Battle of Alam el Halfa Battle of Alam el Halfa The Battle of Alam el Halfa took place between 30 August and 5 September 1942 south of El Alamein during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. "Panzerarmee Afrika"—a German–Italian force commanded by "Generalfeldmarschall" Erwin Rommel—attempted an envelopment of the British Eighth Army, commanded by Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery. In the last major Axis offensive (Operation Brandung/"Unternehmung Brandung") of the Western Desert Campaign, Rommel had planned to defeat the Eighth Army before Allied reinforcements made an Axis victory in Africa impossible. Montgomery, who had been forewarned of Rommel's intentions by Ultra intelligence intercepts, left
Battle of Alam el Halfa to the Axis was not just a tactical defeat and retreat. With the Alam Halfa failure, Rommel was deprived not only of the operational ability to initiate offensives, he lost the operational and tactical ability to defend the German base in Africa. Axis strategic aims in the African theatre were no longer possible. After Rommel's failed attempt to break through during the First Battle of El Alamein and the counterattacks by the Eighth Army, under General Sir Claude Auchinleck, during July 1942, both sides were exhausted. They dug in to rebuild their strength. At Alamein, Rommel's supply position was precarious.