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The Battle of El Agheila was a minor engagement in North Africa during the Second World War. It took place in December 1942 between Allied forces (the British 8th Army) led by Bernard Law Montgomery and the Axis forces (German-Italian ''Panzer'' Army) led by Erwin Rommel, during the Axis' long withdrawal from El Alamein to Tunis. It ended with a full Axis retreat into Tunisia. ==Background== On 4 November 1942, Rommel decided to end Second Battle of El Alamein and withdraw west toward Libya. In doing so, he defied the "Stand to the last" orders of Adolf Hitler, in order to save the remainder of his force. Rommel's forces reached the village of Fuka the next day. Italian forces had arrived earlier, having withdrawn from El Alamein from 3–4 November and formed a defensive line. The Italians resumed their withdrawal on the same day after an Allied attack and the Germans followed suit. Montgomery rested some of his formations after their efforts at El Alamein and pursued mainly with the 7th Armoured Division and 4th Light Armoured Brigade. Rain on the afternoon of 6 November impeded the British pursuit as the Axis forces continued their withdrawal and a new defence line was established at Marsa Matruh (also known as Mersa Matruh) the following day, some west of El Alamein. Rommel received a warning from Hitler of an expected Allied landing between Tobruk and Benghazi but on 8 November he discovered that this was wrong. Instead, there were Anglo-American landings in Morocco and Algeria (Operation Torch). The Eastern Task Force—aimed at Algiers—landed with 20,000 troops and began moving east towards Rommel. Facing the prospect of a large Allied force to his rear, he decided to withdraw in one bound to El Agheila. Axis forces retired from Sidi Barrani on 9 November and Halfaya Pass (on the Libyan–Egyptian border) the last position in Egypt, on 11 November. Cyrenaica was abandoned without serious resistance but Rommel wanted to save of equipment in Tobruk but it fell to the British on 13 November. An attempt by Montgomery to trap the Tobruk garrison by an encirclement toward Acroma, west of Tobruk failed and the garrison retreated along the ''Via Balbia'' toward Benghazi with few losses. Derna and the airfield at Martuba, were captured on 15 November. The RAF quickly occupied the airfield to provide air cover for a Malta convoy on 18 November. Axis forces had withdrawn in ten days. Despite the importance of the Port of Benghazi to the Axis supply chain, Rommel abandoned the port to avoid a repeat of the disastrous entrapment suffered by the Italians at the Battle of Beda Fomm in February 1941. Rommel ordered the demolition of port facilities and materiel in Benghazi, writing afterwards that Benghazi was occupied by the British on 20 November and three days later, the Axis forces retreated from Ajdabiya and fell back to Brega. Rommel saved the ''Panzerarmee'' by abandoning Benghazi, and withdrawing to Brega at the very time where General Friedrich Paulus failed (due to Hitler's orders) to withdraw from Stalingrad, where his army would be eventually annihilated. During their withdrawal to Brega, the Axis forces faced many difficulties, including British air superiority which allowed them to target the Axis supply columns, the crowding of the Axis forces on the coastal road and a shortage of fuel. In order to delay the British advance at any cost, Axis sappers laid mines in the Brega area. To delay clearance, steel helmets were also laid to mislead British mine detectors. For much of the pursuit to El Agheila, the British were uncertain of Rommel's intentions. They had been caught out in earlier campaigns by an enemy that had drawn them on and then counter-attacked. Montgomery had intended to build his army's morale by banishing the habit of defeat and retreat and two divisions were held at Bardia, resting and providing a defence. Despite Rommel's concerns of entrapment by a rapid Allied advance across the Cyrenaica bulge, Montgomery was aware that an extended and isolated force could also be vulnerable, as demonstrated in early 1941 and early 1942. When a reconnaissance force of armoured cars was sent across country, it became delayed by water-logged ground. Signals intelligence revealed to Eighth Army that the ''Panzerarmee'' was virtually immobilised by lack of fuel, prompting Montgomery to order a stronger force to be sent across country. However, having heard of the presence of the reconnaissance force, Rommel brought forward his retirement from Benghazi and was able to brush the armoured cars aside, untroubled by the stronger force which had yet to arrive. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of El Agheila」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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