The Battle of El-Alamein and

Operation TorchAaron Correya, Harel Mizrahi, Emmett

Gruber, Evan Minicucci, and John Leitch

ThesisThe Battle of El-Alamein and Operation Torch both expelled the Germans from North Africa, and sprouted Allied dominance in the Mediterranean Sea to create another front, of Southern Europe, for the Allies to attack from.

Axis:❖ Capture the Suez Canal and the Middle Eastern

Oil Fields➢ Without the Suez it would be very hard for the

Allies to supply themselves Allies:❖ Stop Germans from reaching the Suez❖ Churchill wanted a victory to improve moral❖ Wanted to relieve pressure off the Red Army in

the East

Objectives of El-Alamein

● It was fought between one of the two of the best commanders in WWII…○ Bernard Montgomery -- British general○ Erwin Rommel -- German general

● In the summer of 1942, the Allies were getting spanked by the Axis forces in Europe

● If the Afrika Korps got to the Suez Canal, the Allies would have lost an extremely important supply route, and Germany would have access to tons of oil from the Middle East

First battle of Al-Alamein 1942 July 1- July 22

July 1st- General Erwin Rommel attempts to breakthrough the Allied defense

August 1-30 German forces get support by another Italian division

September 2nd- Rommels assault is thwarted, his tank forces suffering high losses and pushed back to Bab el Qattara

October 23rd- Allies start break through with “Operation Lightfoot”

October 25th- Four Allied brigades breakthrough the German Defense lines

October 25th- Montgomery enacts “Operation Supercharge”

November 4th- Allies defeat Rommel's troops by making them retreat throughout North Africa

El-Alamein Timeline

Switch to Evan’s fancy presentation

❖ El-Alamein was a bottleneck between the Mediterranean and the Qattara Depression

❖ Montgomery got ahold of Rommel’s plans and supply lines

❖ August 1942 Germans are low on fuel so Rommel attacks quickly

❖ He attempts to attack in the South but there are a lot of land mines and he is forced to retreat

The Battle

❖ Rommel retreats and the British decide not to follow him➢ This angers Chihill as he thought Montgomery

was giving up the win➢ Decide to enact “Operation Bertram”

■ Set up dummy tanks in south to convince Germans they will attack there

➢ Execute Operation Lightfoot in the North

The Battle (cont.)

❖ An Allied attack in the north were infantry would attack first ➢ They cleared out mines and made a path wide

enough for tanks to get through❖ This attack eventually failed as the tanks and

infantry were not able to get as far as they initially thought➢ Caused a large backup in the Tank line ➢ Infantry was forced to dig in

Operation Lightfoot oct. 23 1942

Dummy tanks

Operation LF

Operation LF

❖ Starts after Germans are occupied with Australians near the Mediterranean

❖ British then flank Rommel and attack him south of his troops

❖ Heavy losses by the Germans and they are forced to retreat back to the east

Operation Supercharge oct. 25

1942

GermAus

Brit

Nov 8 1942 Allies reach African shores

Operation Torch Timeline

Nov 12 1942 British Paratroopers land in airfield near Bone

Nov 17-18 1942 Allies capture Beja and Sidi Nsir

Nov 26 1942Medjez el Bab is taken by the Allies

Nov 26 --> onAllies Move East

❖ British-American invasion of French North Africa during the African campaign.➢ Started on November 8, 1942.

❖ Goals:➢ Clear the Axis powers from North Africa➢ Attack Vichy France (seen as allied with Nazis)➢ Gain control of Mediterranean to attack South

Eu.❖ Vichy France & Germany vs. U.S, U.K, Free France

Operation Torch

❖ 2nd Major attack of North Africa designed to expel Axis troops

❖ Multiple areas that the Allies to attacked ❖ Vichy French troops were more of a nuisance to

the Allies (Allies take the areas quickly)❖ Once they held the land, they pushed further

east (right towards retreating Afrika Korps from El-Alamein)

The Operation

● By January 1943, Egypt was saved and 8th Mediterranean army (Allies) won back the gates of Tripoli. ● Rommel’s group got the absolute crap kicked out of them

and the Axis forces were forced out of North Africa● Allies gain more control over the Mediterranean● “Soft Underbelly” of Europe exposed to the Allies● Turning point in war that also increased morale for the Allies

who hadn’t been doing so hot before.● “Unconditional Surrender” idea created

Effects of Operation Torch and El-Alamein

http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/battle-of-el-alamein.asphttp://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/operation-torch-the-allied-invasion-of-north-africa.aspwww.huffingtonpost.co.uk570 www.fortcampbellcourier.comhttp://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_el_alamein.htmhttp://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/operation_torch.htmhttp://www.thehistoryreader.com/modern-history/unconditional-surrender-questioning-fdrs-prerequisite-peace/http://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=249http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/art-120701/American-troops-land-near-Algiers-on-Nov?http://themellowjihadi.com/tag/operation-torch/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_El_Alameinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Torchhttp://www.39-45war.com/el_alamein.htmlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/9620305/El-Alamein-veterans-gather-in-Egypt-for-70th-anniversary-of-battle.htmlhttp://www.ww2incolor.com/britain/SPIT-EL-ALAMEIN.htmlhttp://www.oldpicz.com/operation-torch/

Works cited