El Alamein was a small railway town on the Egyptian coast that was chosen by British Commander-in-Chief Claude Auchinleck to be the main defensive position against the mid-1942 offensive conducted by Erwin Rommel. Auchinleck had chosen the location largely because of the Qattara Depression to the south, which made any attempt to out-flank the Allied defensive lines unfeasible as the Axis forces would have to venture far south into the Sahara Desert. Two additional defensive positions to the south, Bab el Qattara southwest of the Ruweisat Ridge and Naq Abu Dweis at the edge of the Qattara Depression, completed the Allied line, although these two additional positions were far less prepared.
In the rear, British civilian offices in Cairo, Egypt, having heard of the string of defeats at Gazala, Tobruk, and Mersa Matruh, began burning papers. Auchinleck also gave orders to expand defensive structures at Alexandria and Cairo, while flooding certain areas of the Nile River Delta, in preparation of Axis penetration beyond El Alamein.
While the Allied leadership prepared for further defeat, the Axis leadership was ready for a major victory. Italian leader Benito Mussolini, for example, flew to Libya for the expected triumphant entry into Cairo.
Having secured the Mersa Matruh region, Rommel gave his orders to advance, reaching the El Alamein area on 30 Jun. Although the Axis troops were tired and supplies were low, Rommel believed that he had the momentum on his side, especially as the morale on the Allied side was low. On 1 Jul, at 0300 hours, German 90th Light Division began to advance for El Alamein; it was to march east past El Alamein and then turn northeast to envelope the garrison, while Italian troops were to launch an attack on the western perimeter of the Allied position. The German 90th Light Division was initially successful, but quickly became pinned down when it came in contact with the South African 1st Division. Meanwhile, German and Italian tanks moved toward the southern end of the line to protect the right flank of the offensive; this movement was also slowed, first by a sandstorm and then by air attacks. At 1000 hours, tanks of the German 21st Panzer Division reached Deir el Shein west of Ruweisat Ridge and engaged the Indian 18th Infantry Division, which had just arrived from Iraq on 28 Jun; initially the Indian troops held their ground with artillery and several tanks, but this position would be overrun in the evening. During the fighting at Deir el Shein, tanks of the British 1st Armoured Division moved in to reinforce the Indian 18th Infantry Division, and drove off tanks of the German 15th Panzer Division south of Deir el Shein. In the early afternoon, German 90th Light Division briefly freed itself from the South African 1st Division and continued to move eastward, but was quickly pinned down again by South African artillery.
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