First Battle of El Alamein
The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War, fought in Egypt between Axis (German and Italian) forces of the Panzer Army Africa—which included the Afrika Korps under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel—and Allied (British Empire and Commonwealth) forces of the Eighth Army under General Claude Auchinleck.
| First Battle of El Alamein | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Western Desert Campaign of World War II | |||||||
British infantry manning a sandbagged defensive position near El Alamein, 17 July 1942. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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Italy Germany |
United Kingdom India New Zealand Australia South Africa | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Ettore Bastico Erwin Rommel Walther Nehring Benvenuto Gioda Giuseppe De Stefanis Enea Navarini |
Claude Auchinleck William Ramsden William Gott William Holmes | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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96,000 troops (56,000 Italian, 40,000 German) 70 tanks initially (585 tanks later) ~500 planes |
150,000 troops 179 tanks initially (1,114 tanks later) 1,000+ artillery pieces 1,500+ planes | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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10,000 killed or wounded 7,000 prisoners | 13,250 casualties | ||||||
The British prevented a second advance by the Axis forces into Egypt. Axis positions near El Alamein, only 106 km (66 mi) from Alexandria, were dangerously close to the ports and cities of Egypt, the base facilities of the Commonwealth forces and the Suez Canal. However, the Axis forces were too far from their base at Tripoli in Libya to remain at El Alamein indefinitely, which led both sides to accumulate supplies for more offensives, against the constraints of time and distance.
The battle and the Second Battle of El Alamein three months later remain important to some of the countries that took part. Particularly in New Zealand, this is due to the country's significant contribution to the defence of El Alamein, especially the heavy role the Māori Battalion played. Members of this battalion have been labelled war heroes since, such as commander Frederick Baker, James Henare and Eruera Te Whiti o Rongomai Love, the last of whom was killed in action.