It was a battle that lasted 27 days and prevented Afrika Korps from reaching Cairo. After the battle of Gazala, the British Eighth Army retreated to El Alamein line.
General sir Claude Auchinleck (right), Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain (left). 5 August 1942 [via]
British troops dig in at El Alamein during the first battle. 1942 [IWM 4700-32]
British infantry manning a sandbagged defensive position near El Alamein. 17 July 1942 [via]
Afrika Korps tank hunters with an Sd.Kfz. 232 armoured car in front [via]
An Australian machine gun post near El Alamein in July 1942. The forward troops had to endure cramped conditions in slit trenches during the heat of the day, as movement above ground was impossible due to enemy fire [via]
An Australian soldier with a captured German MG 34 machine gun. 25 July 1942 [via]
A 4.5-inch field gun of 64th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery, in action. 28 July 1942 [via]
A 25-pdr field gun of 11th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, in action. July 1942 [via]
Gunners of 2/8th Australian Field Regiment firing a 25-pounder during the battle of El Alamein. Artillery was used at El Alamein on a massive scale, supporting the infantry when they went forward, and protecting them when they were counterattacked. 12 July 1942 [AWM 024513]
A soldier inspects a dug-in German 88mm anti-tank gun abandoned during the enemy retreat. 24 July 1942 [via]
A Hurricane fighter plane burning after it had been shot down near El Alamein. 7 July 1942 [AWM 024476]
A Crusader tank of the Australian 9th Division Cavalry Regiment. Most Allied armoured formations in North Africa were British, and they were the ones who usually bore the brunt of Rommel’s panzer attacks. 10 July 1942 [AWM 024483]
A German 88mm anti-tank gun captured and destroyed by New Zealand troops near El Alamein. 17 July 1942 [via]
A soldier inspects an Italian M13/40 tank that was knocked out near El Alamein. 11 July 1942 [via]
A German Signals reception unit in the desert [via]
German 15 cm heavy artillery howitzers being towed by Sd.Kfz. 9 “Famo” half trucks towards El Alamein during the first battle. July 1942 [IWM (MH 5869)]
A camel stands in the midst of wrecked vehicles from the Battle of El Alamein