The North African Campaign Reaches a Critical Juncture

Following his stunning victory at Tobruk, newly promoted Field Marshal Erwin Rommel pressed his advantage in June 1942, driving British forces back across the Western Desert. The Axis advance through Libya had been spectacular – Rommel’s Afrika Korps and Italian allies now stood poised to strike at Egypt itself, threatening the Suez Canal and Britain’s vital Middle Eastern position.

General Claude Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief of British forces in the Middle East, made the difficult decision to personally assume command of the embattled Eighth Army. As Rommel’s forces captured Mersa Matruh on June 29, taking 8,000 prisoners and vast quantities of supplies, Auchinleck orchestrated a fighting retreat to prepared defenses at El Alamein – a last natural barrier before Alexandria and the Nile Delta.

The Strategic Importance of El Alamein

The El Alamein position offered unique defensive advantages that would shape the coming battle. Extending 40 miles from the Mediterranean coast south to the impassable Qattara Depression, this narrow front prevented Rommel from employing his favored flanking maneuvers through open desert. Auchinleck’s engineers transformed the position into a formidable network of minefields, barbed wire, and fortified “boxes” manned by determined British, Indian, Australian, New Zealand, and South African troops.

Rommel recognized the urgency of breaking through before British reinforcements arrived. In a letter to his wife on June 23, he wrote: “We’re on the move again. The next big objective should soon be ours. Speed is now the main thing.” But his overextended supply lines and exhausted troops faced growing challenges. The Afrika Korps entered the battle with only 37 operational tanks, while British air superiority and artillery took an increasing toll.

The First Battle of El Alamein (July 1-27, 1942)

Rommel launched his attack on July 1, hoping to replicate earlier successes. The initial assault by the 90th Light Division became disoriented in a sandstorm and ran headlong into prepared South African positions. Meanwhile, German panzer divisions encountered unexpectedly fierce resistance at Deir el Shein from inexperienced but determined Indian troops.

Auchinleck skillfully shifted reserves to meet threats, while exploiting Italian weaknesses in the Axis line. Australian forces captured key positions at Tel el Eisa on July 10, overrunning a critical German signals intelligence unit in the process. As fighting raged back and forth across the desert, Rommel’s limited resources dwindled further. By July 27, with his offensive stalled and supplies critically low, Rommel ordered his forces to dig in.

The Strategic Consequences

The July battles at El Alamein marked a decisive turning point. Auchinleck’s stubborn defense had halted the Axis advance just 60 miles from Alexandria, buying crucial time for British reinforcements. As German staff officer Friedrich von Mellenthin later admitted: “There’s no doubt we had no strength left to withstand a determined attack by the Eighth Army.”

In London, Churchill faced political turmoil over the North African setbacks. Surviving a no-confidence vote on July 2, he grew impatient for offensive action. Though Auchinleck had stabilized the front, Churchill would soon replace him with General Harold Alexander and Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery.

The Legacy of the First Alamein

This often-overlooked July battle set the stage for the more famous October-November engagement. Auchinleck’s defensive victory proved that Rommel’s Afrika Korps could be stopped, shattering the myth of the “Desert Fox’s” invincibility. The operational pause allowed both sides to rebuild, but ultimately favored the British with their superior logistics and growing material advantage.

The fighting demonstrated critical lessons in combined arms warfare under desert conditions – the importance of air superiority, the vulnerability of overextended supply lines, and the defensive power of properly prepared positions. These insights would shape Montgomery’s eventual victory in the Second Battle of El Alamein three months later, a triumph that Churchill would call “the end of the beginning” in the war against Nazi Germany.