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==Introduction==

The Battle of El Alamein was the most important battle of the North African conflict between German and Italy and the British Empire. The battle, which was in reality, a series of battles, has entered military legend and it is one of the best-known battles of WWII. The battle was involved some of the most famous generals of the war, including Bernard Montgomery and Erwin Rommel. The battle was a turning point in the war. It was the first time that the western allies had decisively defeated the Germans on the battlefield and allowed them to clear the German and Italians out of North Africa and ultimately to invade Italy. This article will discuss the reasons for the failure of the Germans at El Alamein and demonstrate that it was because of inferior German and Italian numbers, inadequate supplies, and above all because of unrealistic objectives.

==Background==

Hitler was not interested in North Africa. He was quite happy to dominate Europe and to leave the control of Africa to the British and French<ref> Carell, Paul The Foxes of the Desert (New York, Bantam Books, 1962), p. 17</ref>. The German dictator was actually an admirer of the British Empire. Nazi Germany only became involved in North Africa because of their alliance with Italy. Mussolini had grandiose dreams of recreating the Roman Empire and he sought to control North Africa, in the wake of the British and French defeats in 1940. This led him to order his army to attack British controlled Egypt from the Italian colony of Libya<ref>Carell, p. 67</ref>. However, the Italians despite having numerical superiority and tactical surprise did not achieve their goals. The British, along with troops from the British Empire easily repelled the Italians. The Italian army was on the verge of defeat and it looked like it would lose its colony in North Africa. Mussolini asked Hitler for help and he dispatched some German divisions under the command of a gifted commander Erwin Rommel <ref> Irving, David. Rommel: The Trail of the Fox. The Search for the True Field Marshal Rommel (London: Focal Point. 2009), p. 234</ref>. The German divisions, mostly Panzer divisions, came to be called the Africa Korps. Rommel defeated a British offensive and in 1942, he took Tobruk and this opened the way to Egypt. He and Hitler dreamt of seizing Egypt from the British and closing the Suez Canal to its shipping. This would have disrupted trade and supply links between Britain and her Empire and greatly weakened its war efforts <ref> Irving, p. 233</ref>. Rommel embarked on the all-out invasion of Egypt. He commanded a joint Italian and German army. Because of the terrain his army was motorized and the invasion was spearhead by tanks or panzers. The British 8th army was forced to retreat into north western Egypt<ref> Irving, p. 236</ref>. Here they waited for what they saw as the inevitable attack from Rommel and his Afrika Korps.