1942101October 23 to1kloc-0/41October, during the North Africa War of World War II, the British Eighth Army launched an offensive campaign in North Africa.

Due to the heavy losses of the Germans in the Soviet-German battlefield, especially in the Battle of Stalingrad, the German-Italian fascist leading group was forced to greatly reduce its support for African combat troops before the autumn of 1942. The German and Italian armies are exhausted, and weapons, ammunition and fuel are in short supply. This is extremely beneficial for the British army to turn to attack in the African theater and expel the German and Italian troops.

10 years1before October 23rd, the "African" tanks of the German and Italian army (commanded by Marshal Rommel) occupied the defensive front 60km west of Alaman. This group army consists of four German divisions and eight Italian divisions, with a total strength of about 80,000 people, 540 tanks, 65,438 guns+0,265,438 guns +09 guns and 350 planes. In order to stop and smash the British attack, the deep echelon structure was adopted, relying on the ring defense of supporting points and the solid defense line of large-scale mine laying. The 8th British Army (commander is General Montgomery) fighting in Egypt has a division of 10 and four independent brigades, with a total strength of 230,000, tanks 1440, artillery 23 1 door and aircraft 1 frame. Campaign attempt control; Left-wing Germans were restrained, and launched a main attack from southwest Alamansi to Sidi Hamid, oppressing the coastal groups of German and Italian troops to the coastal areas and annihilating them. The British army cleverly disguised the battle, making the Germans misjudge the main assault direction and the start time of the battle.

1942 10123 October 2 1: 40, after three days of air fire preparation and 20 minutes of artillery preparation, the British army turned to attack on the night of123 October, 65438. The breakthrough was made on a 9-kilometer-wide section. The density of British artillery is relatively small (50 guns per kilometer), which failed to suppress the enemy's firepower distribution. Although it fought all night, it just squeezed into the enemy's defensive position. The breakthrough turned into an unusually slow action of "eating into" the German defensive positions (the British army only advanced 7 kilometers before June 27th 10).

In the main attack direction, the 9th Division of Australia, the 5th Division of Britain, the 5th Division of China and New Zealand, and the 5th Division of South Africa/KLOC-0 Division of the 30th Army made smooth progress at first. After breaking through the enemy front, they quickly opened the way for the follow-up armored forces in the minefield. The 4th Indian Division on the left was stubbornly resisted by the enemy in the north of Ruvisat Ridge, and its attack was blocked. At 2: 00 a.m. on 24th, 10 Army 1 and 10 Armored Divisions were ordered to enter the battle from the minefield where the tunnel was being opened. Because the depth of the minefield exceeded expectations, only individual troops of 1 armored division passed through the minefield before the end of the day. In the early morning of 25th, after opening a passage in the minefield, the New Zealand Division advanced to the Matelia Ridge in the southwest, and was countered by the German 1st15th Armored Division. On 26th, the 9th Division of Australia captured some German positions at the northern end of the front line and then advanced to the coast, threatening the rear of 164 German division and repelling the counterattack of 15 German armored division. In the direction of assist, the 13 army launched an attack on the southern section of the German defense line, but it was blocked by German minefields and artillery fire, and little progress was made. On the morning of 24th, the 7th Armored Division and the 40th and 50th Infantry Divisions of this unit launched another attack, and were blocked by German fire after passing through the first minefield.

Since then, both sides have suffered heavy losses. On 26th, Rommel determined the main attack direction of the British army and began to transfer 2 1 armored division to the northern line. The British attack was frustrated and the attack was suspended on the 27 th; The 7th Armored Division moved northward to strengthen the main attack direction; Other units of the 13 Army were temporarily on the defensive and only attacked the enemy with small teams and artillery fire. On 26th, all Italian oil tankers carrying fuel to Africa were sunk by British naval and air forces, which led to the shortage of German oil, the logistical supply was in trouble, and the armored forces could not organize a large-scale counterattack. On the 29th, the 9th Australian Division and the 9th British Armored Brigade advanced to the coast and were repelled by the Germans. The German main force 2 1 Armored Division transferred from the downtown moved to the northern coast in an attempt to stop the British army from advancing westward along the highway. Montgomery changed his plan accordingly, determined to make a major breakthrough in the weak link of German defense north of Yao Ziling. 3 1, Australia's 9th Division reached and controlled the coastal areas, cutting off the retreat of the German164th Division. The German 2 1 Armored Division and the 90th Light Armored Division fought back, but failed. So far, there are only more than 200 tanks left in Germany and Italy, while more than 800 British tanks in the northern section of the front line have not yet been put into battle.

1 65438+1early morning of October 21,the British army launched a new attack according to the "pressure" plan. After getting ready for artillery fire, 15 1, 152 infantry brigade and the 9th armored brigade launched an attack, which met with tenacious resistance from the Germans. 1 armored division immediately went into battle, and the next day and night, a breakthrough was made at the junction of German 15 and 2 1 armored division. On the morning of the 4th, 10, the 7th armored division and the 4th Indian division attacked through the breach. The remnants of the German 15 and 2 1 armored divisions fought back, but most of the tanks were destroyed because there was no air cover. The rest of Dedi 164 Division, which was cut off in coastal areas, was also annihilated by the 9th Division of Australia. Rommel ordered the German and Italian troops to retreat across the board. Due to the shortage of fuel and vehicles, some heavy weapons were sent back by manpower, and the roads were crowded and the retreat was slow. The British pursued the situation and dispatched a large number of planes to bomb, which caused great losses to the retreating Germans. On the 6th, the British army stopped chasing because of the rain, which led to the smooth retreat of the armored motorized troops of the German and Italian armies. Only the Italian army 10 army was wiped out in the retreat, and the battle was over.

Comments: This battle was the first major victory achieved by the British army in Africa. This victory turned the war situation in North Africa in favor of the Allies, and the Allies began to take the strategic initiative. In the Battle of El Alamein, German and Italian troops suffered 55,000 casualties, were captured (30,000 captured and 25,000 killed), and lost 320 tanks, about/kloc-0.000 cannon. More than 4,600 British troops were killed and 8,900 injured. The characteristic of this battle is that the British army realized the suddenness of the battle with clever camouflage, and the pace, artillery and Tanzania worked closely together to break through the defense of the other side. The disadvantage is that the breakthrough speed of enemy defensive tactical map is extremely low. It did not exceed 1.5 km every day and night, and failed to achieve the goal of pressing the German and Italian troops to the coast. The British army did not have enough determination to pursue the retreating enemy, which made the German fascist army group retreat to the prepared defense area in an organized way.