HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

German and Italian forces led by General Erwin Rommel were stationed at North Africa as part of Hitler’s Master Plan to take over Europe. Rommel attacked in late August 1942, at Alam el Halfa, south of El Alemein, Egypt. The British halted the attack, mostly because they had secretly learned about the attack. Winston Churchill had ordered General Montgomery to attack the Germans, but Montgomery neglected the idea, saying that the soldiers were not ready for a counterattack. On October 23, 1942 Montgomery struck at El Alamein. He broke through the enemy lines by early November. The German and Italian retreated to Tunisia. Soon after the Battle of El Alamein, the Allies invaded a few French colonies in Northern Africa. Allied troops, commanded by Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower landed in Algeria and Morocco on Nov 8, 1942, Vichy French forces fought back for a few days. Then they joined the Allied Side after many defeats in North Africa. As Allies planed to move into Tunisia as a base to attack Sicily and Italy, but Rommel’s faster army had arrived there first and had established their base there as well as a place to prepare for battle. American troops had arrived in Tunisia near Kasserine-Pass in an effort to take Rommel out of Tunisia. Rommel defeated the inexperienced Americans in hard fighting. Later, the Allies closed in on Rommel’s troops. The last of Rommel’s army surrendered in May of 1943. Allies now had air and naval bases of which to invade southern Europe. In conclusion, after fierce fighting of desert warfare and smart tactics, the Allies were victorious over the Axis and turned the tide of the war.