Here is an excerpt from "The Rising Tide: A Novel of World WII," by Jeff Shaara. I guess this marks the beginning of the second battle of El Alamein. Which reminds me that so far the words "El Alamein" and "Guadalcanal" have not appeared in NYT headlines. I will not be posting "The Rising Tide" excerpts for the next few days since they include imaginary dialogue involving Rommel. That goes too far off the historical rails.
Rommel tried the same tactic at Alam Halfa that had worked a few months earlier outside Tobruk. There, his tenacity and the tenacity of his troops prevailed and broke the British.
He’s facing a new general who matches him in that same tenacity. A general who plays close to the vest, has superior firepower, and knows how to use it.
From this point on, Rommel knows it’s only a matter of time.
Rommel’s supply problem wasn’t just neglect by Berlin and Rome. The Brits had broken the German code and knew when convoys were scheduled. They regularly sent Rommel’s supplies to the bottom of the Med. They would send out a “search” plane that would just happen across the convoy and then run the Royal Navy in to pound it.