Battle of El Agheila facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of El Agheila |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War | |||||||||
 The withdrawal of the Axis forces through North Africa |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 United Kingdom New Zealand |
 Germany Italy |
||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Bernard Montgomery |
Erwin Rommel |
||||||||
The Battle of El Agheila was a short but important fight during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. It happened in December 1942 in Libya. This battle was between the Allied Eighth Army, led by General Bernard Montgomery, and the Axis German-Italian Panzer Army, led by General Erwin Rommel.
The battle took place as the Axis forces were retreating a long way from El Alamein in Egypt towards Tunis. The Eighth Army wanted to surround and trap the Axis army as they pulled back. However, the Allied plan didn't fully work. A direct attack by the British 7th Armoured Division was stopped by Italian soldiers defending the rear. Also, the New Zealand units trying to go around the enemy got spread out in the desert. The battle ended with the German-Italian Panzer Army continuing its retreat into Tripolitania, heading for Tunisia. The Tunisia Campaign had already started there with Operation Torch, an Allied invasion in November 1942.
Contents
Why the Battle Happened: The Retreat Begins
Axis Retreat from Egypt
On November 4, 1942, General Rommel decided to end the Second Battle of El Alamein and pull his forces back west into Libya. He did this even though Adolf Hitler had ordered him to fight to the very end. Rommel wanted to save his army.
The German Afrika Korps reached the village of Fuka the next day. Italian forces had already arrived there and set up a defensive line. But they soon continued their retreat, with the Germans following. The Eighth Army, led by Montgomery, chased them. Heavy rain on November 6 made it harder for the Eighth Army to pursue the Axis forces.
A new defense line was set up at Mersa Matruh. On November 8, Rommel learned about the Allied landings in Morocco and Algeria, called Operation Torch. This meant a large Allied force was now behind him, moving east towards his army. Facing this new threat, Rommel decided to retreat all the way to El Agheila. The Axis forces left Sidi Barrani on November 9 and Halfaya Pass, the last position in Egypt, on November 11. They gave up Cyrenaica (a region in Libya) without much fighting.
Axis Retreat Through Cyrenaica
Rommel wanted to save equipment in Tobruk, an important port. But the Eighth Army captured Tobruk on November 13. Montgomery tried to trap the Axis soldiers in Tobruk, but they managed to escape along the main road towards Benghazi with few losses.
Derna and the airfield at Martuba were captured on November 15. The RAF quickly used the airfield to help protect a supply convoy going to Malta. The Axis forces had retreated about 400 miles in just ten days!
Even though Benghazi was very important for Axis supplies, Rommel gave up the port. He wanted to avoid his army being trapped there, like what happened to the Italians in 1941. Rommel ordered the destruction of the port facilities and supplies in Benghazi.
Benghazi was taken by the Eighth Army on November 20. Three days later, the Axis forces retreated from Agedabia to Mersa Brega. During this retreat, the Axis faced many problems. Allied planes from the Desert Air Force constantly attacked their columns, which were crowded on the coast road and low on fuel. To slow down the Eighth Army, Axis engineers laid many mines and even buried steel helmets to trick mine detectors.
For much of the chase to El Agheila, the Eighth Army leaders weren't sure what Rommel would do. They had been tricked before by the enemy, who would pull them in and then counter-attack. Montgomery wanted to make sure his army felt confident and stopped the old habit of retreating.
The Eighth Army had to bring supplies all the way from Egypt to Agedabia. This was a very long journey, mostly by road or sea.
Preparing for Battle
The German-Italian Panzer Army
Between November 23 and December 11, Rommel had many arguments with his leaders. He wanted to retreat to Tunis as fast as possible. But others, including Benito Mussolini (Italy's leader) and Hitler, wanted him to hold the line at El Agheila. They ordered him to defend El Agheila "at all costs."
The El Agheila position was naturally strong, surrounded by salt marshes, soft sand, and minefields, which made it hard for vehicles to move. Rommel believed he could only hold the position if he got more artillery, tanks, air support, and fresh supplies of fuel and ammunition.
However, most available men and equipment were being sent to Tunisia to stop the Allied advance there. Rommel's supply situation did not get better. Many supply ships sent to Tripoli were sunk. Rommel was short of soldiers, equipment, fuel, and ammunition. He planned to hold out as long as he could, but to retreat if the pressure became too strong.
The Eighth Army's Plan
The Eighth Army had to bring all their supplies from Alexandria in Egypt, a very long distance. By the end of November, Montgomery made a plan. The 2nd New Zealand Division would make a wide circling movement around the Axis forces, starting on December 13. To hide this move, the Eighth Army would launch attacks and bombardments on the Axis front lines on the night of December 11/12.
A direct attack by the 51st (Highland) Division along the coast and the 7th Armoured Division inland would begin on the night of December 16/17. This would happen once the New Zealanders were in position behind the Axis lines. Planes from the U.S. 316th Troop Carrier Command flew huge amounts of fuel to supply the Allied air force. Allied planes pushed Axis aircraft out of their bases and bombed ports.
The Battle of El Agheila
When the first attacks began on December 11, Rommel thought this was the start of the main Eighth Army attack and began to retreat. By the morning of December 12, Allied patrols noticed that the Axis forces were thinning out their positions. Montgomery then ordered the New Zealand Division to move immediately and brought forward the main attack to the night of December 14/15. By the evening of December 12, the Axis retreat was fully underway, except for some soldiers left behind to defend the rear.
On December 13, Axis planes spotted about 300 vehicles (the New Zealand column) south of El Agheila. This meant the Axis forces were in danger of being surrounded. Rommel wanted to use his remaining tanks to attack this force, but he couldn't because he had no fuel. So, he ordered the retreat to continue.
An attack by the British 7th Armoured Division was stopped by a strong defense from the Italian Tactical Group Ariete. Rommel wrote in his diary that the Italians fought "magnificently" for nearly ten hours against 80 British tanks. He said they threw back the British, leaving 22 British tanks destroyed or damaged.
The Eighth Army's change of plan came too late. When the New Zealand Division completed their wide "left hook" on December 15, they were spread out. They had only 17 working tanks left after a difficult journey through rough land. They found the German 15th Panzer Division guarding the coast road.
During the night of December 15/16, most of the remaining Axis Panzer Army managed to retreat towards Nofilia. They moved in small, fast groups through gaps in the spread-out New Zealand units, hidden by the darkness. On December 18, a short fight happened at Nofaliya, west of El Agheila. The Eighth Army was not able to surround the Axis force, which continued to retreat westward.
What Happened Next
Losses in the Battle
Historians have recorded the losses from the Battle of El Agheila. The 2nd New Zealand Division had 11 soldiers killed, 29 wounded, and 8 taken prisoner. For the Axis forces, it's estimated that from December 13 to 17, about 450 prisoners were taken, 25 guns were destroyed, and 18 tanks were lost.
Next Steps in the War
After El Agheila, Rommel planned to defend the Gabes Gap in Tunisia. This area was near the pre-war French Mareth line. He wanted to hold the port of Buerat while another German army in Tunisia faced the Allied First Army.
The front line was 400 miles from Tobruk, and it was very hard for the Eighth Army to get supplies to all its units. Buerat was not strongly defended. Even though Montgomery knew the Axis forces were weak, he waited until January 16, 1943. By then, the Eighth Army had a much bigger advantage in soldiers and tanks.
Allied bombing started on January 12. The main attack began on January 15. The Eighth Army moved along the coast road, carefully going through minefields and traps. Rommel retreated on January 15, and by January 19, he had left Tripoli after destroying its port. The Axis troops then fought delaying actions as they moved into Tunisia. The 7th Armoured Division entered Tripoli on the night of January 22/23. The Panzer Army reached the Mareth line, another 200 miles west, on January 23.
See also
- List of British military equipment of World War II
- List of German military equipment of World War II
- List of Italian Army equipment in World War II
