Editing Erwin Rommel (section)

==== El Alamein ====
===== First Battle of El Alamein =====
{{Main|First Battle of El Alamein}}
[[File:Alamein1st1942 07.svg|thumb|El Alamein and surrounding area]]

Rommel continued his pursuit of the Eighth Army, which had fallen back to heavily prepared defensive positions at [[El Alamein]]. This region is a natural choke point, where the [[Qattara Depression]] creates a relatively short line to defend that could not be outflanked to the south because of the steep escarpment. During this time Germans prepared numerous propaganda postcards and leaflets for the Egyptian and Syrian populations urging them to "chase English out of the cities", warning them about "Jewish peril" and with one leaflet printed in 296,000 copies and aimed at Syria stating among others

{{Blockquote|''Because Marshal Rommel, at the head of the brave Axis troops, is already rattling the last gates of England's power! Arabs! Help your friends achieve their goal: abolishing the English-Jewish-American tyranny!''<ref>{{cite book |title=Nazi Palestine: The Plans for the Extermination of the Jews in Palestine |first1=Klaus-Michael |last1=Mallmann |first2=Martin |last2=Cüppers |pages=110–111 |publisher=Enigma Books |date=2010}}</ref>}}

On 1 July, the [[First Battle of El Alamein]] began. Rommel had around 100 available tanks. The Allies were able to achieve local air superiority, with heavy bombers attacking the 15th and 21st Panzers, who had also been delayed by a sandstorm. The 90th Light Division veered off course and were pinned down by South African artillery fire. Rommel continued to attempt to advance for two more days, but repeated sorties by the Desert Air Force meant he could make no progress.{{sfn|Butler|2015|pp=347–350}} On 3 July, he wrote in his diary that his strength had "faded away".{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=913}} Attacks by 21st Panzer on 13 and 14 July were repulsed, and an Australian attack on 16–17 July was held off with difficulty.{{sfn|Fraser|1993|p=345}} Throughout the first half of July, Auchinleck concentrated attacks on the Italian [[60th Infantry Division Sabratha]] at Tel el Eisa. The ridge was captured by the [[26th Brigade (Australia)|26th Australian Brigade]] on 16 July.{{sfn|Butler|2015|p=351}} Both sides suffered similar losses throughout the month, but the Axis supply situation remained less favourable. Rommel realised that the tide was turning.{{sfn|Fraser|1993|p=346}} A break in the action took place at the end of July as both sides rested and regrouped.{{sfn|Butler|2015|p=354}}

Preparing for a renewed drive, the British replaced Auchinleck with General [[Harold Alexander]] on 8 August. [[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Bernard Montgomery]] was made the new commander of the Eighth Army that same day. The Eighth Army had initially been assigned to General [[William Gott]], but he was killed when his plane was shot down on 7 August.{{sfn|Butler|2015|pp=355, 370}} Rommel knew that a British convoy carrying over 100,000 tons of supplies was due to arrive in September.{{sfn|Douglas-Home|1973|p=171}} He decided to launch an attack at the end of August with the 15th and 21st Panzer Division, 90th Light Division, and the Italian XX Motorized Corps in a drive through the southern flank of the El Alamein lines.{{sfn|Douglas-Home|1973|loc=map|p=163}} Expecting an attack sooner rather than later, Montgomery fortified the Alam el Halfa ridge with the 44th Division, and positioned the 7th Armoured Division about {{convert|15|mi|km|round=5|order=flip}} to the south.{{sfn|Hoffman|2004|pp=47–48}}

===== Battle of Alam El Halfa =====
{{Main|Battle of Alam el Halfa}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-784-0249-04A, Nordafrika, Rommel im Befehlsfahrzeug "Greif".2.jpg|thumb|left|Rommel in a [[Sd.Kfz. 250]]/3]]

The [[Battle of Alam el Halfa]] was launched on 30 August. The terrain left Rommel with no choice but to follow a similar tactic as he had at previous battles: the bulk of the forces attempted to sweep around from the south while secondary attacks were launched on the remainder of the front. It took much longer than anticipated to get through the minefields in the southern sector, and the tanks got bogged down in unexpected patches of quicksand (Montgomery had arranged for Rommel to acquire a falsified map of the terrain).{{sfn|Hoffman|2004|p=48}}{{sfn|Douglas-Home|1973|p=165}} Under heavy fire from British artillery and aircraft, and in the face of well-prepared positions that Rommel could not hope to outflank for lack of fuel, the attack stalled. By 2 September, Rommel realised the battle was unwinnable, and decided to withdraw.{{sfn|Carver|1962|p=67}}

On the night of 3 September, the 2nd New Zealand Division and 7th Armoured Division positioned to the north engaged in an assault, but they were repelled in a fierce rearguard action by the 90th Light Division. Montgomery called off further action to preserve his strength and allow for further desert training for his forces.{{sfn|Carver|1962|p=70}} In the attack, Rommel had suffered 2,940 casualties and lost 50 tanks, a similar number of guns, and 400 lorries, vital for supplies and movement. The British losses, except tank losses of 68, were much less, further adding to the numerical inferiority of [[Panzer Army Africa]]. The Desert Air Force inflicted the highest proportions of damage on Rommel's forces. He now realised the war in Africa could not be won.{{sfn|Rommel|1982|p=286}} Physically exhausted and suffering from a liver infection and low blood pressure, Rommel flew home to Germany to recover his health.{{sfn|Butler|2015|p=372}}{{sfn|Hoffman|2004|p=50}} General [[Georg Stumme]] was left in command in Rommel's absence.{{sfn|Douglas-Home|1973|p=171}}

===== Second Battle of El Alamein =====
{{Main|Second Battle of El Alamein}}
[[File:Destroyed Panzer IIIs near Tel el Eisa 1942.jpg|thumb|Destroyed [[Panzer III]]s at Tel el Eisa, near El Alamein (1942)]]
[[File:2 Battle of El Alamein 010.png|thumb|[[Second Battle of El Alamein]]. Situation on 28 October 1942]]

Improved decoding by British intelligence (see [[Ultra (cryptography)|Ultra]]) meant that the Allies had advance knowledge of virtually every Mediterranean convoy, and only 30 per cent of shipments were getting through.{{sfn|Hoffman|2004|p=52}} In addition, Mussolini diverted supplies intended for the front to his garrison at Tripoli and refused to release any additional troops to Rommel.{{sfn|Butler|2015|p=362}} The increasing Allied air superiority and lack of fuel meant Rommel was forced to take a more defensive posture than he would have liked for the [[second Battle of El Alamein]].{{sfn|Douglas-Home|1973|p=172}} The German defences to the west of the town included a minefield {{convert|5|mi|km|order=flip|spell=on|abbr=off|sigfig=1}} deep with the main defensive line—itself several thousand yards deep—to its west.{{sfn|Fraser|1993|p=370}} This, Rommel hoped, would allow his infantry to hold the line at any point until motorised and armoured units in reserve could move up and counterattack any Allied breaches.{{sfn|Rommel|1982|p=299}} The British offensive began on 23 October. Stumme, in command in Rommel's absence, died of an apparent heart attack while examining the front on 24 October, and Rommel was ordered to return from his medical leave, arriving on the 25th.{{sfn|Butler|2015|pp=375–377}} Montgomery's intention was to clear a narrow path through the minefield at the northern part of the defences, at the area called Kidney Ridge, with a feint to the south. By the end of 25 October, the 15th Panzer, the defenders in this sector, had only 31 serviceable tanks remaining of their initial force of 119.{{sfn|Fraser|1993|p=373}} Rommel brought the 21st Panzer and Ariete Divisions north on 26 October, to bolster the sector. On 28 October, Montgomery shifted his focus to the coast, ordering his 1st and 10th Armoured Divisions to attempt to swing around and cut off Rommel's line of retreat. Meanwhile, Rommel concentrated his attack on the Allied [[Salient (military)|salient]] at Kidney Ridge, inflicting heavy losses. However, Rommel had only 150 operational tanks remaining, and Montgomery had 800, many of them [[M4 Sherman|Shermans]].{{sfn|Butler|2015|pp=378–380}}

Montgomery, seeing his armoured brigades losing tanks at an alarming rate, stopped major attacks until the early hours of 2 November, when he opened Operation Supercharge, with a massive artillery barrage.{{sfn|Fraser|1993|p=378}} Due to heavy losses in tanks, towards the end of the day, Rommel ordered his forces to disengage and begin to withdraw.{{sfn|Fraser|1993|pp=379–380}} At midnight, he informed the OKW of his decision, and received a reply directly from Hitler the following afternoon: he ordered Rommel and his troops to hold their position to the last man. Rommel, who believed that the lives of his soldiers should never be squandered needlessly, was stunned.{{sfn|Butler|2015|pp=385–386}} Rommel initially complied with the order, but after discussions with Kesselring and others, he issued orders for a retreat on 4 November.{{sfn|Fraser|1993|pp=381–383}} The delay proved costly in terms of his ability to get his forces out of Egypt. He later said the decision to delay was what he most regretted from his time in Africa.{{sfn|Rommel|1982|p=327}} Meanwhile, the British 1st and 7th Armoured Division had broken through the German defences and were preparing to swing north and surround the Axis forces.{{sfn|Butler|2015|p=389}} On the evening of the 4th, Rommel finally received word from Hitler authorising the withdrawal.{{sfn|Fraser|1993|p=383}}