Rommel would need to score a few more straight victories at Alexandria, Cairo and then on the shores of Suez to do anything meaningful; best case scenario for him this late would be to temporarily cut access to Suez, and then sabotage the channel on his way out, causing months of delay for British shipping. But then, Torch would happen, forcing him to fight on two fronts, and almost certainly meaning the loss of Egypt. It can only delay the inevitable on this theater.
OTOH, an early victory in North Africa, back in late 1940/early 41, would have tremendous consequences. The loss of Suez before the USA join the war could likely knock the British out of the war; or at the very least Churchill's government. It would also make British east-asian possessions much more vulnerable to Japan.
And just how is Rommel going to acheiev this victory?
The reason El Alamain is where the British fought is that its a bottleneck in the desert - its impassible to the south, so you have to go through it, you cant do any fancy manouver stuff.
Now the British outnumbered Rommel around 2-3:1, were sitting in prepared defences, close to their lines of supply.
Rommel is out at the end of his, so even if we assume he has unlimited troops available, just how is he provisioning them?
Should be in the ASB section...
mhm, that the british outnumbered the germans made it most likely that they won but remember it is not unheard and unseen in history that a army which was seen as inferior suprisingly won a battle.And just how is Rommel going to acheiev this victory?
The reason El Alamain is where the British fought is that its a bottleneck in the desert - its impassible to the south, so you have to go through it, you cant do any fancy manouver stuff.
Now the British outnumbered Rommel around 2-3:1, were sitting in prepared defences, close to their lines of supply.
Rommel is out at the end of his, so even if we assume he has unlimited troops available, just how is he provisioning them?
Should be in the ASB section...
Should be in the ASB section...
More like the noob section.
I think you sorta answered your own question, Michelle. Rommels forward units were exhausted, depleted, and pretty much out of everything - basically worn out (for a while).
Armies are people, not machines, there are limits as to how far and fast you can drive them - further when they are winning, but even so limits. After you reach those limits, you just have to stop and recover. So an immediate strike South just wasnt an option, and it would have had to be immediate, because the British can recover faster than Rommel (they are sitting on a LOS at the end of a railway close to Alexandria, not at the end of a 1000m or so of lorries).