An assessment of the Battle of Alam el Halfa

For the Axis forces, the Battle of Alam el Halfa indicated that their hopes of breaking through to the Nile Delta were at an end. For the British, the battle inspired new hope and confidence. The British army had a new commander, had beaten the Axis forces in a battle, and were pleased with the performance of the air force. The Navy, for their part, in conjunction with the air force, were inflicting great damage on the Axis supply line. The Axis forces were being starved of all the supplies and reinforcements that would have kept them competitive. Instead, they were slowly starved of resources, which meant that it was only matter of time before they were pushed back. This sort of battle, on a fixed front, with little movement was where Montgomery excelled. To fight his sort of battle, he needed a strong force, but that was what he would have for the battle that would bust the front open and push the Axis back to the west. This is based on the account in Vol.III of the Official History, along with my analysis.