A major turning point in Word War II was the Allied victory at El Alamein.
The Allied victory was the beginning of the end of the Western Desert Campaign, eliminating the Axis threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal and the Middle Eastern and Persian oil fields. The battle revived the morale of the Allies, being the first big success against the Axis since Operation Crusader in late 1941. There were many unusual coincidences which caused the Axis powers to suffer a decisive loss:
- Rommel continually requested equipment, supplies and fuel but the priority of the German war effort was the Eastern Front and very limited supplies reached North Africa. Ironically, the war on the Eastern Front turned out to be a major failure, but the major focus of the German high command on it caused them to lose on many other important fronts as well. For Rommel’s request to be ignored despite being the most brilliant military commander of World War II was a very poor decision on the part of the German high command.Furthermore, not only did this result the loss of the major battle at El Alamein; the hoped for benefit of using those troops against Russia failed as well, thereby causing the Axis powers to fail on both ends. The lack of supplies and fuel led to the defeat not only because they lacked sufficient firepower but also because Rommel couldn’t use his brilliance to his advantage because of his fuel limitation.Rommel hoped to move his troops faster than the Allies, to concentrate his defenses at the most important point (Schwerpunkt) but lack of fuel meant that once the Panzerarmee had concentrated, it would not be able to move again because of lack of fuel.[33]
- An uncanny coincidence that completely changed the outcome of the battle was Rommel’s sudden illness. Despite the lack of resources, Rommel’s forces were very well trained and powerful. The British were well aware that Rommel would be unable to mount a defense based on his usual tactics but no clear picture emerged of how he would fight the battle and British plans seriously underestimated the Axis defenses and the fighting power of the Panzerarmee.[34] However, right in middle of the campaign Rommel suddenly became so ill that in early September, arrangements were made for him to return to Germany on sick leave.
- In another extremely fortuitous coincidence, the replacement General Georg Stum died suddenly, from an unknown cause! He was found dead along the track with no wound that could be seen. He was known to have high blood pressure and it was thought he had died of a heart attack.[7] To have died suddenly in the midst of a crucial campaign was a major act of providence.
- Additionally, for some inexplicable reason, General Stum had prohibited the use of German artillery ammunition to attack the British forward assembly areas, where the troops were vulnerable, preferring to keep his limited resources in reserve.[3] This has been described by Reinhard Stumpf as “a grave mistake that enabled the British to form up for the attack in relative peace”.[6]
- In another act of providence, it was General Stum who led the campaign instead of the general that Rommel felt best suited to replace him. Rommel had suggested that Heinz Guderian should replace him in North Africa, but Guderian was not in favor at the time and his request was refused. Stumme was given the command instead. This decision of pure politics at the expense of a major battle that resulted in the command not being given to the most suitable replacement for Rommel was an additional act of providence.
- Another major factor in the war, was when Rommel realized that the battle could no longer be won, he was denied a request to make an organized retreat.
Because fighting a successful battle was no longer possible, the longer the German army continued on under impossible conditions, the heavier and more costly their losses. Rommel thought the order “demanded the impossible. … Denying Rommel the ability to make an orderly retreat and limit his losses was an act of providence that caused the defeat of the German army to be much more decisive. In Rommel’s words: “We were completely stunned, and for the first time in the African campaign I did not know what to do. A kind of apathy took hold of us as we issued orders for all existing positions to be held on instructions from the highest authority.”[101] The situation finally became so bad for the German army on 4 November, that Rommel had to ignore the superior command. Again in Rommel’s words, “The picture in the early afternoon of the 4th was as follows: powerful enemy armored forces … had burst a 19-kilometre hole in our front, through which strong bodies of tanks were moving to the west. As a result of this, our forces in the north were threatened with encirclement by enemy formations 20 times their number in tanks … There were no reserves, as every available man and gun had been put into the line. So now it had come, the thing we had done everything in our power to avoid – our front broken and the fully motorized enemy streaming into our rear. Superior orders could no longer count. We had to save what there was to be saved.”[106]
