The Stalemate in North Africa

By mid-1942, the North African campaign had reached its critical juncture. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps stood just 80 kilometers from Alexandria, having pushed British forces back to the El Alamein line – the last defensible position before the Nile Delta. The strategic prize of the Suez Canal seemed within Hitler’s grasp. Yet beneath this apparent success lay growing problems that would ultimately decide the desert war.

Rommel’s forces were dangerously overextended. Supply lines stretched precariously back to Tripoli, some 2,000 kilometers west, while British forces received steady reinforcements through Alexandria’s ports. The Desert Fox recognized this vulnerability, writing to Berlin that without adequate supplies, “continuing the Afrika Korps’ victories on this stage of war would be nearly impossible.” His warnings went unheeded as Hitler focused resources on the Eastern Front.

The Birth of the Devil’s Garden

Following the Afrika Korps’ defeat at Alam el Halfa in September 1942, Rommel made the painful decision to transition from his preferred mobile warfare to static defense. The resulting defensive network would become legendary as the “Devil’s Garden” – a complex system designed to compensate for his army’s material shortages.

Stretching 64 kilometers from the Mediterranean coast to the impassable Qattara Depression, this defensive masterpiece contained nearly 500,000 mines laid in multiple layers. About 3% were particularly deadly “jumping mines” that sprang waist-high before detonating, scattering lethal steel balls. Engineers booby-trapped the field with interconnected grenades and artillery shells. Behind this deadly barrier waited infantry, artillery, anti-tank guns, and the remaining panzers.

Rommel’s tactical brilliance shone in this design. Knowing Montgomery would likely attack frontally (flanking being impossible due to terrain), he created killing zones where British armor would funnel into pre-sighted artillery and anti-tank positions after negotiating the minefields.

The Human Dimension of War

While preparing defenses, Rommel also attended to his troops’ morale. The Afrika Korps organized concerts, chess tournaments, and even a comedy troupe to relieve tension. The 25th Artillery Regiment celebrated firing their 80,000th shell, while the 15th Panzer Division’s bakers marked their 4 millionth loaf – dark humor highlighting their prolonged deployment.

Meanwhile, personal worries weighed on Rommel. Letters from his son Manfred revealed a teenager’s admiration: “Our right flank had no neighbor, our flank was unprotected, our rear had no troops, but Field Marshal Rommel always stood at our forefront!” This familial warmth contrasted sharply with his deteriorating health and frustration with Italian allies he called “a millstone around our necks.”

Montgomery’s Meticulous Preparations

Facing Rommel’s defenses, General Bernard Montgomery planned meticulously. His “Operation Lightfoot” called for three simultaneous thrusts: a main northern attack by Lieutenant-General Oliver Leese’s XXX Corps infantry to clear paths through minefields for Herbert Lumsden’s X Corps armor, while Brian Horrocks’ XIII Corps launched a southern diversion.

Montgomery innovated tactically, reversing conventional wisdom by targeting infantry first then isolating armor – his “crumbling” tactic. He famously declared: “I decided to reverse this principle and to destroy first the unarmored formations, while temporarily holding off the armored formations.”

Crucial to success was Operation Bertram, an elaborate deception masterminded by Dudley Clarke’s “A Force.” They hid 6,000 tons of supplies in old trenches, disguised 1,000 guns as trucks, and built fake infrastructure in the south to suggest a later attack. Meanwhile, the real buildup in the north was concealed through ingenious camouflage.

The Moonlit Offensive Begins

On October 23, 1942, under a full moon, Montgomery launched his attack. At 9:40 PM, 1,000 guns opened fire in history’s greatest artillery barrage since World War I. The earth trembled as shells rained on Axis positions at a rate of 600 per minute. British infantry advanced behind a creeping barrage, bagpipes wailing as engineers cleared paths through minefields.

Confusion gripped Axis command. General Georg Stumme, temporarily replacing the ailing Rommel, died of a heart attack during the chaotic opening hours. The British naval bombardment and southern feint successfully distracted German reserves. Though initial progress was slow – with some units advancing just 2.5 kilometers by dawn – Montgomery maintained relentless pressure.

The Tide Turns in the Desert

The battle’s turning point came with the Australian 9th Division’s capture of Point 29, a vital position overlooking Axis supply routes. Rommel, recalled from medical leave, arrived on October 25 to find his forces critically short of fuel and ammunition. His desperate counterattacks, including throwing the 15th Panzer Division against British positions, failed with heavy losses.

By November 2, after Operation Supercharge’s decisive armored thrust, the Afrika Korps’ defenses collapsed. Hitler’s “stand and die” order was ignored as Rommel began a retreat that wouldn’t stop until Tunisia. The British victory proved complete, though costly – 13,500 casualties to the Axis’ 30,000 (including 20,000 prisoners).

Legacy of the Devil’s Garden

El Alamein marked the first major Allied land victory against Germany and proved a psychological turning point. Churchill famously declared: “Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat.” The battle demonstrated Montgomery’s methodical approach could defeat Rommel’s tactical brilliance when Allied material superiority was properly utilized.

Rommel’s Devil’s Garden remains a textbook example of defensive engineering under constraints, while Montgomery’s combined arms approach and emphasis on deception influenced Allied strategy for the remainder of the war. The battle also highlighted the critical importance of logistics and air superiority in modern warfare – lessons that would shape military thinking for decades.

Today, the El Alamein battlefield stands as a somber reminder of the desert war’s ferocity, where two master tacticians clashed in a contest that helped determine the course of World War II and the fate of North Africa.