The Trip That Keeps Growing

6 Oct Pre-Tour El Alamein

Today we traveled to El Alamein as both Bill and Larry were interested in seeing where the North African campaign of WWII was fought. As we were leaving the area around Cairo, in addition to our security guard inside the van, we picked up a police escort of two vehicles – a police car with 3 armed police officers and a SWAT-type vehicle with 4 men, some of whom were armed with machine guns. Sometimes they would travel with their sirens blaring and sometimes not. People would look into the car to see the “celebrities.” I felt like buying a tiara and practicing my Princess wave! But at least we were safe and would not get a ticket for speeding. It was about a 3-hour drive to El Alamein. Once we got there, Dahlia told us they were building a “New City” in the hopes of attracting more tourists as it is a popular beach resort in the summer. With the amount of new condos being built – around 100,000-200,00 new condos – I think they are expecting a lot of people. There was construction everywhere!

El Alamein (which means two flags) lies on the Mediterranean Sea about 66 miles west of Alexandria and 149 miles northwest of Cairo.

It played a pivotal role in WWII as part of the Western Desert Campaign between British and Axis (German and Italian) troops. Two battles were fought there in 1942 as the British were determined not to let the Germans capture the Suez Canal. The loss of the canal would have seriously hampered the Allied war efforts as the only way to resupply their troops would have been a route around South Africa. Losing the canal would have also given Germany free access to the oil in the Middle East. Although El Alamein was just a small railroad town, the Germans felt that by defeating the British there they would have free access to the Suez Canal.

Early in the war, the British realized this and to prevent the German forces from flanking and attacking the Allied troops at El Alamein from the rear, they reinforced the location around El Alamein with land mines and barb wire fences. In June 1942 German commander Rommel began his sweep toward the Nile River and the Suez Canal, but he first had to capture El Alamein. The first battle occurred from 1-27 July 1942, but ended in a stalemate. However, it did succeed in halting the advance of the Axis troops into El Alamein and Alexandria. Having incurred significant damage and casualties, the British forces knew that they would not be ready for another attack before mid-September. They also realized that Rommel would attack again sooner rather than later.

In August, Winston Churchill replaced the Allied commander in North Africa with Field Marshal Montgomery. As a result of the capture and deciphering of Rommel’s battle plan, Montgomery knew that he was planning to attack the Allied troops from the South. In addition, Rommel was extremely short of supplies, while the Allies were able to restock. Montgomery had placed a large number of land mines to the south of El Alamein, and when Rommel began his attack in late August, his panzer division was heavily damaged. Allied aircraft then were able to attack “the sitting duck” tanks. This forced Rommel to retreat thinking that Montgomery would follow, as was the standard procedure. But Montgomery did not follow as he was not yet ready for an offensive battle. He was waiting for the arrival of Sherman Tanks. In addition, the land between the two forces had been heavily mined by the Germans.

To throw the Germans off guard, Montgomery employed a little subterfuge. He made the Germans think that he was attacking from the south. He placed dummy tanks in position and also built a dummy pipeline. He camouflaged the tanks in the north to make it appear that they had left the area. He gave his plan the name “Operation Lightfoot.” He launched a small diversionary attack from the south, with his main forces attacking from the north. The first Northern troops to go in were infantry. They were too light to trip the land mines, and engineers followed to clear the mine field so the Sherman tanks could advance. Unfortunately, this failed as it was not possible to clear the mines – many were interconnected. The cleared land only allowed for one tank at a time to pass through. If one broke down, then the rest were bottlenecked behind it. Montgomery reluctantly had to end “Operation Lightfoot” and pull his tanks back.

Montgomery then changed tactics and decided to have the Australians attack the German forces that were by the Mediterranean Sea. This changed the course of the battle. To defend his position, Rommel moved most of his forces and tanks to the Mediterranean, thinking that that was where Montgomery’s main attack would occur. While the Australians were fighting the Germans, Montgomery had his forces attack Rommel from the south, catching him off guard. Although hindered by a sandstorm and the loss of many tanks, Montgomery was able to defeat Rommel – his tanks outnumbered what was left of Rommel’s tanks. On 4 November, Rommel, despite orders from Hitler to fight to the last man, began his retreat. The Germans had lost 25,000 men to death or injury while the Allied forces lost 13,000 troops.

While Montgomery was ultimately successful in North Africa, it was more that he possessed superior numbers, supplies, and air power to that of the Germans rather than his military leadership. While he garnered praise and decorations from the British, he was barely tolerated by Generals Patton and Eisenhower. His indecision and inaction nearly caused the Allies to lose Normandy and his battle plan for capturing the bridges in and around Arnhem and Nijmegen in the Netherlands – Operation Garden Market and a subsequent film “A Bridge Too Far” – was ill-planned and resulted in major casualties by the Allied forces. (As an aside, when we were on the Rhine River cruise, we stopped in Nijmegen and were treated to a talk by one of the local townspeople who lived through the Operation Garden Market and saw the Allied paratroopers trying to land and capture the bridges. Although it was unsuccessful, the people of Nijmegen still show their appreciation every evening as 48 townsfolk walk across one of the bridges where 48 Americans died.)

Our first stop was to the El Alamein Museum. It is a relatively small museum with 5 halls. The first hall shows all 12 countries that participated in this campaign – 2 Axis (Germany and Italy) and 10 Allied – Britain, Egypt, France, Greece, India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, and the United States (we basically provided logistical and supply support). The first hall was a mixed hall showing some pictures and memorabilia from all the countries involved in the fighting and the other 4 halls were dedicated to the 4 major players – Britain, Egypt, Germany and Italy. One of the Egyptian soldiers assigned to the museum took us around explaining the several fronts on which the battle was fought. Outside the museum was a display of Allied and Axis vehicles, aircraft, and artillery.

After the museum we drove first to the Commonwealth Cemetery (really the only cemetery in El Alamein) where Bill and Larry walked down with Dahlia to see it. When then made brief stops at the German Memorial (where Bill translated for the group) and the Italian Memorial.

The highlight of the day for Patrice and I was lunch (at least until Patrice had a mild reaction to a piece of pumpkin that we think came in contact with seafood, of which she is highly allergic) was the Al Alamein Hotel, a beach front resort that had a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea. I always though of the Mediterranean as a dark blue body of water (as opposed to the crystal clear water of the Caribbean Sea), but here the water is clear and a beautiful light blue. For lunch we had grilled chicken, grilled vegetables, mashed potatoes, and French fries (they really love fries here), with wine to drink. A perfect combination to help us sleep on the drive back to the hotel.

Both Larry and Bill were disappointed that they were unable to see the actual battlefield sites, but, most likely, they do not exist anymore (think back to all the new construction in El Alamein). And what may still exist is desert only – no structures or equipment, except for many land mines that have not been removed. These mines play havoc with the Bedouins who live in the desert here. Back at the hotel, Bill and I decided to eat in the hotel’s restaurant, but both Patrice and Larry decided to call it a night. The food at the hotel was very good and plentiful. I had a huge plate of lasagna that I could only eat half, while Bill had a seafood grill. The exchange rate is very definitely in our favor – 15 Egyptian pounds to $1.00, so for the most part things are fairly cheap for us.