A major battle being fought in the desert in Egypt during World War II? The first question many students of this war ask is why? When the majority of the European theater of the war was fought in a 500 mile radius, why was there a major confrontation in a seemingly desolate and unimportant land?
The key, of course, was control of the Suez Canal and the shipping importance attached to that canal. That was the main objective of Germany in what was known as the Western Desert Campaign fought between the Axis forces of Germany and Italy and the Allied forces comprised mainly of Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. The famed Panzer Army Africa under the leadership of Rommel and the British Eighth Army commanded by General Auchinleck did battle from July 1st to July 27th, a942 at El Alamein, Egypt, 66 miles from Alexandria, Egypt and the Suez Canal.
By battle’s end it was pretty much a stalemate with 13,250 casualties for the Allies and 17,000 casualties for the Axis, but of greater significance was the fact that it halted the German advance and led the way to a complete defeat in the 2nd Battle of El Alamein months later.
This was a classic example of one combatant establishing a very defensible position, using geography to provide cover and defense and protect against a possibly crippling flank attack. The Axis army was left with no other option than to attack and then attack again an army that was dug in and beautifully protected. History has many such examples of the terrain being used to defend an army and ultimately weaken an attacking army and the Battle of El Alamein was a great example of this happening.
The importance of the Suez Canal need not be studied in depth but we will only mention that to control the Suez Canal would be to control all shipping to and from Africa and the Middle East and to also provide a perfect launch spot for attacks from the Mediterranean Sea. It was not, however, to be for the Axis Command and it ended up being a stinging setback in their overall battle strategy.
Aces High, the combat simulator that so beautifully replicates World War 2, was created by HiTech Creations and has proven over the years to be the leader among World War 2 flight simulators. Anyone interested in experiencing the feel of World War II through a flight simulation game need look no further than Aces High. War games don’t get any better than this one.
