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18 Jun 1942

Photo(s) dated 18 Jun 1942
German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel observing the field near El Alamein, Egypt, 18 Jun 1942
1 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • German 90th Light Division began to advance for El Alamein, Egypt at 0300 hours; meanwhile, German and Italian tanks covered the southern flank. Allied troops in the area were a mix of British, Australian, New Zealand, Indian, and South African nationalities. Axis forces suffered heavy casualties on this first day of assault. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | TH, CPC]
2 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • Erwin Rommel abandoned the southward tank sweep to have the tanks assist on the direct assault of El Alamein, Egypt, but not until the southern drive had already lost 2,000 men and 30 field guns. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | CPC]
3 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • German 15th Panzer Division, German 21st Panzer Divisions, and Italian XX Motorized Corps attacked Ruweisat Ridge near El Alamein, Egypt, making little progress. British aircraft flew 780 sorties on this day against the Axis offensive. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | CPC]
4 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • Axis tanks continued the attack on Ruweisat Ridge near El Alamein, Egypt, making little progress; British aircraft flew 900 sorties on this day against the Axis offensive. The Allies, believing the Axis forces had lost their initial momentum, launched a limited offensive with elements of the South African 1st Division and New Zealand 2nd Division toward the Ruweisat Ridge. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 4 Jul 1942
New Zealand Brigadier Howard Kippenberger and Captain Allan McPhail inspecting a destroyed Cannone da 90/53 anti-aircraft gun formerly of the Italian Ariete Division, near El Alamein, Egypt, 4 Jul 1942 or shortly after
5 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • The battlefields near El Alamein, Egypt entered a period of relative lull as Axis forces halted due to lack of supplies and the Allied forces planned for a counter offensive. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | CPC]
7 Jul 1942

Photo(s) dated 7 Jul 1942
Side-by-side view of the two variants of the M3 tank. The Grant on the left with the British wider turret while the Lee on the right has the smaller American turret. El Alamein, Egypt, 7 Jul 1942.
10 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • Near El Alamein, Egypt, Australian 26th Brigade captured Tel el Eisa ridge and South African troops captured Tel el Makh Khad. Elements of the German 15th Panzer Division counterattacked the Australian positions in the afternoon without success. Meanwhile, New Zealand troops overran and destroyed the German 621 Radio Interception Company, thereby depriving Erwin Rommel of an essential means of gathering important intelligence on British 8th Army movements. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | CPC, AC]
11 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • Australian 26th Brigade infantry and British tanks attacked Point 24 near El Alamein, Egypt, capturing it in the early afternoon, and then went on to successfully defend against Axis counterattacks. Meanwhile, a column of Allied tanks and motorized infantry raided Deir el Abyad, capturing about 1,000 Italian troops. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | CPC]
12 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • German 104th Infantry Regiment attacked Allied troops in the Tel el Eisa ridge region near El Alamein, Egypt; the German attack was driven off after it suffered 600 casualties. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | CPC]
13 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • Tanks of German 21st Panzer Division attacked Allied troops in the Tel el Eisa ridge region near El Alamein, Egypt and at a nearby South African position, driving Australian troops out of Point 24 at a heavy cost. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | CPC]
14 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • The First Battle of Ruweisat Ridge began at 2300 hours, under cover of darkness. It began well with the Indian (5th Brigade) and New Zealand infantry (4th Brigade and 5th Brigade) overrunning two Italian divisions, but unbeknown to them had inadvertently bypassed a group of German tanks as well as a few German infantry positions. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | AC, CPC]
15 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • New Zealand 4th Brigade and 5th Brigade captured the western end of Ruweisat Ridge near El Alamein, Egypt before dawn; without tank support, however, they suffered heavy casualties as German tanks repeatedly attacked, overrunning several positions by dusk and capturing 730 prisoners. At the eastern end of the ridge, Indian 5th Infantry Brigade, with British tank support, captured several Axis positions. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | CPC]
16 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • Australian 24th Battalion attacked Point 24 near El Alamein, Egypt in failure, suffering 50% casualties. Meanwhile, German tanks attacked along the Ruweisat Ridge, unable to break the lines held by Indian 5th Infantry Brigade, British 2nd Armoured Brigade, and British 22nd Armoured Brigade. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | CPC]
17 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • Australian 24th Brigade and British 44th Royal Tank Regiment, supported by RAF fighters, attacked Miteirya Ridge (also known as Ruin Ridge to Australians) between Tel el Eisa and Ruweisat near El Alamein, Egypt; the offensive initially overran the line held by Italian Trento Division and Italian Trieste Division, but would ultimately be driven back by German tanks and Italian Trento Division. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | CPC]
21 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • New Zealand 6th Brigade launched an offensive south of Ruweisat Ridge near El Alamein, Egypt at 1630 hours, gaining several key positions early in the attack, but the British tanks failed to follow up as planned, thus leaving the forward units vulnerable to the counterattacks that would arrive on the next day. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | CPC]
22 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • German tanks counterattacked the positions gained by the latest Allied offensive in Egypt, inflicting heavy losses among New Zealand troops. By the time the British 23rd Armoured Brigade arrived, it was bogged down by a minefield as it engaged in battle with German tanks; when the engagement ended, the brigade was practically wiped out. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | CPC]
26 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • After dark, Operation Manhood was launched by the British 8th Army in attempt to decisively defeat the Axis offensive in Egypt by striking at Miteirya Ridge. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | CPC]
27 Jul 1942

Egypt
  • The initial hours of the Allies Operation Manhood offensive in Egypt near El Alamein was successful, but British tanks failed to follow up, thus the subsequent Axis counterattack at dawn inflicted heavy casualties on the exposed forward positions at Deir el Dhib and at Ruin Ridge. This marked the end of the First Battle of El Alamein, which saw 13,250 casualties on the Allied side and 17,000 on the Axis side. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | CPC]
5 Aug 1942

Egypt
  • Winston Churchill and Claude Auchinleck inspected the front lines at El Alamein, Egypt. ww2dbase [Winston Churchill | El Alamein | CPC]
19 Aug 1942

Photo(s) dated 19 Aug 1942
During an inspection tour to El Alamein, Egypt, Winston Churchill looks out across the desert toward the German lines, 19 Aug 1942.
2 Sep 1942

Egypt
  • Hans-Joachim Marseille shot down a Hurricane fighter (Pilot Officer G. R. Dibbs) and two P-40 fighters (US 1st Lieutenant M. McMarrel serving in South African Air Force and British Lieutenant Stuart) in his morning sortie between 0916 and 0924 hours over El Alamein, Egypt. In the afternoon sortie, he shot down two more P-40 fighters (Lieutenant E. H. D. Carman and Lieutenant J. Lindbergh) over El Imayid, Egypt. At the end of the day his score stood at 126. Also on this date, his superiors nominated him for Diamonds to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross medal. ww2dbase [Hans-Joachim Marseille | El Alamein | CPC]
5 Sep 1942

Egypt
  • 15 commandos of "N" (swimmer) battalion of the "San Marco" naval infantry regiment destroyed a section of rail behind British lines at El Alamein, Egypt; all commandos would be captured after the mission. ww2dbase [El Alamein | CPC]
7 Sep 1942

Egypt
15 Sep 1942

Egypt
  • Hans-Joachim Marseille shot down four P-40 fighters and three Hurricane fighters between 1651 and 1702 hours southwest of El Alamein, Egypt, bringing his score up to 151 kills. ww2dbase [Hans-Joachim Marseille | El Alamein | CPC]
16 Sep 1942

Egypt
  • USAAF 57th Fighter Group, flying P-40 fighters, began arriving at the Landing Ground 174 airfield east of El Alamein, Egypt. ww2dbase [El Alamein | CPC]
7 Oct 1942

Egypt
  • USAAF 57th Fighter Group, flying P-40 fighters and located at Landing Ground 174 airfield east of El Alamein in Egypt, gained full operational status. ww2dbase [El Alamein | CPC]
3 Nov 1942

Egypt

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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