El Alamein, Jack Murray [best autobiographies to read .txt] 📗

necessary to win the fight, were forced to retreat towards Tripoli. This stretched the supply lines of the Allies to breaking point and the attack petered out.

Crusader was a victory of sorts for the Allies, but the cost was great in terms of men and materiel. The operation succeeded insofar as it managed to clear the Axis from the eastern part of Libya (Cyrenaica). However, the objective went beyond moving the Axis from Libya. The original concept was to meet them head on and defeat them in detail. The fog of war prevented this from occurring. Instead, the Axis troops were able to retreat in a relatively ordered manner which allowed them to regroup and rebuild their strength.

The failure of the Allies was writ large in early 1942 as the DAK returned to fight and sent the Allies back to Egypt.

Axis Counter-Offensive, Operation Theseus (Jan-Feb 1941)

Following the "Crusader" battles, both sides settled into defensive positions. In particular, the British wished to reduce the supply burden and make ready for Operation Acrobat, a 1941 plan for a westward advance against Tripolitania.

Meanwhile, the Axis were receiving reinforcements and the Germans counter-attacked on 21st January 1942. The renewed German offensive took the British by surprise and defeated the 2nd Armoured Brigade in detail. Within two days, the brigade was down from around 150 to 75 tanks, against a German loss of 29 tanks out of 100. By 28th January, Benghazi had fallen followed by Timimi on 3rd February. By now the Germans and Italians captured a huge stock of petrol and ammunition that the British were preparing for Operation Acrobat, scheduled for mid-February. By 6th February, the Allies had been driven back to the Gazala line, a few miles west of Tobruk, from which the Axis had retired only seven weeks earlier.

The Allies had, once more, been guilty of dispersing units all over the desert, rather than concentrating their strength in one. Morale sank and arguments began over culpability. Lieutenant-General Alfred Reade Godwin-Austen (XIII Corps) resigned over differences with the Eighth Army commander, Neil Ritchie.

Battle of Gazala, the Fall of Tobruk and Mersa Matruh (May-June 1941)

By February, the front had moved eastwards through Libya arriving just west of Tobruk. Following their withdrawal, the Allies had been busy creating the "Gazala Line",  a series of defended  boxes running from Gazala south into the desert.

These boxes were defended by a full brigade, barbed wire and mines. Plugging the gaps between the boxes were roving armoured units. The most important of these "Boxes" was Bir Hacheim, manned by the 1st Free French Brigade consisting mainly of French Legionnaires. Other boxes, Knightsbridge and Retma, were manned by British or South Africans and reached towards the sea.

The Allies still outnumbered the Germans and Italians 2 to 1 in tanks, as the Axis had seven German and three Italian regiments versus fourteen armoured regiments. The Allies had also received the new American Grant Tanks which had thicker armour and a 75mm gun. These were a match for the previously superior Panzer Mark III and IV tanks.

Operation Buckshot was planned for June to destroy the Panzerarmee and re-capture Cyrenaica but in early May defensive measures on the Egyptian border were given priority, as it became apparent an Axis attack was imminent.

Early on 27th May, a swift German advance overran the 7th Armoured Division HQ. This scattered the 7th Motor Brigade. The 7th Motor Brigade withdrew to the Retma Box, fifteen miles east of Bir Hacheim. Meanwhile the 4th Armoured Brigade fought all day to halt the advance, but the 8th Hussars and 3rd RTR fared badly in the onslaught. The latter was reduced to just five Grants and eight Honeys. Other brigades were similarly overwhelmed. By the afternoon of the 27th the German attack had shattered the 7th Armoured Division and they were upon Knightsbridge Box.

The Germans overran the Box at Retma pushing the Allies back to east of Bir El Gubi. Following on from this success, the Panzers headed north, outflanking the Gazala Boxes. This stretched their supply lines so much that they took a direct route through the minefields and very heavy fighting took place an area which was to become known as "The Cauldron". On 28th May, the 3rd and 5th RTR offered stiff resistance. The tussle continued in The Cauldron over the next few days in the midst of sandstorms, without any clear advantage being gained by either side but with a severe impact on 5th RTR tank strength.

Finally, Ritchie ordered a counter-attack, Operation Aberdeen on 5th June. The battle further reduced the Allies tank strength and when the Axis attacked again, they scattered the 7th Armoured Division once more.

The Allies were in some disorder. Resistance continued over the next few days against the intense Axis assault. On the evening of 10th June, the Germans finally forced the Free French to withdraw from Bir Hacheim. This left the Axis free to focus on the other boxes of the Gazala Line.

On 12th June the 22nd and 4th Armoured Brigades with caught between the 15th and 21st Panzer Division and were forced to withdraw from the Knightsbridge Box, albeit in good order. This left the Gazala battlefield to the Axis.

This remaining boxes north of Knightsbridge were cut off and the road to Tobruk was open. By now most of the 8th Army was in retreat to the El Alamein line.

By the evening of 15th June, the 4th Armoured Brigade was reduced to 24 Honeys and 12 Grants. By16th June they were back at Sidi Rezegh and El Adem. A day later, the 4th Armoured Brigade withdrew to the Egyptian border following a fierce battle with the Axis tanks. Tobruk fell on 20th June 1942. This was final confirmation of the Allied defeat.

The cost to both sides of this period of fighting was high. The Germans were reduced to under 50 tanks and with around 2,500 infantry fit to fight. The two Italian Divisions (Ariete and Trieste) had about the same number of infantry and around 14 tanks.

General Ritchie