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Example research essay topic: World War Ii Heavy Losses - 1,228 words

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... h North Africa, code-named Torch. During the preparations for the battle, the Royal Air Force established complete air superiority and subjected Axis forces to intensifying punishment. General Montgomery planned the battle in three stages: the break in, the dogfight, and the break out. Montgomery planned to use diversionary tactics to indicate that he would attack in the South, drawing forces away from the strongly held North, then massing Allied forces in the North.

On 23 October, the break-in phase of the battle began when 1000 British guns opened up along a six mile front in the North. Twenty minutes later, at approximately 10 PM local time, the 30 struck the North, while to the South, the 13 th Corps began a diversionary attack near the Qattara Depression. Four hours later, the 10 th Armored Corps advanced through two corridors in the minefields that had been cleared by the 30 Corps Infantry. The Italians resisted, and the 15 th Panzer Division launched a counter-attack that almost completely halted British progress.

Although, the diversionary tactics of the offensive had succeeded in tying up the 21 st Panzer Division in the South, the objectives of the operation had not been completely met. Several minefields remained unclear throughout the night: When daylight came on the morning of October 24 th, the British had bitten a deep chunk out of the enemy defense zone, but they had failed their purpose, which was to get through to the open desert on the other side of Miteiriya Ridge. For that reason, lanes could not be cleared right through the minefields for the 10 th Corps. Instead, the Corps tanks and trucks found themselves stuck in dead-end paths behind the infantry. All through the daylight hours, the 10 th Corps ground slowly forward along the narrow paths in the minefields radiators boiling, vehicles jammed together under savage German fire. The Germans had won the first part of the battle.

Yet, during the phase, General Hans Summer, acting Commander of Panzerarmee Afrika, died of a heart attack and Rommel flew back and resumed command. Soon after returning (October 27 th), Rommel launched an assault when the sun was low in the west and would blind the British gunners. This assault was fruitless, however as the 21 st and 15 th Panzer Divisions fell prey to the Royal Air Forces incessant bombing. This was considered the turning point of the battle.

Rommel, too, acknowledged that the battle was all but over. He informed Hitler that the best thing to do would be to retreat as strategically as possible to avoid a decisive defeat. In a now historical reply, Hitler ordered Rommel to defend El Alamein: You can show your troops no way but the one that leads to victory or death. By this time, the second phase of the battle, code named Operation Supercharge, was in full swing. The main progress of this phase was made by the 9 th Australian Division in the coastal sector. The Australian threat was so great that Rommel was forced to commit his reserves to the north to contain them.

The Allied forces took advantage of Rommel's commitment and planned an assault for November 1 st. The plan was to penetrate the area south of the Australian sector, and then divide the Axis forces into two by going behind the enemy defenses into the open desert. This attack was carried out by the 151 st Brigade from the 50 th British Division, and the 152 nd Brigade, while the Maori (New Zealand) Battalion would clear an enemy position on the flank. The final phase of the battle began at one oclock in the morning on 2 November.

A tremendous artillery barrage began as 150, 000 rounds were fired on a 400 -yard front during the next four hours. This awesome event produced a great red glow in the sky. The battlefield was shrouded with great clouds of dust that had been churned up by hundreds of vehicles moving, and the air was full of the acrid smell of cordite smoke. The first objectives were taken at approximately 4 am.

Two hours later the final objectives had fallen and were being consolidated. The Maori Battalion had cleared the enemy flank positions with brutal bayonet charges, and had linked with the Australians. Just before dawn, the three armored regiments of the 9 th Armored Brigade passed through to continue the attack. In spite of a strong anti-tank screen that inflicted heavy losses, the enemy line was decisively broken. A Panzer counter-attack was launched in the afternoon, but was met by the 1 st and 10 th British Armored Divisions and repelled with heavy losses. An armored car regiment, the Royal Dragoons, had broken through the enemy lines and was operating in the rear, cutting telephone lines and destroying supply dumps.

The 10 th Corps was victorious. On November 2 and 3, the battle continued, but Rommel's forces were now beginning a hasty retreat contrary to Hitlers orders. On 4 November, the Allies began to chase the Axis forces, while the Desert Air Force inflicted heavy losses upon Axis convoys. Rommel was headed towards El Agheila, but was forced back to Tripoli after learning of Eisenhower's North African landings. The landings meant that Rommel would have to go all the back to Tripoli to defend his base, and that the supplies and reinforcements that he was in dire need of were diverted to Tunisia. In Rommel's own words, this spelled the end of the army in Africa.

Indeed, the battle of El Alamein was a decisive victory for the Allies the first such victory of the war. The Axis forces suffered the loss of 59, 000 men who were killed, wounded, or captured, 34, 000 of who were German. Rommel also lost 500 tanks, 400 guns, and a great quantity of vehicles. Conversely, the Allies had 13, 000 men killed, wounded, or missing, while 432 tanks were destroyed. The Allied victory opened the door for the invasions of Sicily and Italy (conducted by the 8 th Army), and ensured the success of Eisenhower's North African landings.

The victory also assured that the fuel supplies of the Germans would remain depleted; the magnificent oil fields of Iraq and Iran would not fall under Hitlers control. The outcome also prevented the fall of India and of the entire African continent. El Alamein changed the balance of power in World War II. The battle marked the beginning of the successful Allied campaigns and the decline of the Axis powers.

Analysis of Hitlers order that Rommel remain in place shows Hitlers global over-commitment, and foreshadowed the outcome of the war. Indeed, the Battle of El Alamein was one of the most important of World War II. Bibliography: Works Referenced 1. Barnett, Corelli.

The Battle of El Alamein-Decision in the Desert. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1964. 2. Carver, Michael. El Alamein.

New York: The Macmillan Company, 1962. 3. El Alamein. 4. Falla, P. S. Germany and the Second World War-Volume III: The Mediterranean, South-east Europe, and North Africa.

Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995. 5. Montgomery, Field Marshal The Viscount of Alamein. El Alamein to the River Sangro. London: Hutchinson & Company, unknown date. 6.

Phillips, C. E. Lucas. Alamein.

Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1962. 7. Strawson, John. The Battle for North Africa. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1969.


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