Phase one: The Break-In Prior to the main barrage, there was a diversion by the
24th Australian Brigade, which involved the 15th Panzer Division being subjected to heavy fire for a few minutes. Then at 21:40 (Egyptian Summer Time) on 23 October on a calm, clear evening under the bright sky of a full moon, Operation Lightfoot began with a 1,000-gun barrage. The fire plan had been arranged so that the first rounds from the 882 guns from the field and medium batteries would land along the front at the same time. After twenty minutes of general bombardment, the guns switched to precision targets in support of the advancing infantry. The shelling plan continued for five and a half hours, by the end of which each gun had fired about 600 rounds, about 529,000 shells. Operation Lightfoot alluded to the infantry attacking first. Anti-tank mines would not be tripped by soldiers stepping on them since they were too light. As the infantry advanced, engineers had to clear a path for the tanks coming behind. Each gap was to be wide, which was just enough to get tanks through in single file. The engineers had to clear a route through the Devil's Gardens. It was a difficult task that was not achieved because of the depth of the Axis minefields. At 22:00, the four infantry divisions of XXX Corps began to move. The objective was to establish a bridgehead before dawn at the imaginary line in the desert where the strongest enemy defences were situated, on the far side of the second mine belt. Once the infantry reached the first minefields, the mine sweepers, including Reconnaissance Corps troops and
sappers, moved in to create a passage for the armoured divisions of X Corps. Progress was slower than planned but at 02:00, the first of the 500 tanks crawled forward. By 04:00, the lead tanks were in the minefields, where they stirred up so much dust that there was no visibility at all, traffic jams developed and tanks bogged down. Only about half of the infantry attained their objectives and none of the tanks broke through. The
1st South African Division, on the left flank of XXX Corps, attacked on a two-brigade front to secure the southern end of Miteirya Ridge, with the 2nd South African Infantry Brigade on the right and the 3rd South African Infantry Brigade on the left. The 1st South African Infantry Brigade was deployed further south to create an anti-tank screen for the protection of the left flank of the attack. By 08:00 on 24 October, Miteirya Ridge was secured after a night of heavy fighting and a high number of casualties. The
7th Armoured Division (with a Free French Brigade under command) from XIII Corps (Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks) made a secondary attack to the south. The main attack aimed to achieve a breakthrough, engage and pin down the
21st Panzer Division and the "Ariete" Division around Jebel Kalakh, while the Free French on the far left were to secure Qaret el Himeimat and the el Taqa plateau. The right flank of the attack was to be protected by 44th Infantry Division with the 131st Infantry Brigade. The attack met determined resistance, mainly from the
185th Infantry Division "Folgore", part of the
Ramcke Parachute Brigade and . The minefields were deeper than anticipated and clearing paths through them was impeded by Axis defensive fire. By dawn on 24 October, paths still had not been cleared through the second minefield to release the 22nd and 4th Light Armoured Brigades into the open to make their planned turn north into the rear of enemy positions west of Deir el Munassib. Further north along the XIII Corps front, the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division achieved a limited and costly success against determined resistance from the
17th Infantry Division "Pavia",
27th Infantry Division "Brescia" and elements of the 185th Infantry Division "Folgore". The
4th Indian Infantry Division, on the far left of the XXX Corps front at Ruweisat Ridge, made a mock attack and two small raids to deflect attention to the centre of the front.
Phase two: The Crumbling Dawn aerial reconnaissance showed little change in Axis dispositions and Montgomery ordered that the clearance of the northern corridor should be completed and the New Zealand Division supported by the 10th Armoured Division should push south from Miteirya Ridge. The 9th Australian Division, in the north, should plan a crumbling operation for that night, while in the southern sector, the 7th Armoured Division should continue to try to break through the minefields with support, if necessary, from the 44th Division.
Panzer units counter-attacked the
51st Highland Division just after sunrise but were defeated. The morning of Saturday 24 October brought disaster for the German headquarters. The Axis forces were stunned by British attack and their messages became confused and hysterical, with one Italian unit communicating to Germans that it had been wiped out by "drunken negroes with tanks". The reports that Stumme had received that morning showed the attacks had been on a broad front but that such penetration as had occurred should be containable by local units. He went forward to see for himself, suffered a heart attack and died. Temporary command was given to Major-General
Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma. Hitler had already decided that Rommel should leave his sanatorium and return to North Africa. Pending complete clearance of paths through the minefields, the Allied armour was held at the Oxalic Line. In the 51st (Highland) Division sector, the Seaforth Highlanders, supported by tanks of the 2nd Armoured Brigade, attacked and captured the "Stirling" position. Artillery and the
Desert Air Force, making over 1,000 sorties, bombarded Axis positions all day to aid the 'crumbling' of the Axis forces. By 16:00 there was little progress beyond the Oxalic Line. At dusk, with the sun at their backs, Axis tanks from the
15th Panzer Division and the "Littorio" Division advanced from the Kidney feature (also known to the Germans and Italians as Hill 28), often wrongly called a ridge as it was actually a depression, to engage the
1st Armoured Division and the first big tank engagement of El Alamein began. Over 100 tanks were involved and half were destroyed by dark; neither position was altered. Lumsden wanted to call off the attack planned for the night of 24/25 September but Montgomery overruled him. The thrust that night by the 10th Armoured Division from Miteirya Ridge failed. The lifting of mines on the Miteirya Ridge and beyond took far longer than planned and the leading unit, the 8th Armoured Brigade, was caught on their start line at 22:00—zero hour—by an air attack and were scattered. Axis bombers destroyed a convoy of 25 British vehicles carrying petrol and ammunition, setting off a night-long blaze. By the time the 8th Armoured Brigade had reorganised they were well behind schedule and out of touch with the creeping artillery barrage. By daylight the brigade was caught in the open, suffering considerable fire from well sited tanks and anti-tank guns. The
24th Armoured Brigade had pushed forward and reported at dawn they were on the Pierson Line, although it turned out that, in the dust and confusion, they had mistaken their position and were well short. The attack in the XIII Corps sector to the south fared no better. The 131st Infantry Brigade cleared a path through the mines but when the 22nd Armoured Brigade passed through, they came under fire and were repulsed, with 31 tanks disabled. British air activity that night focused on Rommel's northern armoured group, where of bombs were dropped. To prevent a recurrence of the 8th Armoured Brigade's experience from the air, attacks on Axis landing fields were also stepped up.
D + 2: 25 October The first attack had ended by Sunday. The British had advanced through the minefields in the west to make a wide and deep inroad. They were on top of Miteirya Ridge in the south-east. Axis forces were firmly entrenched in most of their original battle positions and the attack had been contained. Montgomery decided that the planned advance southward from Miteirya Ridge by the New Zealanders would be too costly and instead decided that XXX Corps—while keeping firm hold of Miteirya—should strike northwards toward the coast with the 9th Australian Division. The 1st Armoured Division—on the Australian left—should continue to attack west and north-west; activity to the south on both corps fronts would be confined to patrolling. The battle would be concentrated at the Kidney feature and Tel el Eisa until a breakthrough occurred. of No. 223 Squadron bombing El Daba airfield in support of the Alamein offensive Rommel flew to Rome early on 25 October to press for more fuel and ammunition, then on to North Africa later in the day. Meanwhile, in the afternoon the Axis forces launched attacks using the 15th Panzer and "Littorio" divisions. The Panzer Army probed for a weakness but without success. The British and Commonwealth infantry attacked at dusk. Around midnight, the 51st (Highland) Division launched three attacks. These were hindered by navigational difficulties as no one knew quite where they were, and heavy casualties were suffered amidst the confusion. Nevertheless, most of the Oxalic Line was eventually secured excepting the Aberdeen position on the Kidney feature. While the 51st Highland Division was operating around the Kidney feature, the Australians were attacking
Point 29 (sometimes shown on Axis maps as "28") a high Axis artillery observation post south-west of Tel el Eisa, to surround the Axis coastal salient containing the German 164th Light Division and large numbers of Italian infantry. This was the new northern thrust Montgomery had devised earlier in the day. The 26th Australian Brigade attacked at midnight, supported by artillery and 30 tanks of the 40th Royal Tank Regiment. The Australians took the position and 240 prisoners. Fighting continued in this area for the next week, as the Axis tried to recover the small hill that was so important to their defence. Night bombers dropped of bombs on targets in the battlefield and on the
Stuka base at Sidi Haneish, while night fighters flew patrols over the battle area and the Axis forward landing grounds. In the south, the 4th Armoured Brigade and the 69th Infantry Brigade attacked the
187th Infantry Regiment "Folgore" at Deir Munassib, but lost about 20 tanks gaining only the forward positions. Rommel arrived at El Alamein on the evening of the 25th to resume command of the Panzer Army Africa, which was renamed the German-Italian Panzer Army () that day. Rommel's arrival boosted German morale, though there was little he could do to change the course of the battle. On arrival at his headquarters, Rommel assessed the battle. Casualties, particularly in the north, as a result of incessant artillery and air attack, had been severe. The Italian
102nd Motorised Division "Trento" had lost 50 per cent of its infantry and most of its artillery and the 164th Light Division had lost two battalions. The 15th Panzer and
Littorio divisions had prevented the British tanks from breaking through but this had been a costly defensive success, the 15th Panzer Division being reduced to 31 tanks. Most other units were also under strength, on half rations and many men were ill; had only enough fuel for three days.
Phase three: the counter D + 3: 26 October Rommel was convinced by this time that the main assault would come in the north and determined to retake Point 29. He ordered a counter-attack against it by the 15th Panzer Division and the 164th Light Division, with part of the Italian XX Corps to begin at 15:00 but under constant artillery and air attack this came to nothing. According to Rommel this attack did meet some success, with the Italians recapturing part of
Hill 28, The bulk of the 2/17th Australian Battalion, which defended the position, was forced to give some ground. Rommel reversed his policy of distributing his armour across the front, ordering the 90th Light Division forward from Ed Daba and 21st Panzer Division north along with one third of the
Ariete Division and half the artillery from the southern sector to join the 15th Panzer Division and the
Littorio Division. The move could not be reversed because of the fuel shortage. The
Trieste Division was ordered from Fuka to replace the 90th Light Division at Ed Daba but the 21st Panzer Division and the
Ariete Division made slow progress during the night under constant attack from DAF bombers. At the Kidney feature, the British were unable to take advantage of the absent tanks; each time they tried to move forward they were stopped by anti-tank guns. Churchill railed, "Is it really impossible to find a general who can win a battle?"
Bristol Beaufort torpedo bombers of
42 Squadron, attached to
47 Squadron, sank the tanker
Proserpina at
Tobruk; three Vickers Wellington torpedo bombers of 38 Squadron destroyed the oil tanker
Tergestea at Tobruk during the night, removing the last hope for refuelling the . By 26 October, XXX Corps had completed the capture of the bridgehead west of the second mine belt. The British Forces had sustained 2000 casualties, the Australians 1000, the New Zealanders 1000 and the South Africans 600. The tanks of X Corps, established just beyond the infantry, had failed to break through the Axis anti-tank defences. Montgomery decided that over the next two days, while continuing the process of attrition, he would thin out his front line to create a reserve for another attack. The reserve was to include the 2nd New Zealand Division (with the 9th Armoured Brigade under command), the 10th Armoured Division and the 7th Armoured Division. The attacks in the south, which lasted three days and caused considerable losses without achieving a breakthrough, were suspended.
D + 4: 27 October The main battle was concentrated around Tel el Aqqaqir and the Kidney feature at the end of the 1st Armoured Division's path through the minefield. A mile north-west of the feature was Outpost Woodcock and roughly the same distance south-west lay Outpost Snipe. An attack was planned on these areas using two battalions from 7th Motor Brigade. At 23:00 on 26 October 2 Battalion,
The Rifle Brigade would attack Snipe and 2nd Battalion
King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) would attack Woodcock. The plan was for 2nd Armoured Brigade to pass round the north of Woodcock the following dawn and 24th Armoured Brigade round the south of Snipe. The attack was to be supported by all the artillery of X and XXX Corps. Both battalions had difficulty finding their way in the dark and dust. At dawn, the KRRC had not reached its objective and had to find cover and dig in some distance from Woodcock. The 2nd Rifle Brigade had been more fortunate and after following the shell bursts of the supporting artillery, dug in when they concluded they had reached their objective having encountered little opposition. At 06:00, the 2nd Armoured Brigade commenced its advance and ran into such stiff opposition that, by noon, it had still not linked with the KRRC. The 24th Armoured Brigade started a little later and was soon in contact with the Rifle Brigade (having shelled them in error for a while). Some hours of confused fighting ensued involving tanks from the
Littorio and troops and anti-tank guns from 15th Panzer which managed to keep the British armour at bay in spite of the support of the anti-tank guns of the Rifle Brigade battle group. Rommel had decided to make two counter-attacks using his fresh troops. 90th Light Division was to make a fresh attempt to capture Point 29 and 21st Panzer were targeted at Snipe (the
Ariete detachment had returned south). At Snipe, mortar and shellfire was constant all day. Lucas-Phillips, in his
Alamein wrote: At 16:00, Rommel launched his major attack. German and Italian tanks moved forward against the Rifle Brigade which had thirteen 6-pounder anti-tank guns along with six more from the 239th Anti-Tank Battery, RA. Although on the point of being overrun more than once they held their ground, destroying 22 German and 10 Italian tanks. The Germans gave up but in error the British battle group was withdrawn without being replaced that evening. Only one anti-tank gun—from 239 Battery—could be brought back. The action at Snipe was an episode of the Battle of El Alamein described by the regimental historian of the Rifle Brigade as the most famous day of the regiment's war. Its CO, Lieutenant-Colonel
Victor Buller Turner, was awarded the
Victoria Cross. When it was discovered that neither Woodcock nor Snipe was in Eighth Army hands, the 133rd Lorried Infantry Brigade was sent to capture them. By 01:30 on 28 October, the 4th battalion
Royal Sussex Regiment judged they were on Woodcock and dug in. At dawn, the 2nd Armoured Brigade moved up in support but before contact could be made the 4th Royal Sussex were counter-attacked and overrun with many losses. The 133rd Lorried Brigade's two other battalions had moved on Snipe and dug in, only to find out the next day that they were in fact well short of their objective. Further north, the attack by the 90th Light Division attack on Point 29 during the afternoon of 27 October failed under heavy artillery and bombing which broke up the attack before it had closed with the Australians.
D + 5–6: 28–29 October in North Africa, carrying Scottish infantry On 28 October, the 15th Panzer Division and 21st Panzer Division made a determined attack on the X Corps front but were halted by artillery, tank and anti-tank gun fire. In the afternoon, they paused to regroup to attack again but they were bombed for two and a half hours and were prevented from forming up. This proved to be Rommel's last attempt to take the initiative and his defeat represented a turning point in the battle. Montgomery ordered X Corps units in the area of Woodcock and Snipe to go over to the defensive while he concentrated the attack further to the north. Late on 27 October, the 133rd Lorried Infantry Brigade was sent forward to recover lost positions. On 28 October much of the force was overrun by German and Italian tanks from the "Littorio" Division and supporting
12th Bersaglieri Regiment; several hundred British soldiers were captured. On the night of 28/29 October, the
9th Australian Division was ordered to make a second set-piece attack. The
20th Australian Infantry Brigade with the 40th R.T.R. in support would push north-west from Point 29 to form a base for the
26th Australian Infantry Brigade with the 46th R.T.R., to attack north-east to Thompson's Post south of the railway. Once the post was captured, the Australians were to cross the railway to the coast road and advance south-east, to close on the rear of the Axis troops in the coastal salient. An attack by the third brigade would then be launched on the salient from the south-east. The 20th Australian Infantry Brigade took its objectives with little trouble but the 26th Australian Infantry Brigade had difficulty. Because of the distances involved, the troops were riding on the
Valentine tanks of the 46th R.T.R. and carriers, which mines and anti-tank guns soon brought to grief, forcing the infantry to dismount. The infantry and tanks lost touch, fighting with the 125th
Panzergrenadier Regiment and a battalion of the
7th Bersaglieri Regiment sent to reinforce the sector; the advance came to a halt. The Australians suffered 200 casualties in that attack and suffered 27 killed and 290 wounded. The German and Italian forces that had participated in the counter-attack formed an outpost and held on until the arrival of German reinforcements on 1 November. It was too close to dawn to reform and continue the attack and the operation was called off. By the end of these engagements in late October, the British still had 800 serviceable tanks and the
Panzerarmee day report for 28 October (intercepted and read by Eighth Army the following evening) recorded 81 serviceable German tanks and 197 Italian. With the help of signals intelligence information the
Proserpina (carrying of fuel) and
Tergestea (carrying of fuel and of ammunition) had been destroyed on 26 October and the tanker
Luisiano (carrying of fuel) had been sunk off the west coast of Greece by a torpedo from a Wellington bomber on 28 October. Rommel told his commanders, "It will be quite impossible for us to disengage from the enemy. There is no gasoline for such a manoeuvre. We have only one choice and that is to fight to the end at Alamein". The Australian and British attacks had alerted Montgomery that Rommel had committed his reserve, the 90th Light Division, to the front and that its presence in the coastal sector suggested that Rommel was expecting the next big offensive there. Montgomery decided to attack further south on a front, south of Point 29. The attack was to take place on the night of 31 October/1 November, as soon as he had completed the reorganisation of his front line to create reserves for the offensive (although in the event it was postponed by 24 hours). To keep Rommel's attention on the coastal sector, Montgomery ordered the renewal of the 9th Australian Division operation on the night of 30/31 October.
D + 7–9: 30 October – 1 November watches British tanks advance (November 1942) The night of 30 October saw the third Australian attempt to reach the paved road and by the end of the night they were astride the road and the railway, making the position of the Axis troops in the salient precarious. A battlegroup from the 21st Panzer Division launched four attacks against Thompson's Post on 31 October, all being repulsed. Sergeant
William Kibby (
2/48th Australian Infantry Battalion), for his actions from 23 October until his death on 31 October, including a lone attack on a machine-gun position at his own initiative, was awarded the Victoria Cross (posthumous). On 1 November, contact with 125 in the nose of the salient was restored; the supporting X Bersaglieri Battalion of the
7th Bersaglieri Regiment resisted several Australian attacks. On 1 November, the tankers
Tripolino and
Ostia were torpedoed and sunk by aircraft, north-west of Tobruk. The shortage forced Rommel to rely increasingly on fuel flown in from
Crete on the orders of
Albert Kesselring, (OB , Supreme Commander South), despite the restrictions imposed by the bombing of the airfields in Crete and Desert Air Force interceptions of the transport aircraft. Rommel began to plan a retirement to Fuka, some to the west, as he had only 90 tanks remaining, against 800 British tanks. Large amounts of fuel arrived at Benghazi after the German forces had started to retreat but little of it reached the front, a fact Kesselring tried to change by delivering it more closely to the fighting forces. Barbasetti insisted to Rommel that the
Deutsche-Italienlische Panzerarmee must hold at El Alamein as supplies would arrive for them.
Phase four: Operation Supercharge D + 10: 2 November of the 1st Armoured Division preparing for action, 2 November 1942 This phase of the battle began at 01:00 on 2 November, with the objective of destroying enemy armour, forcing the enemy to fight in the open, reducing the Axis stock of petrol, attacking and occupying enemy supply routes, and causing the disintegration of the enemy army. The intensity and the destruction in Supercharge were greater than anything witnessed so far during this battle. The objective of this operation was Tel el Aqqaqir, the base of the Axis defence roughly north-west of the Kidney feature and situated on the Rahman lateral track. The initial thrust of Supercharge was to be carried out by the 2nd New Zealand Division. Lieutenant-General Bernard Freyberg had tried to free them of this task, as they had lost 1,405 men in just three days, at El Ruweisat Ridge in July. Along with the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade and 28th (Maori) Infantry Battalion, the division was to have had placed under its command the
151st (Durham) Brigade from the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division, the
152nd (Seaforth and Camerons) Brigade from the 51st (Highland) Division and the
133rd Royal Sussex Lorried Infantry Brigade and the
9th Armoured Brigade under command. As in Operation Lightfoot, it was planned that two infantry brigades (the 151st on the right and 152nd on the left) each this time supported by a regiment of tanks—the 8th and 50th Royal Tank Regiments—would advance and clear a path through the mines. Once they reached their objectives, distant, 9th Armoured Brigade would pass through supported by a heavy artillery barrage and break open a gap in the Axis defences on and around the Rahman track, some further forward, which the 1st Armoured Division, following behind, would pass through into the open to take on Rommel's armoured reserves. Rommel had ordered 21st Panzer Division from the front line on 31 October to form a mobile counterattacking force. The division had left behind a
panzergrenadier regiment which would bolster the "Trieste" Division which had been ordered forward to replace it. Rommel had also interspersed formations from the
Trieste and 15th Panzer Divisions to "corset" his weaker forces in the front line. On 1 November the two German armoured divisions had 102 effective tanks to face Supercharge and the
Littorio and
Trieste Divisions had 65 tanks between them. Supercharge started with a seven-hour aerial bombardment focused on Tel el Aqqaqir and
Sidi Abd el Rahman, followed by a four and a half-hour barrage of 360 guns firing 15,000 shells. The two assault brigades started their attack at 01:05 on 2 November and gained most of their objectives to schedule and with moderate losses. One battalion from the 90th Light Division along with another battalion from the 15th Panzer Division were soon overrun and at 04:45 it was reported that only one Bersaglieri infantry battalion was still manning the defensive line. On the right of the main attack the 28th (Maori) Battalion captured positions to protect the right flank of the new salient and the 133rd Lorried Infantry Brigade did the same on the left. New Zealand engineers cleared five lines through the mines allowing the
Royal Dragoons armoured car regiment to slip out into the open and spend the day raiding the Axis communications. At 20:00 on 1 November, the 9th Armoured Brigade had started its approach march from El Alamein railway station with forty Grants, 39 Shermans, 24 Crusader Mk III and 29 Crusader Mk II (132 tanks) and arrived at its start line with only 94 runners (operational tanks). The brigade was to have started its attack towards Tel el Aqqaqir at 05:45 behind a barrage but the attack was postponed for 30 minutes while the brigade regrouped. At 06:15, 30 minutes before dawn, the three regiments of the brigade advanced towards the gun line behind a creeping barrage. Currie had stated that the brigade would be attacking on too wide a front with no reserves and that they would suffer 50 per cent losses. The reply came from Freyberg that Montgomery, The German and Italian anti-tank guns (mostly
Pak38 and
Italian 47 mm guns, along with 24 of the formidable
88 mm flak guns) opened fire on the advancing tanks silhouetted by the rising sun. German tanks, which had penetrated between the Warwickshire Yeomanry and
Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, also caused many casualties. British tanks attacking the
Folgore sector were fought off with
petrol bombs and mortar fire as well as with the obsolete Italian 47 mm guns. The Axis gun screen was unable to stop the tanks and in 30 minutes, around 35 guns were destroyed and several hundred prisoners taken. The 94 tanks that started the attack was reduced to 24 runners and of the 400 men involved in the attack, 230 had been killed, wounded or captured. After the Brigade's action, Brigadier Gentry of the 6th New Zealand Brigade went ahead to survey the scene. On seeing Currie asleep on a stretcher, he approached him saying, "Sorry to wake you John, but I'd like to know where your tanks are?" Currie waved his hand at a group of tanks around him and replied "There they are". Gentry said "I don't mean your headquarters tanks, I mean your armoured regiments. Where are they?" Currie waved his arm and again replied, "There are my armoured regiments, Bill". The brigade had sacrificed itself upon the gun line and caused great damage but had failed to create the gap for the 1st Armoured Division to pass through. Soon after dawn the 1st Armoured Division started to deploy and the remains of the 9th Armoured Brigade came under its command. The 2nd Armoured Brigade came up behind the 9th and by mid-morning the 8th Armoured Brigade had come up on its left, ordered to advance to the south-west. In determined fighting during the day the British armour made little further progress. At 11:00 on 2 November, the remains of the 15th Panzer Division, 21st Panzer Division and the
Littorio Division counter-attacked the 1st Armoured Division and the remnants of the 9th Armoured Brigade, which by that time had dug in with a screen of anti-tank guns and artillery together with intensive air support. The counter-attack failed under a blanket of shells and bombs at a cost of about 100 tanks. Although X Corps had failed in its attempt to break out, it had succeeded in its objective of finding and destroying Axis tanks. Although tank losses were approximately equal, this represented only a portion of the total British armour but most of Rommel's tanks; the
Afrika Korps strength of tanks fit for battle fell by 70 while in addition to the losses of the 9th Armoured Brigade, the 2nd and 8th Armoured Brigades lost 14 tanks in the fighting, with another 40 damaged or broken down. The fighting was later termed the "Hammering of the Panzers". In the late afternoon and early evening, the 133rd Lorried Infantry Brigade and 151st Infantry Brigade, under command of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division, attacked respectively the Snipe and Skinflint (about a mile west of Snipe) positions to form a base for future operations. The heavy artillery concentration which accompanied their advance suppressed the opposition from the
Trieste Division and the operation succeeded with few casualties. On the night of 2/3 November, Montgomery once again reshuffled his infantry in order to bring four brigades (5th Indian, 151st, 5th New Zealand and 154th) into reserve under XXX Corps, to prepare for the next thrust. He also reinforced X Corps by moving the 7th Armoured Division from army reserve and sending the 4th Light Armoured Brigade from XIII Corps in the south. General von Thoma's report to Rommel that night said he would have at most 35 tanks available to fight the next day and his artillery and anti-tank weapons had been reduced to ⅓ of their strength at the start of the battle. Rommel concluded that to forestall a breakthrough and the destruction of his army, he must start withdrawing to the position at Fuka. He called up
Ariete from the south to join the mobile Italian XX Corps around Tel el Aqqaqir. His mobile forces (XX Corps,
Afrika Korps, 90th Light Division and
19th Flak Division) were ordered to make a fighting withdrawal while his other formations were to withdraw as best they could with the transport available.
D + 11: 3 November At 20:30 on 2 November, Lumsden decided that one more effort by X Corps would see the gun screen on the Rahman track defeated and ordered the 7th Motor Brigade to seize the track along a front north of Tel el Aqqaqir. The 2nd and 8th Armoured Brigades would then pass through the infantry to a distance of about . On the morning of 3 November the 7th Armoured Division would pass through and swing north heading for the railway at Ghazal station. 7th Motor Brigade set off at 01:15 on 3 November, but having received its orders late, had not had the chance to reconnoitre the battle area in daylight. This combined with stiff resistance led to the failure of their attack. As a consequence, the orders for the armour were changed and 2nd Armoured Brigade was tasked to support the forward battalion of the 133rd Lorried Brigade (2nd King's Royal Rifle Corps) and the 8th Armoured Brigade was to push south-west. Fighting continued throughout 3 November, but the 2nd Armoured Brigade was held off by elements of the
Afrika Korps and tanks of the
Littorio Division. Further south, the 8th Armoured Brigade was held off by anti-tank units helped later by tanks of the arriving
Ariete Division.
Phase five: the break-out On 2 November, Rommel signalled to Hitler that and at 13.30 on 3 November Rommel received a reply, Rommel thought the order (similar to one that had been given at the same time by
Benito Mussolini through ), Rommel ordered the Italian X and XXI Corps and the 90th Light Division to hold while the withdrew approximately west during the night of 3 November. The Italian XX Corps and the
Ariete Division conformed to their position and Rommel replied to Hitler confirming his determination to hold the battlefield. The Desert Air Force continued its bombing and in its biggest day of the battle it flew 1,208 sorties and dropped of bombs. On the night of 3/4 November, Montgomery ordered three of the infantry brigades in reserve to advance on the Rahman track as a prelude to an armoured break-out. At 17:45, the 152nd Infantry Brigade with the 8th RTR in support, attacked about south of Tel el Aqqaqir. The 5th Indian Infantry Brigade was to attack the track further south during the early hours of 4 November; at 06:15, the 154th Infantry Brigade was to attack Tel el Aqqaqir. The 152nd Infantry Brigade was mistakenly told the Axis had withdrawn from their objectives and unexpectedly met determined resistance. Communications failed and the forward infantry elements ended up digging in well short of their objective. By the time the 5th Indian Brigade set off, the defenders had begun to withdraw and their objective was taken virtually unopposed. By the time the 154th Brigade moved into some artillery-fire, the Axis had left.
D + 12, 4 November On 4 November, the Eighth Army plan for pursuit began at dawn; no fresh units were available and the 1st and 7th Armoured divisions were to turn northwards to roll up the Axis units still in the forward lines. The 2nd New Zealand Division with two lorried infantry brigades and the 9th Armoured and 4th Light Armoured brigades under command, was to head west along desert tracks to the escarpment above Fuka, about away. The New Zealanders got off to a slow start because its units were dispersed after the recent fighting and took time to concentrate. Paths through the minefields were congested and had deteriorated, which caused more delays. By dark, the division was only west of the Rahman track, the 9th Armoured Brigade was still at the track and the 6th New Zealand Brigade even further back. The plan to trap the 90th Light Division with the 1st and 7th Armoured divisions misfired. The 1st Armoured Division came into contact with the remnants of 21st Panzer Division and had to spend most of the day pushing them back . The 7th Armoured Division was held up by the
Ariete Armoured Division, which was destroyed conducting a determined resistance. In his diary, Rommel wrote The 133rd Armoured Division "Littorio" and the 101st Motorised Division "Trieste" were also destroyed. Berlin radio claimed that in this sector the "British were made to pay for their penetration with enormous losses in men and material. The Italians fought to the last man." The British took many prisoners, since the remnants of Italian infantry divisions were not motorised and could not escape from encirclement. Private Sid Martindale, 1st Battalion Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, wrote The
Bologna Division and the remnants of the
Trento Division tried to fight their way out and marched into the desert without water, food or transport before surrendering, exhausted and dying from dehydration. It was reported that Colonel Arrigo Dall'Olio, commanding the 40th Infantry Regiment of the
Bologna Division, surrendered saying, "We have ceased firing not because we haven't the desire but because we have spent every round". By late morning on 4 November, Rommel realised his situation was desperate, Rommel telegraphed Hitler for permission to fall back on Fuka. As further British blows fell, Thoma was captured and reports came in from the
Ariete and
Trento divisions that they were encircled. At 17:30, unable to wait any longer for a reply from Hitler, Rommel gave orders to retreat. Due to lack of transport, most of the Italian infantry formations were abandoned. Any chance of getting them away with an earlier move had been spoiled by Hitler's insistence that Rommel hold his ground, obliging him to keep the non-motorised Italian units well forward until it was too late. To deepen the armoured thrusts, the 1st Armoured Division was directed at El Daba, down the coast and the 7th Armoured Division towards Galal, a further west along the railway. The New Zealand Division group had hoped to reach their objective by mid-morning on 5 November but was held up by artillery-fire when picking their way through what turned out to be a dummy minefield and the 15th Panzer Division got there first.
D + 13, 5 November s of Kingforce of the 1st Armoured Division during the battle, 5 November 1942 The 7th Armoured Division was ordered cross-country to cut the coast road at Sidi Haneish, west of the Rahman track, while the 1st Armoured Division, west of El Dada, was ordered to take a wide detour through the desert to Bir Khalda, west of the Rahman track, preparatory to turning north to cut the road at Mersa Matruh. Both moves failed, the 7th Armoured Division finished the day short of its objective. The 1st Armoured Division tried to make up time with a night march but in the darkness the armour became separated from their support vehicles and ran out of fuel at dawn on 6 November, short of Bir Khalda. The DAF continued to fly in support but because of the dispersion of X Corps, it was difficult to establish bomb lines, beyond which, aircraft were free to attack.
D + 14, 6 November By 11:00 on 6 November, the "B" Echelon support vehicles began to reach the 1st Armoured Division but with only enough fuel to replenish two of the armoured regiments, which set off again hoping to be in time to cut off the Axis. The regiments ran out of fuel again, south-west of Mersa Matruh. A fuel convoy had set out from Alamein on the evening of 5 November but progress was slow as the tracks had become very cut up. By midday on 6 November, it began to rain and the convoy bogged from the rendezvous with the 1st Armoured Division "B". The 2nd New Zealand Division advanced toward Sidi Haneish while the 8th Armoured Brigade, 10th Armoured Division, had moved west from Galal to occupy the landing fields at Fuka and the escarpment. Roughly south-west of Sidi Haneish, the 7th Armoured Division encountered the 21st Panzer Division and the
Voss Reconnaissance Group that morning. In a running fight, the 21st Panzer Division lost 16 tanks and numerous guns, narrowly escaping encirclement and reached Mersa Matruh that evening. It was again difficult to define bomb lines but US heavy bombers attacked Tobruk, sinking [] and later attacked Benghazi, sinking and setting the tanker (6,572 GRT), alight.
D + 15 onward, 7 to 11 November On 7 November, waterlogged ground and lack of fuel stranded the 1st and 7th Armoured divisions. The 10th Armoured Division, on the coast road and with ample fuel, advanced to Mersa Matruh while its infantry mopped up on the road west of Galal. Rommel intended to fight a delaying action at
Sidi Barrani, west of Matruh, to gain time for Axis troops to get through the bottlenecks at Halfaya and Sollum. The last rearguards left Matruh on the night of 7/8 November but were only able to hold Sidi Barrani until the evening of 9 November. By the evening of 10 November, the 2nd New Zealand Division, heading for Sollum, had the 4th Light Armoured Brigade at the foot of the Halfaya Pass while 7th Armoured Division was conducting another detour to the south, to take Fort Capuzzo and Sidi Azeiz. On the morning of 11 November, the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade captured the pass, taking 600 Italian prisoners. By nightfall on 11 November, the Egyptian wall was clear but Montgomery was forced to order that the pursuit should temporarily be continued only by armoured cars and artillery, because of the difficulty in supplying larger formations west of Bardia. ==Aftermath==