Battle of Alam el Halfa 1942
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 30 August 1942 – 5 September 1942 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1942 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Egypt | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Western Desert campaign | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United Kingdom | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 30.6667, 29.1667 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Alam el Halfa took place between 30 August and 5 September 1942 south of El Alamein during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. Panzerarmee Afrika (Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel), attempted an envelopment of the British Eighth Army (Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery). In Unternehmen Brandung (Operation Surf), the last big Axis offensive of the Western Desert Campaign, Rommel intended to defeat the Eighth Army before Allied reinforcements arrived.
Montgomery knew of Axis intentions through Ultra signals intercepts and left a gap in the southern sector of the front, knowing that Rommel planned to attack there. The bulk of the British armour and artillery was dug in around Alam el Halfa Ridge, 20 mi (32 km) behind the front. Unlike in previous engagements, Montgomery ordered that the tanks were to be used as anti-tank guns, remaining in their defensive positions on the ridge. When the Axis attacks on the ridge failed and short on supplies, Rommel ordered a withdrawal. The 2nd New Zealand Division conducted Operation Beresford against Italian positions, which was a costly failure.
Montgomery did not exploit his defensive victory, preferring to continue the methodical build up of strength for his autumn offensive, the Second Battle of El Alamein.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Alam el Halfa (revision 1380693454), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Second Battle of El Alamein 1942 · 29 km
- First Battle of El Alamein 1942 · 29 km
- Defence of Outpost Snipe 1942 · 46 km
- Raid on Alexandria (1941) 1941 · 87 km
- Siege of Alexandria (1801) 1801 · 91 km
- Siege of Alexandria (1167) 1167 · 91 km
Other battles of the Western Desert campaign
- Battle of Sidi Barrani 1940
- Siege of Giarabub 1940
- Capture of Kufra 1941
- Operation Sonnenblume 1941
- Battle of Gazala 1942
- Battle of Mersa Matruh 1942
- First Battle of El Alamein 1942
- Second Battle of El Alamein 1942
All 9 battles of the Western Desert campaign →
Browse more: battles in Egypt · Africa · World War II era battles