Battle of Mersa Matruh 1942
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 29 June 1942 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1942 | Wikidata P585 (point in 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 |
| Coordinates | 31.3500, 27.2333 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Mersa Matruh was fought from 26 to 29 June 1942, following the defeat of the Eighth Army (General Sir Claude Auchinleck) at the Battle of Gazala and was part of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle was fought with the German–Italian Panzer Army Afrika (Panzerarmee Afrika (Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel). The Eighth Army comprised X Corps and XIII Corps.
The battle was fought during the pursuit by the Panzerarmee of the Eighth Army as it retreated into Egypt. Rommel intended to defeat in detail (one after the other) the British infantry formations, before they had a chance to regroup. The fortress port of Mersa Matruh and 6,000 prisoners were captured, along with a great deal of supplies and equipment. The Axis cut off the line of retreat of X Corps and XIII Corps but was too weak to stop the British from breaking out.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Mersa Matruh (revision 1370269379), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Action of Agagia 1916 · 124 km
- Battle of Sidi Barrani 1940 · 127 km
- Attack on Nibeiwa 1940 · 128 km
- Defence of Outpost Snipe 1942 · 154 km
- First Battle of El Alamein 1942 · 172 km
- Second Battle of El Alamein 1942 · 172 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 Alam el Halfa 1942
- Battle of Gazala 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