The contrast between the British and Axis forces at the end of the battle at El Alamein could not have been greater. British Eighth Army had ground out a great victory and was poised to exploit this triumph by annihilating its enemy. Panzerarmee Afrika was defeated, scattered and broken to the extent that, for a while, command and control had almost ceased to exist.
As a result of the difficulties in shipping supplies across the Mediterranean Sea, Axis forces were always short of weapons and ammunition. In contrast, Eighth Army’s supply situation was much more satisfactory. Allied convoys to the great supply dumps in Egypt were routed around South Africa and up to the southern end of the Suez Canal along much safer sea routes. Great quantities of new matériel were thus constantly available to Montgomery’s army, including many of the latest weapons. By the start of the fourth year of the war in late 1942, new developments in weapons technology were reaching the battlefield from the production line.
One of the best new weapons was the 17-pdr anti-tank gun which arrived in Egypt in December and proved to be a very potent weapon against German tanks. Virtually all of the 2-pdr anti-tank guns had by then been replaced by great numbers of the excellent 6-pdr. The 6-pdr gun had also been used to up-gun Crusader and Valentine tanks, but the move was not very successful; the Crusader still remained unreliable and the Valentine lost its hull machine gun in the process. However, the arrival of quantities of American Sherman tanks more than made up for the poor-performing British models. Their 75mm M3 guns were a great improvement on the main armament of the Grant. Also arriving in numbers was the Churchill Mark III tank with a 6-pdr gun. This heavy infantry tank was mechanically reliable with good armoured protection.
Motorcycle dispatch riders in the desert. With all radio traffic liable to be intercepted by the other side, the only safe way of transmitting orders and information was by human hand. The task of locating isolated units, camouflaged from spying eyes and dispersed across a flat featureless landscape, was a difficult one for these motorcyclists. (DA-00265, War History Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington NZ)
A Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun keeps watch for Luftwaffe fighters as a well-dispersed convoy of trucks in the background makes its way across the desert. (IWM, E21873)
A New Zealand soldier examines an Italian anti-personnel ‘thermos bomb’. This weapon was dropped from aircraft and detonated if it was picked up or moved. Its name derived from its appearance which was similar to a common thermos drinking flask. The first New Zealander ‘killed in action’ casualty was a victim of this device in September 1940. (DA-00634, War History Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington NZ)
A feature of Eighth Army was the effectiveness of its artillery. There were ample supplies of both 25-pdr field guns and 5.5in. medium artillery pieces. Every attack launched by Montgomery’s forces was supported by a great weight of artillery fire. Later in the campaign the arrival of the 7.2in. howitzer provided impressive support in the attack. Its greater range (15,600m) and heavier shell gave good service against the fixed defences of the Mareth Line.
After Alamein some changes were made in the composition of Eighth Army with several formations disappearing from the theatre. The 8th Armoured Division had never seen action as a division and was disbanded two months after Alamein. The 10th Armoured Division began the pursuit, but was withdrawn after just three days and returned to Egypt for a refit, but never fought as a complete armoured formation again. The 44th Infantry Division was also broken up and dispersed after the battle. The Australian 9th Division was shipped back to Australia after Alamein to help bolster the nation’s defences when Japan had entered the war. The South African 1st Division returned to its homeland in December to be reconstituted as an armoured division. There was one addition to Eighth Army’s formations in Tunisia after the Mareth Line battle when 56th Infantry Division arrived to join Montgomery’s forces.
With Eighth Army during the pursuit was a contingent of Free French forces under the command of Gen. Philippe Leclerc (a nom de guerre adopted to protect his family in France). The group was nominally given the name ‘L’ Force and consisted of 555 French and 2,713 Colonial and African troops. The party had fought its way across the desert from the Chad region of French Equatorial Africa to meet up with Montgomery’s forces at Tripoli. It comprised camel and horse cavalry, some motorized infantry and a few guns. Also with Eighth Army from the days before Alamein was the Free French Flying Column, a small unit which consisted of two armoured car squadrons, one tank company (11 Crusaders and two Shermans) and two lorried platoons of infantry.
New Zealand gunners enjoy a cup of morning tea beside their quad tractor. Their pith helmets give them a colonial look, but this type of headgear was most effective for shading the wearer’s head from the sun. This lightweight cloth-covered helmet was common to both sides during the conflict in North Africa. (PA1-q-295-077-1012, War History Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington NZ)
New Zealand gunners man a 25-pdr field gun in Egypt during a spell of very cold desert weather. (DA- 02276, War History Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington NZ)
Protecting the skies above Eighth Army and giving support to actions on the ground was the Desert Air Force. The formation was building a steady reputation for itself through its organization and tactical ability. It had two major roles: first, to deny airspace to the enemy and, second, to support ground troops. The arrival of more Spitfire squadrons allowed it to deal with any appearance by the Luftwaffe. The concept of tactical air support was refined by the use of fighter-bombers working under the direction of forward air controllers located at the front with the leading army units. Tank-busting Hurricane fighters firing two 40mm cannons added to its armoury.
Dramatic and impressive night-time shot of a Daimler armoured car in the desert with supporting infantry. The photograph has most likely been posed for the cameraman. (IWM, E21333)
A German PzKpfw III Special with the longer 50mm gun lies abandoned on the desert floor. It looks undamaged and may well have just run out of fuel when trying to escape. (IWM, E21851)
A heavy German field gun and its half-tracked tractor which had been knocked out by New Zealand artillery near Gabes. (DA-06910, War History Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington NZ)
The roll-call of Rommel’s forces at the end of Alamein made depressing reading for Panzerarmee Afrika. It had entered the battle with a strong balance of infantry and armour, but much of this was decimated during the battle. It was true that the bulk of the infantry was Italian and was from divisions with little mobility suitable only for defence and consolidation, but the armour contained two crack armoured divisions within the Afrika Korps along with fairly competent, although less effective, Italian tank formations. In total Rommel had, under his command, three Italian corps containing, four infantry divisions, one parachute division, one motorized division and two armoured divisions. His German troops consisted of one armoured corps, two armoured divisions and two light divisions. Alamein changed all that.
On the morning of 4 November, the day on which the battle was deemed to have ended, the British Official History summed up the state of the Axis forces: ‘The enemy’s losses were tremendous, the German formations being reduced to skeletons and the Italian broken to bits.’ It stated that the Italian armoured divisions ‘Trento’, ‘Trieste’ and motorized division ‘Littorio’ had been almost wiped out. All other German and Italian formations had been ‘severely mauled’. Rommel had no clear picture of these losses in the chaos that followed the collapse. All he knew was that he had just 38 German tanks left out of a total of 249 that started the action.
The next day the Afrika Korps reported rough estimates of its strength; 15. Panzer-Division had eight tanks, 200 infantry, four anti-tank guns and 12 field guns left. None of its 88mm guns had survived. Much the same losses were also true for 21. Panzer-Division; it had 30 tanks, 400 infantry, 16 anti-tank guns, 25 field guns and no 88mm guns. The 164. leichte-Division had just 600 officers and men from its three Panzergrenadier regiments intact after the battle, again without any 88mm guns.
As for prisoners, 2,922 Germans and 4,148 Italians had been captured during the battle. More were to follow into captivity over the next few days as many of those fleeing the battlefield were rounded up. Most of the Italians were trying to make their escape on foot. Six days later the numbers had risen to 7,802 Germans and 22,071 Italians, almost 30,000 men in total.
It was from this sorry state of affairs that Rommel attempted to rebuild his army and evade total destruction. The poor supply situation forced the Axis army to work hard at salvaging and repairing weapons to keep them in service. What new weapons there were reached North Africa only spasmodically. The new 75mm Pak 40 anti-tank gun began arriving once Panzerarmee Afrika had reached Tunisia, as did the redesigned 88mm Flak 41 gun which had been modified for anti-tank use with a lower silhouette and an improved shield. Its formidable hitting power remained undiminished.
German troops manning a defensive line in the desert, armed with an 80mm mortar. (DA-08295, War History Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington NZ)
Italian troops in their own transport arrive into British lines to surrender after the capitulation of Axis forces in Tunisia. (DA-02049, War History Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington NZ)
During the first days of the retreat, more and more individuals who had evaded capture by trekking across barren terrain avoiding squadrons of tanks and roaming armoured cars rejoined their formations. One notable group of these stragglers turned up at Rommel’s battlewagon headquarters on 7 November. Generalmajor Ramcke had brought with him 600 survivors from his Parachute brigade, along with some men of the Italian Divisione ‘Folgore’, who had all been abandoned on the southern sector of the Alamein defences whilst the rest of their comrades fled. They trekked north-west across barren desert to join the remainder of the Axis army, fighting their way out of the trap laid by British armoured cars and reconnaissance troops.
Men of the New Zealand Division’s light cavalry relax on the top of their Stuart tank in a quiet moment between the action. (DA-02569, War History Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington NZ)
As Rommel’s retreat continued and he attempted to make various defensive stands and rearguard actions, losses continued to mount. However, some reinforcements began to arrive over rapidly shortening supply lines to offset these losses. Some battered formations were amalgamated or disbanded while others who were newly arrived in the theatre, mostly Italian, were sent forwards as an advance guard. Newly arrived during the retreat were the 80ª Divisione ‘La Spezia’ and 16ª Divisione Motorizzate ‘Pistoia’. The net result was a gathering strength, although never strong enough to commit to a full pitched battle or even a long and resolute defence of any given position. It was strong enough to keep Montgomery’s forces at arm’s length, but not strong enough to stop them.
Allied 18th Army Group Gen. Sir Harold Alexander
Eighth Army Gen. Sir Bernard Montgomery
New Zealand Corps Lt. Gen. Sir Bernard C. Freyberg
2nd New Zealand Division Lt. Gen. Sir Bernard C. Freyberg
NZ 5th Infantry Brigade
NZ 6th Infantry Brigade
8th Independent Armoured Brigade Brig. Edward Custance
French ‘L’ Force Général de Division Philippe Leclerc
XXX Corps Lt. Gen. Oliver Leese
50th (Northumbrian) Division Maj. Gen. J. S. Nichols
69th Infantry Brigade
150th Infantry Brigade
151st Infantry Brigade
51st (Highland) Division Maj. Gen. D. N. Wimberley
152nd Infantry Brigade
153rd Infantry Brigade
154th Infantry Brigade
4th Indian Division Maj. Gen. F. I. S. Tuker
5th Indian Brigade
7th Indian Brigade
11th Indian Brigade
201st Guards Motor Brigade Brig. J. Gascoigne
X Corps Lt. Gen. Brian Horrocks
1st Armoured Division Maj. Gen. R. Briggs
2nd Armoured Brigade
7th Motor Brigade
7th Armoured Division Maj. Gen. G. Erskine
4th Light Armoured Brigade
22nd Armoured Brigade
131st Brigade
Heeresgruppe Afrika (Army Group Africa)
Generaloberst Hans-Jürgen von Arnim
First Italian Army Generale di Corpo Giovanni Messe
Italian XX Corpo Generale di Divisione Taddeo Orlando
136ª Divisione Giovani Fascisti Generale di Divisione Nino Sozzani
136º Reggimento di Fanteria Giovani Fascisti
8º Reggimento Bersaglieri
101ª Divisione ‘Trieste’ Generale di Brigata Francesco La Ferla
65º Reggimento Valtellini
66º Reggimento Valtellini
90. leichte-Afrika-Division Generalmajor Theodor Graf von Sponeck
Infanterie-Regiment 155
Infanterie-Regiment 200
Infanterie-Regiment 361
Panzer-Regiment Afrika
Italian XXI Corpo Generale di Corpo d’Armata Paolo Berardi
80ª Divisione ‘La Spezia’ Generale di Brigata Gavino Pizzolato
125º Reggimento di Fanteria
126º Reggimento di Fanteria
16ª Divisione Motorizzate ‘Pistoia’ Generale di Brigata Giuseppe Falugi
35º Pistoia Reggimento Pistoia
36º Pistoia Reggimento Pistoia
German 164. leichte-Afrika-Division Generalmajor Kurt Freiherr von Liebenstein
Panzergrenadier-Regiment 125
Panzergrenadier-Regiment 382
Panzergrenadier-Regiment 433
19. Flak Division (Luftwaffe) Generalmajor Gothard Frantz
Raggruppamento Sahariano (Saharan Group) Generale di Brigata Alberto Mannerini
Deutsches Afrika Korps (DAK) General der Panzertruppen Hans Cramer
15. Panzer-Division Generalleutnant Willibald Borowietz
Panzer-Regiment 8
Panzergrenadier-Regiment 115
21. Panzer-Division Generalmajor Heinrich-Hermann von Hülsen
Panzer-Regiment 5
Panzergrenadier-Regiment 104
In reserve with PzAOK 5, but subject to call.
10. Panzer-Division Generalleutnant Friedrich Freiherr von Broich
Panzer-Regiment 7
Panzergrenadier-Regiment 69