The Battle of El Alamein was the beginning of the end for the Axis powers in North Africa...
Nothing to say. It is quite true and the British historians (both the official ones and the webmasters of sites talking of WWII) are right when they express their appreciation for the "tactical ability" and the "capacity of executing plans near perfectly" demonstrated by Montgomery.
Therefore, rather than narrating the movements of the various units which were thrown into the furnace of the african desert (you can find those information in many excellent books), I do believe that the true story of El Alamein is that reported in the following table :
| Situation as at : October 23, 1942 | British | Axis | of which German | of which Italian |
| Troopers | 195,000 | 104,000 | 50,000 | 54,000 |
| Tanks : deployed | 1,029 | 489 | 211 | 278 |
| Tanks : available in the rear lines | more than 1,600 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guns | 2,311 | 1,219 | 644 | 575 |
| Aircraft : battleworthy | 530 | 355 | 155 | 200 |
| Aircraft : under repair | 220 | 320 | 120 | 200 |
At the end of the battle, when Rommel began to withdraw the remnants of his troops towards Tripolitania, the British still had more than 600 tanks against the few tens of Axis tanks. Both the Ariete and the Littorio armored divisions were almost completely disrupted and ceased to exist as independent units. They merged, together with the survivors of the Trieste division into the Ariete Tactical Group which soldiered in Libya and in Tunisia throughout May 1943 when the Axis forces actually surrendered to the Anglo-Americans.
FRA SABBIE NON PIU' DESERTE SONO QUI DI
Parole destinate al Cimitero del Km 32 - Scritte dal Ten.Col.
Paracad. Alberto Bechi Luserna, Medaglia d'Oro, Caduto per la Patria.
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