-
Operation Bertram
Before the battle, the commonwealth forces practiced deceptions to confuse the Axis command as to where and when the battle was going to occur. In September, they dumped waste materials. The Axis noticed these but took no offensive action followed. This allowed the Eight Army to build up their supplies. -
Operation Braganza
The 131st (Queen's) Infantry Brigade launched this operation which attacked the paratroopers of 185th Infantry Division "Folgore" on the night of 29th/30th of September. The paratroopers repelled the attack, killing or capturing over 300 of the attackers. -
Operation Lightfoot
Oct 29, 1942- Nov 3,1942
Lieutenant-General Montgomery's plan was for a main attack to the north and a secondary attack to the south. For the first night of the offensive, Montgomery planned for four infantry divisions of XXX Corps to advance. Engineers cleared and marked the two lanes through the minefields. They rallied and consolidated their position. The Eighth Army destroyed any tanks that attacked them. -
Axis plan
The Axis forces went onto the defensive but losses had not been excessive. Rommel continued to request equipment, supplies and fuel. he added depth to his defences by creating at least two belts of mines. -
D + 15 onward, 7th to the 11th of November
The 10th Armoured Division, on the coast road and with ample fuel, advanced to Mersa Matruh while its infantry mopped up on the road west of Galal.[131] Rommel intended to fight a delaying action at Sidi Barrani. By nightfall, the egyptian wall was clear but Lieutenant General Montgomery was forced to order that the pursuit should temporarily be continued -
The Aftermath
Rommel did not lose hope until the end of the Tunisia Campaign. Churchill was due to address the Lord Mayor's Banquet at the Mansion House on November 10th, 1942. He wrote in his memoirs that: "It may almost be said, 'Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat."