The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, fought on the northern coast of Egypt between Axis forces (Germany and Italy) of the Panzer Army Africa (Panzerarmee Afrika) commanded by Field Marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) Erwin Rommel, and Allied (specifically, British Imperial) forces (Britain, British India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand) of the British Eighth Army commanded by General Claude Auchinleck. The battle, although a stalemate, halted a second advance by the Axis forces into Egypt. However, an Axis presence near El Alamein only 66 mi (106 km) from Alexandria, was too dangerously close to major population centres and the Suez Canal for the Allied forces to allow the status quo to remain; a Second Battle of El Alamein would be required to drive the Axis armies out of Egypt for good.
Read more about First Battle Of El Alamein: Aftermath
Famous quotes containing the words battle and/or alamein:
“If you are willing to inconvenience yourself in the name of discipline, the battle is half over. Leave Grandma’s early if the children are acting impossible. Depart the ballpark in the sixth inning if you’ve warned the kids and their behavior is still poor. If we do something like this once, our kids will remember it for a long time.”
—Fred G. Gosman (20th century)
“This sort of thing may be tolerated by the French—but we are British, thank God.”
—Bernard Law, 1st Viscount Montgomery Of Alamein Montgomery (1887–1976)