First Battle of El Alamein
In June 1942, the British Eighth Army collapsed after their defeat at the Battle of Gazala in Eastern Libya. Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie ordered a retreat eastward into north-western Egypt, moving as far as Mersa Matruh. This position sat roughly 60 miles inside the Egyptian border. Ritchie had decided not to hold the defences on the Egyptian border because his infantry would be defeated without a strong armoured force behind them. The 50th Northumbrian Infantry Division and the 10th Indian Infantry Division were placed under X Corps HQ. They arrived from Syria just days before the fighting began.
The situation grew dire when General Claude Auchinleck relieved Ritchie on the 25th of June. Auchinleck assumed direct command of the Eighth Army himself. He concluded that his inferiority in armour meant he could not prevent Rommel from breaking through or enveloping his open left flank. Instead, he chose delaying tactics while withdrawing further east to El Alamein. Only 30 miles south of El Alamein lay the steep slopes of the Qattara Depression. These slopes ruled out any possibility for Axis armour to move around the southern flank of his defences.
Confusion plagued the withdrawal process. On the 27th of June, the German 90th Light Division found its way through minefields in the centre of the front. Early the next morning, the 21st Panzer Division attacked Minqar Qaim. The 2nd New Zealand Division found itself surrounded but broke out on the night of 27/the 28th of June without serious losses. Meanwhile, X Corps made an unsuccessful attempt to secure a position on the escarpment. Communication breakdowns left them out of touch with Eighth Army headquarters from 19:30 until 04:30 the following day. By 21:00 on the 28th of June, X Corps headed south into the darkness. They came across enemy units laagered for the night and sustained heavy casualties. The 5th Indian Division lost the 29th Indian Infantry Brigade at Fuka. Axis forces captured more than 6,000 prisoners along with 40 tanks.
Alamein itself was an inconsequential railway station on the coast. Some 10 miles to the south lay the Ruweisat Ridge, a low stony prominence that gave excellent observation over many miles of surrounding desert. To the south was the Qattara Depression. The British chose to defend a line stretching between the sea and the Depression. This meant Rommel could only outflank it by taking a significant detour to the south and crossing the Sahara Desert.
Lieutenant-General William Norrie organized the position and started constructing three defended boxes. The first box sat at El Alamein on the coast and had been partly wired and mined by the 1st South African Division. The Bab el Qattara box sat some 15 miles from the coast but had not been wired or mined. At the Naq Abu Dweis box, very little work had been done. Most of the line remained open empty desert.
The British position in Egypt was desperate. The rout from Mersa Matruh created panic in the British headquarters at Cairo. On what came to be referred to as Ash Wednesday, rear echelon units and the British Embassy hurriedly burned papers in anticipation of the fall of the city. Auchinleck felt he could not ignore the possibility that he might once more be outmanoeuvred. Defensive positions were constructed west of Alexandria while considerable areas in the Nile delta were flooded. Axis forces believed capture of Egypt was imminent. Italian leader Benito Mussolini flew to Libya to prepare for his triumphal entry into Cairo.
At 03:00 on the 1st of July, the 90th Light Infantry Division advanced east but strayed too far north. It ran into the 1st South African Division's defences and became pinned down. The 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions of the Afrika Korps were delayed by a sandstorm and then a heavy air attack. By daylight they circled round the back of Deir el Abyad where they found the feature occupied by the 18th Indian Infantry Brigade. This unit had arrived from Iraq just days earlier.
At about 10:00 on the 1st of July, the 21st Panzer Division attacked Deir el Shein. The 18th Indian Infantry Brigade held out the whole day in desperate fighting supported by 23 25-pounder gun-howitzers and 16 new 6-pounder anti-tank guns. Nine Matilda tanks also joined the defense. By evening the Germans succeeded in over-running them. The time they bought allowed Auchinleck to organize the defence of the western end of Ruweisat Ridge. During early afternoon, the 90th Light extricated itself from the El Alamein box defences and resumed its move eastward. It came under artillery fire from three South African brigade groups and was forced to dig in.
On the 2nd of July, Rommel ordered resumption of the offensive. Once again, the 90th Light failed to make progress so Rommel called the Afrika Korps to abandon its planned sweep southward. Instead he directed them to break through to the coast road by attacking east toward Ruweisat Ridge. An improvised formation called Robcol comprised a regiment each of field artillery and light anti-aircraft artillery plus a company of infantry. This unit was named after Brigadier Robert Waller. Robcol was able to buy time while two British armoured brigades joined the battle with 4th Armoured Brigade engaging the 15th Panzer Division.
The attack commenced at 23:00 on the 14th of July. Shortly before dawn on the 15th of July, the two New Zealand brigades took their objectives but minefields left behind created disarray among attackers. Impediments stopped reserves, artillery, and support arms from moving forward. The New Zealand brigades occupied exposed positions on the ridge without support weapons except for a few anti-tank guns. More significantly, the two British armoured brigades failed to move forward to protect the infantry.
At first light, a detachment from the 15th Panzer Divisions launched a counter-attack against New Zealand 4th Brigade's 22nd Battalion. A sharp exchange knocked out their anti-tank guns. The infantry found themselves exposed in the open with no alternative but to surrender. Approximately 350 New Zealanders were taken prisoner. While the 2nd New Zealand Division attacked western slopes of Ruweisat Ridge, the Indian 5th Brigade made small gains on the eastern part. By 07:00 word finally reached the 2nd Armoured Brigade which started to move north west.
Rommel rushed German troops to Ruweisat by 15:00. At 17:00 Lieutenant-General Walther Nehring launched his counter-attack. The 4th New Zealand Brigade was short of support weapons and ammunition. Once again, the anti-tank defences were overwhelmed. About 380 New Zealanders were taken prisoner including Captain Charles Upham who gained a second Victoria Cross for his actions. He destroyed a German tank, several guns, and vehicles with grenades despite being shot through the elbow by machine gun fire. At dusk, Nehring broke off the action.
Rommel decided his exhausted forces could make no further headway without resting and regrouping. He reported to the German High Command that his three German divisions numbered just 1,200 to 1,500 men each. Resupply proved highly problematic because of enemy interference from the air. Allied Desert Air Force concentrated fiercely on fragile and elongated supply routes while British mobile columns caused havoc in Axis rear echelons.
Shipments from Italy had been substantially reduced. In June Rommel received far fewer supplies compared with May. Only 400 vehicles arrived compared with 2,000 in May. Meanwhile, the Eighth Army reorganized and rebuilt benefiting from its short lines of communication. By the 4th of July, the Australian 9th Division entered the line in the north. On the 9th of July, the Indian 5th Infantry Brigade returned taking over the Ruweisat position. Fresh Indian 161st Infantry Brigade reinforced depleted Indian 5th Infantry Division.
Rommel complained bitterly about failure of important Italian convoys to get desperately needed tanks and supplies through to him. He always blamed the Italian Supreme Command never suspecting British code breaking. Dr James Sadkovich notes Rommel often displayed distinct tendency to blame and scapegoat his Italian allies to cover up his own mistakes. He would out-run logistics and squander valuable military hardware without clear strategic goals.
On 26/the 27th of July, Auchinleck launched Operation Manhood in northern sector as final attempt to break Axis forces. XXX Corps was reinforced with 1st Armoured Division less 22nd Armoured Brigade plus 4th Light Armoured Brigade and 69th Infantry Brigade. The plan was to break enemy line south of Miteirya ridge and exploit northwest. South Africans were to make and mark gap in minefields southeast of Miteirya by midnight of 26/the 27th of July.
By 01:00 on the 27th of July, 24th Australian Infantry Brigade captured eastern end of Miteirya ridge. To south, British 69th Brigade set off at 01:30 and managed to take objectives by about 08:00. However supporting anti-tank units became lost in darkness or delayed by minefields leaving attackers isolated when daylight came. Reports from battlefront regarding minefield gaps were confused and conflicting. Advance of 2nd Armoured Brigade was delayed.
Rommel launched immediate counter-attack and German armoured battlegroups overran two forward battalions of 69th Brigade. Meanwhile, 50th RTR supporting Australians had difficulty locating minefield gaps made by Australian 2/24th Battalion. They failed to find route through and were caught by heavy fire losing 13 tanks. Unsupported 2/28th Australian battalion on ridge was overrun. 69th Brigade suffered 600 casualties while Australians lost 400 for no gain. Eighth Army exhausted so Auchinleck ordered end to offensive operations on the 31st of July.
The battle was a stalemate but it halted Axis advance on Alexandria then Cairo and ultimately Suez Canal. Eighth Army suffered over 13,000 casualties in July including 4,000 in 2nd New Zealand Division and 3,000 in 5th Indian Infantry Division. They took 7,000 prisoners and inflicted heavy damage on Axis men and machines. In his appreciation of the 27th of July, Auchinleck wrote that Eighth Army would not be ready to attack again until mid-September at earliest.
In early August Winston Churchill visited Cairo with General Sir Alan Brooke Chief of Imperial General Staff. They decided to replace Auchinleck appointing XIII Corps commander William Gott to Eighth Army command. General Sir Harold Alexander became C-in-C Middle East Command. Persia and Iraq split from Middle East Command as separate Persia and Iraq Command. Gott killed on way to take up command when aircraft shot down. Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery appointed in place taking command on the 13th of August.
Battle remains important particularly in New Zealand due to country's significant contribution to defense of El Alamein. Heavy role played by Māori Battalion has been labelled war heroes since. Members like commander Frederick Baker James Henare and Eruera Te Whiti o Rongomai Love contributed significantly. Last named was killed in action.
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Common questions
When did the First Battle of El Alamein begin and end?
The First Battle of El Alamein began on the 1st of July 1942 and ended with the cessation of offensive operations on the 31st of July 1942. The battle started when the German 90th Light Infantry Division advanced eastward at 03:00 on the 1st of July.
Who commanded the British Eighth Army during the First Battle of El Alamein?
Lieutenant-General Claude Auchinleck assumed direct command of the British Eighth Army after relieving Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie on the 25th of June 1942. Bernard Montgomery later took command of the Eighth Army on the 13th of August following the death of William Gott.
Where was the defensive line established for the First Battle of El Alamein?
The British chose to defend a line stretching between the Mediterranean Sea and the Qattara Depression south of El Alamein. This position prevented Axis forces from outflanking them without crossing the Sahara Desert.
How many casualties did the Eighth Army suffer during the First Battle of El Alamein in July 1942?
The Eighth Army suffered over 13,000 casualties in July including 4,000 men from the 2nd New Zealand Division and 3,000 from the 5th Indian Infantry Division. The battle resulted in heavy damage to Axis men and machines while capturing 7,000 prisoners.
Why did Rommel fail to break through at Ruweisat Ridge during the First Battle of El Alamein?
Rommel failed to break through because his exhausted forces could make no further headway without resting and regrouping after repeated counter-attacks. His three German divisions numbered just 1,200 to 1,500 men each due to resupply problems caused by Allied air interference.