The FReeper Foxhole's TreadHead Tuesday - 2nd Battle of El Alamein (10/23-11/3 1942)-Sep 13th, 2005

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[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

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for all those serving their country at this time.

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Second Battle of El Alamein

The Battle of Alamein, or more correctly the Second Battle of El Alamein, marked a significant turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. The battle lasted from October 23 to November 3, 1942. Following the First Battle of El Alamein, which had stalled the Axis advance, General Bernard Montgomery took command of the British Commonwealth's Eighth Army from Claude Auchinleck in August 1942. Success in the battle turned the tide in the North African Campaign.

Situation


Field Marshal Erwin Rommel

By July 1942 the German Afrika Korps under General Erwin Rommel had struck deep into Egypt, threatening the British Commonwealth forces' vital supply line across the Suez Canal. Faced with overextended supply lines and lack of reinforcements and yet well aware of massive Allied reinforcements arriving, Rommel decided to strike at the Allies while their build-up was still not complete. This attack on 30 August 1942 at Alam Halfa failed, and expecting a counterattack by Montgomery´s Eighth Army, the Afrika Korps dug in. After six more weeks of building up forces the Eighth Army was ready to strike. 200,000 men and 1,000 tanks under Montgomery made their move against the 100,000 men and 500 tanks of the Afrika Korps.

Allied plan

With Operation Lightfoot, Montgomery hoped to cut two corridors through the Axis minefields in the north. Armour would then pass through and defeat the German armour. Diversionary attacks in the south would keep the rest of the Axis forces from moving northwards. Montgomery expected a twelve-day battle in three stages — "The break-in, the dog-fight and the final break of the enemy."



The Commonwealth forces practised a number of deceptions in the months prior to the battle to wrong-foot the Axis command, not only as to the exact whereabouts of the forthcoming battle, but as to when the battle was likely to occur. This operation was codenamed Operation Bertram. A dummy pipeline was built, stage by stage, the construction of which would lead the Axis to believe the attack would occur much later than it in fact did, and much further south. To further the illusion, dummy tanks made of plywood frames placed over jeeps were constructed and deployed in the south. In a reverse feint, the tanks for battle in the north were disguised as supply lorries by placing a removable plywood superstructure over them.


El Alamein - the Northern Sector

The Axis were dug-in along two lines, called by the Allies the Oxalic Line and the Pierson Line. They had laid around half a million mines, mainly anti-tank, in what was called the Devil's Garden.

Battle


Alamein Battlefield

The Battle of El Alamein is usually divided into five phases, consisting of the break-in (October 23-24), the crumbling (October 24-25), the counter (October 26-28), Operation Supercharge (November 1-2) and the breakout (November 3-7). No name is given to the period from October 29 to the 30th when the battle was at a standstill.

PHASE 1: The Break-In

On a calm, clear evening under the bright sky of a full moon, Operation Lightfoot began with 882 field and medium sized guns releasing a barrage of fire that did not stop until five and a half hours later, when each gun had fired about 600 rounds. During that period of time, 125 tons of bombs fell on the enemy gun positions. Legend has it that the noise was so great that the ears of the gunners bled.



There was a reason for the name Operation Lightfoot. The infantry had to attack first. Many of the anti-tank mines would not be tripped by soldiers running over them since they were too light (hence the code-name). As the infantry attacked, engineers had to clear a path for the tanks coming up in the rear. Each stretch of land cleared of mines was to be 24 feet wide, which was just enough to get a tank through in single file. The engineers had to clear a five mile section through the ‘Devil’s Garden’. It was an awesome task and one that essentially failed because of the depth of the Axis minefields.



The Allied plan called for the 13th Corps to make a feint attack to the south, engaging the German 21st Panzer Division and Ariete Divisions which were both tank divisions, while the 30th Corps in the north attempted to make the narrow pathway through the German minefield for the armored divisions of the 10th Corp.



At 10 pm, the infantry of the 30th Corps began to move. The objective was an imaginary line in the desert where the strongest enemy defenses were situated. Once the infantry reached the first minefields, the mine sweepers (sappers) moved in to create a passage for the tanks. Finally, at 2 am, the first of the 500 tanks crawled forward. By 4 am the lead tanks were in the minefields, where they stirred up so much dust that there was no visibility at all, and traffic jams developed as the tanks got bogged down. Entire columns went astray when the lead tank moved off course, and they were seldom exactly where they thought they were. In fact, on this night the tank units thought that they were through the first minefield and into the second when they were in fact still in the first.

[SAMWolf]

PHASE 2: The Crumbling

The morning of Saturday, October 24th brought disaster for the German headquarters. The accuracy of the barrage had destroyed German communications and Strumme, who commanded the German forces while Rommel was in Germany, had a heart attack. Temporary command was given to General von Thoma.


Matilda

Meanwhile, the 30th Corps had only dented the first minefields. It was not yet enough for the 10th Corps to pass through, so all day long, the British air force plastered Axis positions, making over 1,000 sorties.

The Panzers attacked the 51st Highland Division just after sunrise. By 4:00 pm there was little progress. At dusk, with the sun at their backs, Axis tanks from the German 15th Panzer Division and Italian Littorio swung out from Kidney Ridge to engage the Australians, and the first major tank battle of al-Alamein was joined. Over 100 tanks were involved in this battle and by dark, half were destroyed while neither position was altered.


Panzer III

While the Australians were fighting the 15th Panzers, the Highlanders, on their left, were engaging in the first tank versus infantry battle at al-Alamein. It was to last for two days with many casualties, but when it was over the British manned Kidney Ridge.

D Plus 2: Sunday, October 25, 1942

The initial thrust had ended by Sunday. Both armies had been fighting non-stop for two days. The British had advanced through the minefields in the west to make a six mile wide and five mile deep inroad. They now sat atop Miteriya Ridge in the southeast, but at the same time, the Axis forces were firmly entrenched in most of their original battle positions and the battle was at a standstill. Hence, General Bernard Montgomery ordered an end to conflict in the south, the evacuation of Miteriya Ridge, and a swing north toward the sea. The battlefield would be concentrated at the Kidney and Tell al-Eissa until a breakthrough occurred. It was to be a gruesome seven days.


Stuart / Honey

By early morning, the Axis forces launched a series of attacks using the 15th Panzer and Littorio divisions. The Afrika Korps was probing for a weakness, but they found none. When the sun set, the British infantry went on the attack. Around midnight, the 51st Division launched three attacks, but no one knew exactly where they were. It was pandemonium and carnage, resulting in the loss of over 500 British troops, and leaving only one officer among the attacking forces.


German 88mm Anti-tank gun

While the 51st was operating around the Kidney, the Australians were attacking Point 29, a 20 foot high Axis artillery observation post southwest of Tell al-Essa. This was the new northern thrust Montgomery had devised earlier in the day, and it was to be the scene of heated battle for days to come. The 26th Australian Brigade attacked at midnight. The air force dropped 115 tons of bombs and the British took the position and 240 prisoners. Fighting continued in this area for the next week, as the Axis tried to recover the small hill that was so vital to their defense.

[SAMWolf]

PHASE 3: The Counter

D Plus 3: Monday, October 26, 1942

Rommel returned to North Africa on the evening of the 25th, and immediately assessed the battle. What he found was that the Italian Trento Division had lost half of its infantry, the 164 Light Division had lost two battalions, most other groups were under strength, all men were on half rations, a large number were sick, and the entire Axis army had only enough fuel for three days.


The Panzer IV was the mainstay of the Afrika Corps and were needed in great numbers in the Western Desert

The offensive was stalled. Churchill railed, "Is it really impossible to find a general who can win a battle?" A counterattack began at 3 pm against Point 29 near Tell al-Eissa. Rommel was determined to retake the position and moved all the tanks from around Kidney to the battle site. Air and ground power poured into the area as Rommel moved the 21st Panzer and Ariete Armored Division up from the south along the Rahman Track. That turned out to be a mistake. The British held the position and Rommel's troops could not retire for lack of fuel, and were therefore stuck on open ground at the mercy of air attacks.


British 6 Lbr Gun

However, back at Kidney, the British failed to take advantage of the missing tanks. Each time they tried to move forward they were stopped by pounding anti-tank guns.


Panzer II

On a brighter note for the British, the Royal Navy sank the tanker Proserpina at Tobruk, and it was the last hope for re-supplying Rommel's thirsty machines.

D Plus 4: Tuesday, October 27, 1942

By now, the main battle was concentrated around Tell al-Aqaqir and Kidney Ridge. The 2nd Battalion (Rifle Brigade) of the 1st Armored Division of the British was at a position called Snipe, to the southwest of the Kidney. The stand at Snipe is one of the legends of the Battle of al-Alamein. Phillips in Alamein records that,

"The desert was quivering with heat. The gun detachments and the platoons squatted in their pits and trenches, the sweat running in rivers down their dust-caked faces. There was a terrible stench. The flies swarmed in black clouds upon the dead bodies and excreta and tormented the wounded. The place was strewn with burning tanks and carriers, wrecked guns and vehicles, and over all drifted the smoke and the dust from bursting high explosives and from the blasts of guns."


Kidney Ridge, October 1942: Toms, centre, serving his troop's last anti-tank gun, for which he had brought the ammunition in the blazing Jeep at left

Mortar and shell fire was constant all day long. Around 4 pm, British tanks accidentally opened fire against their own position, killing many. At 5 pm, Rommel launched his major attack. German and Italian tanks moved onward. With only four guns in operation, the 2nd Battalion was able to score continual broad-side hits against forty tanks of the 21st Division, knocking out thirty-seven of them. The remaining three withdrew and a new assault was launched. All but nine tanks in this assault were also destroyed. The 2nd was down to three guns with three rounds each, but the Germans had given up on this assault.

D Plus 5-6: Wednesday, Thursday, October 28-29, 1942


Marder I

The Australian 9th Division was to continue pushing northwest beyond Tell al-Eissa to an enemy held location south of the railway known as Thompson's Post and force a breakthrough along the coast road. By the end of the day, the British had 800 tanks still in operation, while the Axis had 148 German and 187 Italian tanks. With the tanker, Luisiano sunk outside Tobruk harbor, Rommel told his commanders, "It will be quite impossible for us to disengage from the enemy. There is no gasoline for such a maneuver. We have only one choice and that is to fight to the end at Alamein".

D Plus 7-9: Friday-Sunday, October 30 - November 1, 1942


Crusaders

The night of October 30th saw a continuation of previous plans, with the 9th Australian attacking. This was their third attempt to reach the paved road, which they took on this night. On the 31st, Rommel launched four retaliatory attacks against Thompson's Post. The fighting was intense and often hand to hand, but no ground was gained by the Axis forces. On Sunday, November 1, Rommel tried to dislodge the Australians once again, but the brutal, desperate fighting resulted in nothing but lost men and equipment. By now, it had become obvious to Rommel that the battle was lost. He began to plan the retreat and anticipated retiring to Fuka, a few miles west. Ironically, 1,200 tons of fuel arrived, but it was too late and had to be blown up.

PHASE 4: Operation Supercharge

This phase of the battle began on November 2nd at 1 am, with the objective of destroying enemy armor, forcing the enemy to fight in the open, diminishing the Axis petrol, attacking and occupying enemy supply routes and disintegrating the enemy army. Its intensity and the destruction was greater than anything witnessed so far during this horrific battle. The objective of Supercharge was Tell al-Aqaqir along the Rahman track, which was the base of the Axis defense.



This attack started with a seven hour aerial bombardment focused on Tell al-Aqaqir and Sidi Abd al-Rahman, followed by a 4.5 hour barrage of 360 guns firing 15,000 shells. The initial thrust of Supercharge was to be carried out by the battle scarred New Zealanders. The commander, Freyberg had tried to free them of this chore, as they were under strength and weary, but that was not to be, so on this cold November night with the moon on the wane, the New Zealanders moved out.



As dawn came on November 2nd, tank after tank was hit by the German 88 mm guns that kept firing through seven air attacks. The 9th never made it to their objective. In fact, they had 75 percent casualties and lost 102 of its 128 tanks. Nevertheless, they had breached the gun line and the 1st Armored Division of the 10th Corps, under the command of Raymond Briggs, was now about to be engaged. In the heat of the noon day sun, 120 Italian and German tanks advanced for the biggest, most critical and, to all intents and purposes, the final tank battle of al-Alamein, the Battle of Aqaqir Ridge.

This battle continued all day.


Sherman

"The desert, quivering in the heat haze, became a scene that defies sober description. It can be discerned only as a confused arena clouded by the bursts of high explosives, darkened by the smoke of scores of burning tanks and trucks, lit by the flashes of innumerable guns, shot through by red, green and white tracers, shaken by heavy bombing from the air and deafened by the artillery of both sides."



Rommel called up Ariete from the south to join the defense around Tell al-Aqaqir in the last stand of the German army. By nightfall, the Axis had only thirty-two tanks operating along the entire front. While the Afrika Korps was fighting for its life at Aqaqir, Rommel began the withdrawal to Fuka.

Additional Sources:

www.topedge.com
www.axishistory.com
www.mishalov.com
hsgm.free.fr/rajoutsguerre/alamein
www.touregypt.net
www.godsavethesouth.com

[SAMWolf]

PHASE 5: The Break Out

Rommel sent a message to Hitler explaining his untenable position and seeking permission to withdraw, but Rommel was told to stand fast. Von Thoma told him, "I've just been around the battlefield. 15th Panzer's got ten tanks left, 21st Panzer only fourteen and Littorio seventeen." Rommel read him Hitler's message, so he left to take command at the head of the Afrika Korps.


Grant

When 150 British tanks came after the remaining members of the nearly vanquished 15th and 21st Panzers, von Thoma stood with his men. He was in the command tank at the spot where the two panzer units joined, and there he remained until the last tank was destroyed. At the end, when all was lost, von Thoma stood alone beside his burning tank at the spot that was to become known as the "panzer graveyard."


Semoventi M41 at El-Alamein

Despite the desperate situation, Rommel's men stood their ground. Entire units were destroyed, but the remnants continued to fight. A 12 mile wide hole had been cut in the Axis line. "If we stay put here, the army won't last three days... If I do obey the Fuhrer's order, then there's the danger that my own troops won't obey me... My men come first!" Rommel ordered the massive retreat against Hitler's orders.

D Plus 12, November 4, 1942

On November 4th, the final assaults were underway. The British 1st, 7th and 10th armored divisions passed through the German lines and were operating in the open desert. The British had won the battle. The axis were in retreat. This day saw the liquidation of the Italian Ariete Armored Division, the Littorio Division and the Trieste Motorized Division.


General Von Thoma, Commander of The Afrika Corps was captured by Captain Grant Singer on 4th November 1942

So far, Rommel had lost 55,000 men, 1,000 guns and 450 tanks. The British had 13,500 men killed, missing or wounded. They also lost 100 guns and 500 tanks. John Currie of the 9th Armored Brigade pointed to twelve tanks when asked where his regiments were, "There are my armored regiments". Major-General Douglas Wimberley swore, "Never again".



Winston Churchill famously summed up the battle on 10 November 1942 with the words "now this is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."


General Bernard Law Montgomery

The battle was Montgomery's greatest triumph. He took the title "Viscount Montgomery of Alamein" when he was raised to the peerage.



The Torch landings in Morocco later that month marked the effective end of the Axis threat in North Africa.

[SAMWolf]

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************Snippy, I bequeath to you the FR TH PL.

148 posted on 08/24/2004 11:39:45 AM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (I've lost turret power; I have my nods and my .50. Hooah. I will stay until relieved. White 2 out.)

Good morning, ON THE WAY!!!!. :-)

[The Mayor]

September 13, 2005

Walking In His Dust

Read:
Mark 1:16-20

[Jesus] called them, and they left their father . . . and went after Him. —Mark 1:20

Bible In One Year: Ezekiel 8-11

In the first century, a Jewish man who wanted to become a disciple of a rabbi (teacher) was expected to leave family and job to join his rabbi. They would live together 24 hours a day—walking from place to place, teaching and learning, studying and working. They discussed and memorized the Scriptures and applied them to life.

The disciple's calling, as described in early Jewish writings about basic ethics, was to "cover himself in the dust of [the rabbi's] feet," drinking in his every word. He followed his rabbi so closely that he would "walk in his dust." In doing so, he became like the rabbi, his master.

Simon, Andrew, James, and John knew that this was the type of relationship to which Jesus was calling them (Mark 1:16-20). So immediately they walked away from their work and "went after Him" (v.20). For 3 years they stayed close to Him—listening to His teaching, watching His miracles, learning His principles, and walking in His dust.

As Jesus' followers today, we too can "walk in His dust." By spending time studying and meditating on His Word and applying its principles to life, we'll become like our rabbi—Jesus. —Anne Cetas

What holds me back? Some earthly tie? A thirst for gain?
A strange entanglement with life? A pleasure vain?
Dear Lord, I cast it all aside so willingly;
The path of true discipleship I'll walk with Thee. —Adams

Faith in Christ is not just a single step—it's a lifelong walk with Him.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
What Does It Take To Follow Christ?

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

[texianyankee]

Good Tuesday morning to everyone. Thanks again to our Vets and for this great country.

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-Gram.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.

[Professional Engineer]

Hi miss Feather

[Samwise]

Thanks for the thread, SAM.

[Samwise]

Even in the midst of devastation, there is hope.

[Samwise]

G'morning, bentfeather. Now that gas prices are through the roof, I'm glad I never got that hummer I wanted. I would still like a turret, though. :^)

[Samwise]

How are you feeling, PE?

[Soaring Feather]

LOL, good morning.

Yes, those big engines eat up the gas.




;)

[alfa6]

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[alfa6]

Now that gas prices are through the roof, I'm glad I never got that hummer I wanted. I would still like a turret, though. :^)

Maybe one of these would be more affordable, eh?

HE HE HE

Regards

alfa6 ;.}

[Soaring Feather]

LOL

Not as high as a hummer.