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El Alamein, battle of
El Alamein, battle of, 1942. Fought in Egypt, close to Alexandria, El Alamein was the first decisive, irreversible British victory over German ground forces, which, together with their Italian allies, were forced to retreat 1,500 miles to Tunisia. Rommel, short of fuel and against British air superiority, could not fight a mobile battle to balance Montgomery's superiority in combat troops. The 8th Army had nearly 200,000 men, more than half from Britain, the rest from India, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, against about 100,000 Italians and Germans. Attrition dominated the battle and British inferiority to the Germans in manœuvre and in co-operation between different ground arms was no handicap. Montgomery has been criticized for sluggish exploitation of his victory and failure to cut off the German retreat. However, the battle caused silenced church bells in Britain to be rung in celebration and made Montgomery a national hero. Together with the much larger-scale victory of the Red Army at Stalingrad, Alamein came to seem the turning-point in the war against Hitler. Cinematographic exploitation followed with Desert Victory, the British film which opened by using the dramatic effect of the intense artillery barrage at the start of the battle; a just tribute to the consistent excellence of British field artillery.
R. A. C. Parker |
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JOHN CANNON. "El Alamein, battle of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "El Alamein, battle of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-ElAlameinbattleof.html JOHN CANNON. "El Alamein, battle of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-ElAlameinbattleof.html |
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El Alamein, battle of
El Alamein, battle of, 1942. Fought in Egypt, El Alamein was the first decisive, irreversible British victory over German ground forces, which were forced to retreat 1,500 miles to Tunisia. Rommel, short of fuel and against British air superiority, could not fight a mobile battle to balance Montgomery's superiority in combat troops. The 8th Army had nearly 200,000 men, more than half from Britain, against about 100,000 Italians and Germans. The battle caused silenced church bells in Britain to be rung in celebration and made Montgomery a national hero.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "El Alamein, battle of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "El Alamein, battle of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-ElAlameinbattleof.html JOHN CANNON. "El Alamein, battle of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-ElAlameinbattleof.html |
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El Alamein, Battle of
El Alamein, Battle of a World War II battle in the Egyptian desert in late October 1942, between Allied forces under the British command of Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery, and German and Italian Axis forces under the command of Erwin Rommel. The fighting extended into early November and was eventually won by the Allied forces to become the first British land victory over the German army in the war.
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"El Alamein, Battle of." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "El Alamein, Battle of." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-ElAlameinBattleof.html "El Alamein, Battle of." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-ElAlameinBattleof.html |
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El Alamein, Battle of
El Alamein, Battle of a battle of the Second World War fought in 1942 at El Alamein in Egypt, 90 km (60 miles) west of Alexandria. The German Afrika Korps under Rommel was halted in its advance towards the Nile by the British 8th Army under Montgomery, giving a decisive British victory.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "El Alamein, Battle of." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "El Alamein, Battle of." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-ElAlameinBattleof.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "El Alamein, Battle of." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-ElAlameinBattleof.html |
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