In August, General MONTGOMERY was appointed to command the defending 8th Army. He launched an offensive in which, after a heavy artillery preparation, about 1200 tanks advanced, followed by infantry, against the German Afrika Korps commanded by General ROMMEL. Rommel was handicapped by a grave fuel shortage and had only about 500 tanks. The outnumbered Germans never regained the initiative. Rommel managed to withdraw most of his men back into Libya, but this battle marked the beginning of the end of the NORTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN for Germany.


© A Dictionary of World History 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000.

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles from HighBeam Research

El Alamein revisited.(Pendulum of War: The Three Battles of el Alamein)(Book Review)
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Australians in the first battle of El Alamein July 1942.
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Pendulum of War: The Three Battles of El Alamein.(Book review)
The Historian; 12/22/2006; Showalter, Dennis E.; 557 words ; ... 2005. Pp. xliii, 531. $35.00.) The Battle of El Alamein has attracted the recent attention ... clearly the best book to date on a battle that remains as controversial as it ... focusing on the well-known October battle, Barr begins with the initial fighting on the Alamein line in July, ... Read more
Pendulum of War: The Three Battles of El Alamein
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