Battle of El Agheila
The Battle of El Agheila was a brief engagement of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. It took place in December 1942 between Allied forces of the Eighth Army and the Axis forces of the German-Italian Panzer Army, during the long Axis withdrawal from El Alamein to Tunis. It ended with the German-Italian Panzer Army resuming its retreat towards Tunisia, where the Tunisia Campaign had begun with Operation Torch
Background
On 4 November 1942, Rommel decided to end the Second Battle of El Alamein and withdraw west towards Libya. In doing so, he defied the "Stand to the last" orders of Adolf Hitler, to save the remainder of his force. The Afrika Korps reached the village of Fuka the next day. Italian forces had arrived earlier, having withdrawn from El Alamein from and formed a defensive line. The Italians resumed their withdrawal on the same day after an Allied attack and the Germans followed suit. Montgomery rested some of his formations after their efforts at El Alamein, leading with the 4th Light Armoured Brigade.Rain on the afternoon of 6 November impeded the British pursuit as the Axis forces continued their withdrawal and a new defence line was established at Mersa Matruh the following day, some west of El Alamein. Rommel received a warning from Hitler of an expected Allied landing between Tobruk and Benghazi but on 8 November, he discovered that this was wrong. There were Anglo-American landings in Morocco and Algeria. The Eastern Task Force—aimed at Algiers—landed with 20,000 troops and began moving east towards Rommel. Facing the prospect of a large Allied force to his rear, he decided to withdraw in one bound to El Agheila.
Axis forces retired from Sidi Barrani on 9 November and Halfaya Pass the last position in Egypt, on 11 November. Cyrenaica was abandoned without serious resistance. Rommel wanted to save of equipment in Tobruk but it fell to the British on 13 November. An attempt by Montgomery to trap the Tobruk garrison by an encirclement toward Acroma, west of Tobruk failed and the garrison retreated along the Via Balbia toward Benghazi with few losses. Derna and the airfield at Martuba were captured on 15 November. The RAF quickly occupied the airfield to provide air cover for a Malta convoy on 18 November. Axis forces had withdrawn in ten days.
Despite the importance of the Port of Benghazi to the Axis supply chain, Rommel abandoned the port to avoid a repeat of the disastrous entrapment suffered by the Italians at the Battle of Beda Fomm in February 1941. Rommel ordered the demolition of port facilities and materiel in Benghazi, writing afterwards that
Benghazi was occupied by the British on 20 November and three days later, the Axis forces retreated from Agedabia and fell back to Mersa Brega. During their withdrawal to Mersa Brega, Axis forces faced many difficulties, including British air superiority. The Desert Air Force attacked Axis columns crowded on the coast road and short of fuel. To delay the British advance, Axis sappers laid mines in the Mersa Brega area; steel helmets were buried to mislead British mine detectors.
For much of the pursuit to El Agheila, the British were uncertain of Rommel's intentions. They had been caught out in earlier campaigns by an enemy that had drawn them on and then counter-attacked. Montgomery had intended to build his army's morale by banishing the habit of defeat and retreat and the 1st Armoured Division and 2nd New Zealand Division were held at Bardia, resting and providing a defence. Despite Rommel's concerns of entrapment by a rapid Allied advance across the Cyrenaica bulge, Montgomery was aware that an extended and isolated force could also be vulnerable, as in early 1941 and early 1942. When a reconnaissance force of armoured cars was sent across country, it was delayed by waterlogged ground. Signals intelligence revealed to the Eighth Army that the Panzerarmee was virtually immobilised by lack of fuel, prompting Montgomery to order a stronger force to be sent across country. Having heard of the presence of the reconnaissance force, Rommel brought forward his retirement from Benghazi and was able to brush the armoured cars aside, untroubled by the stronger force which had yet to arrive.
Prelude
Axis
During the eighteen days between the evacuation of Agedabia on 23 November and the beginning of the Battle of El Agheila on 11 December Rommel described disagreements with his political and military superiors and he engaged in fruitless bitter arguments with Hitler, Hermann Göring, General Albert Kesselring Oberbefehlshaber Süd), Ugo Cavallero the Italian chief of staff at Comando Supremo and the governor of Libya, Ettore Bastico. Rommel wanted to withdraw to Tunis as soon as possible and the others wanted him to make a stand on the El Agheila–Mersa Brega line. Mussolini ordered Rommel to stand on the Agheila line to defend Tripolitania and this was supported by Hitler, who ordered that El Agheila should be held "in all circumstances".Although the Agheila position was naturally strong, being surrounded by salt marshes, soft sand or broken ground, restricting the ability of vehicles to manoeuvre, Rommel's assessment was that he would be able to hold the position only if he received artillery and tank replacements, if the Luftwaffe was strengthened and his fuel and ammunition supplies were restored. By this time, all available men and equipment were being diverted to Tunis, following the Allied landings of Operation Torch, to prevent Tunisia falling to an Allied advance from Algeria. By the time of Rommel's visit to Berlin at the beginning of December, Mussolini and Hitler had accepted the reality of the situation and agreed for preparations to be made for a withdrawal to Buerat, some to the west and by 3 December, the un-mechanised Italian infantry had begun a retirement.
British
The British had to supply their forces from Egypt to Agedabia. Supplies could be moved from Alexandria to Tobruk by rail, the from Tobruk to Agedabia was slightly shorter but supplies had to go by road on the Via Balbia or by sea to Benghazi and then by road to Agedabia. On 26 November, X Corps was taken into reserve and XXX Corps took over the Eighth Army front line with the 7th Armoured Division, 51st Infantry Division and the 2nd New Zealand Division. At the end of November, Montgomery planned for the 2nd New Zealand Division with the 4th Light Armoured Brigade under command, to commence a wide outflanking movement on 13 December. The manoeuvre was to be masked by bombardments and infantry raids on the forward positions of the Panzerarmee, commencing on the night of to divert attention. A frontal attack by the 51st Division on the coast and the 7th Armoured Division inland on their left would begin on the night of once the New Zealanders were in position behind the Axis position.Battle
Rommel's supply position had not improved: Tunisia was still being prioritised for supplies and of the ships which were sent to Tripoli to supply the Panzer Army in November, three quarters had been destroyed. Rommel was short of men and equipment and very short of fuel and ammunition. His stated intention therefore was to hold out as long as possible but to retire in the face of strong pressure. When the preliminary attacks began on 11 December Rommel took this to be the start of Eighth Army's attack and started to withdraw. By mid morning on 12 December patrols detected that the Axis positions were starting to thin out. In response Montgomery ordered the New Zealand Division to move immediately and brought forward the main assault to the night of 14/15 December. By the evening of 12 December, the Axis withdrawal was under way, except for some units who were covering the extrication.On 13 December, Axis reconnaissance aircraft discovered some 300 vehicles north of Marada oasis south of El Agheila, which meant for the Axis forces the danger of being outflanked. Rommel wished to launch his remaining armour at this outflanking force but was prevented by lack of fuel and ordered the withdrawal to continue. An attack by the 7th Armoured Division was repulsed in a rearguard action by the Italian Ariete Division. In his diary, Rommel wrote:
The Eighth Army change of plan had come too late and when the New Zealand Division completed their "left hook" on 15 December, they were dispersed after a difficult journey across difficult terrain which left them with only 17 serviceable tanks. They found the 15th Panzer Division on the escarpment guarding the coast road and the 6th New Zealand Brigade, further west, was ordered to form a block on the coast road, while the 5th Brigade protected the divisional supply and transport vehicles. During the night of 15/16 December, most of the remaining elements of the Panzer Army were able to withdraw towards Nofilia, moving in small fast columns through the gaps in the dispersed New Zealand units, under cover of dark. On 18 December, short-lived but fierce fighting took place at Nofaliya, during which Rifleman Charles Ashford of the Kings Royal Rifles won the Military Medal for attacking an emplacement of panzers in his Bren Gun Carrier despite losing his support vehicles and being shot in the face. The fighting at Nofilia brought the battle of El Agheila to an end.