Deir el Shein - Act 1

After the battle of Mersa Matrouh, Rommel led his troops back to Alexandria. They arrived at El Alamein June 29, exhausted. Without waiting for all its units to regroup, Rommel launches his Afrika Korps into an attack on the center …

1942-07-01

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After the battle of Mersa Matrouh, Rommel led his troops back to Alexandria. They arrived at El Alamein June 29, exhausted. Without waiting for all its units to regroup, Rommel launches his Afrika Korps into an attack on the center of the British forces, in order to encircle the "box" of El Alamein and cut in two Auchinleck's forces. During this advance, Afrikakorps stumbles onto the 18th Indian Brigade recently established in the "Box" of Deir el Shein, at the west end of Rouweizat Ridge. After positioning itself under the cover of the night, the 21st Panzer Division attacks on the morning of July 1 under cover of a sandstorm (the Khamsin). The battle rages all day, until the collapse of the Indian Brigade in the afternoon. Their sacrifice was not in vain however, as Rommel had lost eighteen of his precious Panzers in the attack and was now left with thirty-seven ones to continue its fight against the 8th Army.

Rouweizat Ridge, Egypt

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 forces (Germany and Italy) of the Panzer Army Africa (Panzerarmee Afrika) (which included the Afrika Korps under Field Marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) Erwin Rommel) and Allied (British Imperial and Commonwealth) forces (Britain, British India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand) of the Eighth Army (General Claude Auchinleck). The British prevented a second advance by the Axis forces into Egypt. Axis positions near El Alamein, only 66 mi (106 km) 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.

Wikipedia: First Battle of El Alamein

German

British

Game Type: Standard

Board Type: Desert

Website Access: Available