The Desert War

El Alamein and Montgomery

By: Kevin Burgess

Overview

• “El Alamein-the battle that for the Allies came to symbolize the turning point of the entire war. It takes its name from a lonely railway station in the Egyptian Desert a mile or so from the North African coast.”(2)

Who?

• American Commanders-Dwight Eisenhower, George S. Patton Jr.(1)

• British Commanders-Bernard Montgomery

• German Commanders-Erwin Rommel (The Desert Fox)(2)

What?

• The battle of El Alamein was a very significant battle fought in North Africa.

• The battle was a last attempt for the Allied forces to defeat Rommel and his men.

• The battle ended with an Allied victory and the retreat of Rommel.(1)

When / Where?

• The Allied forces were being heavily attacked in June through October of 1942.

• The Allied forces made a final stand at the battle of El Alamein which caused Rommel to retreat in February of 1943.(2)

Why?

• The Allies wanted to take control of Northern Africa for one main reason.

-By defeating the Germans in Northern Africa it would allow the Allied forces to invade Italy.(3)

Allied Vs. Axis

• Allied- By the middle of October the Eighth Army totaled 195,000 men, 1,351 tanks and 1,900 pieces of artillery

• Axis- The Germans had 110,000 men and 500 tanks. A number of these tanks were poor Italian tanks and could not match the new Sherman’s. The Germans were also short of fuel. (3)

Speech From Montgomery to the 8th Army.

• http://www.earthstation1.com/WWIIAudio/Great_Britain/Gen.MontgomeryTo8thArmy4210.wav

Significance to the War

• El Alamein was a major win for the Allied forces in North Africa. Which allowed them to advance forward on Germany and Italy and ultimately capture 240,000 Axis troops, both German and Italian.(2)

?Questions?

• Who were the 3 Allied commanders that led the North African Forces?

• Why was it important to take control of Northern Africa?

• True or False: The Axis tanks advancing had much more supplies then the Allied forces.

!Answers!• The 3 Allied commanders were, for the

United states, Dwight Eisenhower who was eventually replaced by George S Patton Jr. and for Great Britain, Bernard Montgomery.

• By taking control of Northern Africa it would allow the Allies to invade Italy

• False- The Allied forces were heavily armored and supplied compared to the Axis powers.

MLA

• Lapansky-Werner, Emma J, Peter G. Levy, Randy Roberts and Alan Taylor. United States History : Reconstruction to the President, Boston : Prentice Hall, 2008, Print.

• Stratton, Molly., ed. World War II : War in the Mediterranean. Danbury : Grolier Educational Corporation, 1995. Print.

• Trueman Chris, ed. The Battle of El Alamein. Web. 30 March 2010.