While sunning yourself in El-Sahel this summer, take a momentto remember those who fell nearby on Second World War battlefields
By Tom Gara
Although largely defined by the fighting that took place in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, one of the most important battles of the Second World War occurred in Egypt, just over 100 kilometers west of Alexandria.
The Battle of El-Alamein saw Allied troops led by the newly promoted British General Bernard Montgomery take on the Axis forces under the notorious, highly talented “Desert Fox,” German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. The strategic implications of losing control of the Nile Valley, and therefore the Suez Canal, would have been disastrous for the Allies, who placed a supreme urgency on defeating Rommel’s Afrika Korps.
After a series of territorial gains and significant victories in North Africa, the Afrika Korps had made their way well into Egypt, where Allied forces finally reversed the tide in the Battle of El-Alamein. The Allied strategy of drawing Rommel into a series of costly, protracted offensives, followed by a “punch” back against the weakened offensive lines, was a hallmark of the “attrition” strategy used elsewhere in the war — most notably in the fiercely fought Battle of Stalingrad, happening almost simultaneously on the Eastern Front in Europe.
At kilometer 111 off the Alexandria-Marsa Matruh Road, a plaque marks the point where the advance of the Axis powers was halted. Within a several kilometer radius of this site, memorials commemorate the tens of thousands of soldiers from both sides of the war who died there.
The largest memorial can be found at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery, home to the graves of 7,367 Allied soldiers — Australian, British, Canadian, Indian, African and others. The number of graves is put more into perspective by a memorial plaque in the garden of the site paying homage to the 12,000 additional soldiers whose bodies were never recovered for burial. For those who have relatives buried there, try asking the caretaker, who is on call in a cottage just outside the gate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Nearby, the Italian Cemetery is marked by a tower of white marble. The site features a small museum and a chapel in memory of the 4,800 dead, along with a list of 38,000 missing troops. The nearby German Memorial sits atop a hill overlooking the sea. Inside its octagonal structure stands an 11.5-meter-high obelisk marking the 4,280 German soldiers buried there. Underneath lies a basement full of unidentified remains and rusted artifacts recovered from nearby battlefields. Ask the caretaker respectfully and you should be able to see this somber memorial room.
There is no admission charge at any of the cemeteries.
The Alamein War Museum (Open daily from 9am–5pm Tel: +2 (046) 410-0031) features an extensive selection of items that explain the war from both Allied and Axis perspectives. Large illustrated maps help illuminate just how the battles took place and the decommissioned armored vehicles and artillery pieces in the garden make for interesting viewing for adults and children alike.
If you want to experience the feeling of the great battles in person, local guides with four-wheel-drive vehicles can take you to Kidney Hill, Tel El-Issa and other battle sites. These sites still contain buried bunkers, ammunition dumps and barbed wire, and make for a great day of guided exploring. Make sure not to stray off the beaten (and guided) track as hundreds of thousands of land mines and pieces of unexploded ordinance remain embedded in the desert floor.
West of the town, the Graveyard of Panzers can be found at Tel El-Aqaqir, 10 kilometers south of Sidi Abdel-Rahman. Home of the final, convincing defeat of the Afrika Korps, the site is peppered with the burnt, bombed, and generally out-of-order remains of many tanks (or “panzer” in German). In Marsa Matruh, you can visit the cave where Rommel plotted his failed offensive. Now a museum, its displays feature the Desert Fox’s desk, maps and leather greatcoat.
posted If you could get there its a truely amazing place to see i acted out a battle there the brigader is a magnificent man hows hes dressed is so groovy. Im had a fare share of my family in there and i had to go ,look out for the little mosque just before you enter its wonderous to go in wall to wall rugs .And have some sweets ready plenty of children but have a guide with a car to get you back where your staying ,its a long walk in the dessert and a lot thumbing for a lift if you have no transport but never broadcast your native tongue out loud cause all they will see is money signs on your forhead .But really they are lovley bunch and its hot there .
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