El Alamein facts
While investigating facts about El Alamein Ww2 and El Alamein Hotel, I found out little known, but curios details like:
The original plan for the Axis was to allow Italy to take the Balkans and North Africa, but they failed to do so adequately. The Afrika Korps was then formed in 1941 and sent to North Africa to support the Italians, although they took the lead in most of the major battles.
how did the battle of el alamein contribute to the allied victory?
After the initial Axis attack in the First Battle failed, Rommel had his troops dig in and build defensive networks, but they were too far from their headquarters in Tripoli, Libya and had to retreat.
Who commanded the eighth army at el alamein?
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across answering what happened at el alamein ww2. Here are 12 of the best facts about El Alamein Map and El Alamein Fountain I managed to collect.
what happened at el alamein?
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The British Eight Army did the majority of the fighting for the Allies in both battles.
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Montgomery was promoted to full general after his victory at El Alamein.
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Rommel had about 100,000 men, about half Italians, at his command for the First Battle, versus about 150,000 Allied troops. The numbers were even more lopsided for the Second Battle at about 115,000 Axis versus nearly 200,000 Allies.
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The geography of the region around el Alamein played a major roles in both battles and was a major reason for the Axis loss. The Qattara Depression was located about forty miles south of the coastal city. The Depression was nearly impenetrable by most tracked vehicles due to the combination of fine sands and escarpments, so the Axis forces were forced to attack el Alamein in a frontal attacking, giving the British the advantage of a bottleneck.
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The British 7th Armoured Division supplied most of the tanks for the Allies.
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Rommel earned his nickname the "Desert Fox" by defeating the British in a number of battles in 1941 and early 1942. Although usually outnumbered, he used maneuverability and quick strikes to his advantage.
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The Allies suffered about 13,000 casualties in both battles. The Axis suffered about 10,000 casualties in the First Battle but up to 60,000 in the Second, which meant that it would be nearly impossible for Rommel to hold North Africa, especially with the arrival of the Americans.
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Today, the city of el Alamein has a military museum and has world's only Axis military cemetery.
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The emblem of the Afrika Korps was a swastika superimposed over a palm tree.
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When Churchill said of the 1942 victory at El Alamein, "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning," he was exactly right. As he noted after the war, "Before Alamein, we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat."
