Original subtitles

[Narrator] In 1942, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel,

the Desert Fox, brings blitzkrieg to Egypt.

[gun blasting]

All that stands between his panzers and Cairo

is the British Eighth Army.

General Bernard Montgomery

must fight back in the desert dunes.

[dramatic music]

Now, newly colorized footage

takes us to the heart of the action.

[gun rattling]

100-degree heat, brutal sandstorms, and swarms of flies

create punishing fighting conditions.

-[explosions blasting] -[airplane engines whirring]

As German fighter aces dominate the skies,

British battleships contest the seas.

[guns booming]

The Battle of El Alamein

will decide the fate of North Africa.

[dramatic music]

[gentle thoughtful music]

British Flight Lieutenant Robert Milward

records his descent into the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

Europe is on the brink of war.

But 2,000 miles from London,

Milward has time to see the sights.

The pyramids at Giza are top of any tourists' list.

Milward saves much of his film for the Great Pyramid.

The last intact wonder of the ancient world.

But he's not here for R&R.

He's collecting new Bristol Blenheim bombers,

destined for the front lines of the coming war.

The British have maintained a colonial presence in Egypt

since the late 19th century.

They fight against the Ottoman Turks

to defend it during the First World War,

and they prepare to do so again against the Germans

and Italians during the Second World War.

[Narrator] The jewel in Egypt's crown is the Suez Canal.

[Robert] The Suez Canal is the lifeline of the British Empire.

It's the link between the British Isles

and that gigantic Asian empire that sustains Britain.

[Narrator] Ships carrying oil from Iran, food from India,

or troops from Australia, can use the canal as a shortcut

between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean.

It saves a two-week detour around Africa on each trip.

But it makes North Africa coveted real estate

for ambitious imperial powers.

[crowd cheering]

In the German city of Munich, Fuhrer Adolf Hitler

receives Italian Duce Benito Mussolini.

The two men have formed a fascist military alliance,

known as the Axis.

Hitler has great success in Europe

in the early stages of the Second World War.

But Mussolini is frustrated

by the rather limited Italian contribution.

[Benito] For fascism, the growth of empire,

is an essential manifestation of vitality,

and it's opposite a sign of decadence.

Mussolini's great vision is to rebuild Italy

in the image of the ancient Roman Empire.

Italy already has colonies in North Africa,

and Mussolini wants to link these up

and create a new Italian empire in that part of the world.

[gentle thoughtful music]

[Narrator] Mussolini orders his troops to invade Egypt.

[guns blasting]

It's a disaster.

Mussolini's Armata is a far cry from Hitler's Wehrmacht.

Much like their plumed helmets,

their equipment dates back to an earlier era.

Instead of a blitz,

their tactics rely on static encampments

and a slow advance.

Just 30,000 British soldiers

push 150,000 Italians back into Libya.

[Philip] It was a complete walkover.

I saw thousands of Italian prisoners

delighted that the war was over.

[Narrator] If Italy fails in Africa,

the southern borders of the Third Reich

will become vulnerable.

[tense music]

Hitler is alarmed by this turn of events.

[Adolf] The British would have free use

of a dozen divisions.

We must make every effort to prevent this.

We must render effective assistance in North Africa.

[Narrator] Nazi propaganda film crews

tout the arrival of the new Afrika Korps

in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

It's the first time German forces

have traveled this far south.

But they say they are prepared for the 115-degree heat.

The soldiers sport new olive-colored desert uniforms

made from lightweight cotton instead of wool

and topped with a wide-brimmed sun helmet.

Steel Panzer III tanks

will act as an oven in the fierce sun,

so they add cooling ports to the engine hatches.

Watching on is their newly appointed commander,

the maverick general, Erwin Rommel.

[Robert] General Rommel is Hitler's

favorite field commander.

He has what Hitler wants, boldness, surprise, speed.

He's sent to North Africa

simply to support the Italian ally.

But as the world is about to find out,

you rarely limit Rommel in terms of his aims.

[dramatic music]

[Narrator] 400 miles east of Tripoli,

the Afrika Korps pass under the Arch of Philaeni.

This 100-foot high ornate landmark

straddles the only road between Tripoli and Cairo.

It was commissioned by Mussolini,

as part of his attempt to recreate the Roman Empire.

The inscription at the top reads,

"Oh almighty Sun,

"you will never look upon a city greater than Rome."

Rommel may disagree.

Technically, Rommel is under Italian command,

but he chooses to ignore the Italian orders

to simply defend Libya.

His idea is to win North Africa,

to gain glory for the German Army,

and of course, personal glory for himself.

[Erwin] It is during the pursuit,

when the beaten enemy is still dispirited and disorganized,

that most prisoners are made and most booty captured.

[tank rattling]

[tense ominous music]

[Narrator] To take Cairo and the Suez Canal,

Rommel must cross 750 miles of the northern Sahara Desert.

The landscape is incredibly hostile.

It's arid, there's very limited water,

the troops are dehydrated for much of the time.

It's a very unpleasant environment.

Hot by day, freezing by night.

[Narrator] The desert will push any army,

and its supply lines, to the limit.

The one defending the settlements

that cling to the North African coastline,

is a hastily assembled fighting force.

[Alexander] The only way the British Empire

can keep pace with Axis mobilization

is by drawing upon the resources of the British Empire,

the colonies, the dominions, and Britain's allies.

[Narrator] British tank crews are joined

by large infantry divisions from Australia, South Africa,

and New Zealand,

who include a battalion of Maori tribal soldiers.

The 4th Indian Division

features a section of motorcycling military police.

These disparate divisions

will become known as the British Eighth Army.

But they initially struggle to operate effectively.

Eighth Army is torn between fighting

the Axis forces in Africa and contributing strength

to Britain's ongoing campaigns elsewhere.

There's also a failure to concentrate force effectively

and to instill co-operation between the different arms.

[Narrator] Rommel catches them cold.

In March 1941,

the Panzerarmee Afrika descend from the desert dunes.

[gun blasting]

And attack the British camp at El Agheila.

Wrecked vehicles are left behind

by the hasty British retreat.

By the end of the day,

Rommel is surveying the captured city,

and already pushing on to the next target.

Rommel has a small force,

a division plus, maybe a division and a half.

But because it's so small, he can whip it around

in a way that the British simply cannot match,

and frankly, cannot even understand.

[Narrator] British vehicles are old and worn-out.

Under pressure, they break down,

and organized retreat turns into harried flight.

[Ray] It seemed that everyone was doing their best

to put the greatest distance between themselves

and the enemy, everybody was rushing headlong back to Egypt.

[tank rumbling]

[dramatic music]

[Narrator] Rommel's success makes him a German hero.

This film footage from the desert becomes a highlight

of "The German Weekly Review,"

a propaganda newsreel series released in cinemas

across the Reich.

For audiences used to the snowy struggles

of the Eastern Front,

the unstoppable advance in Africa

is a welcome morale boost.

[Newscaster speaks in foreign language]

Rommel is ever-present on-screen,

surveying destroyed vehicles and captured territory.

He plays up to the cameras,

British anti-gas goggles found in a captured command vehicle

soon become a trademark.

The newsreels dub him Der Wustenfuchs, the Desert Fox.

German morale is high.

In their downtime, they create a makeshift funfair

complete with boxing ring, carousel, and strength test.

-[hammer thuds] -[bell rings]

A chameleon gives camouflage tips,

and even a tortoise is recruited to the Nazi cause.

The desert is a completely alien territory

for the German Army.

The German soldiers have never fought in a similar terrain,

under similar heat,

their training is all concentrated on a war in Europe.

[Narrator] It's so hot they can fry eggs on their Panzers.

But there is little time to sleep

during the relentless advance.

[Rolf] Every night we were completely exhausted.

We had only one thought, "Let's get to Cairo."

This is where we really wanted to go.

[Narrator] The newsreel footage

is not just overblown propaganda.

Rommel's troops are forcing the British Army back

across the barren desert towards Egypt.

[truck engines whirring]

In June 1942,

Rommel seizes the last British stronghold in Libya,

the port town of Tobruk.

The Nazis take 32,000 captives.

[tense music]

[dramatic music]

German propaganda cameras record the moment

the garrison commander, Major General Klopper, surrenders.

With the port in their hands,

fresh supplies power the Afrika Korps

towards the Egyptian border.

[tank engine whirring]

[gentle music]

On the same day at the White House,

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill

visits President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

As U.S. troops parade down New York's 5th Avenue,

the men plan America's first deployment

to the European war.

A massive invasion of North Africa.

But they fear Egypt will fall before the U.S. can mobilize.

As a stopgap, Roosevelt agrees to send some of America's

most advanced tanks and mobile artillery to the desert.

If Britain can hold Egypt long enough for it to get there.

[dramatic music]

After taking Tobruk, Rommel is promoted to field marshal,

and given full control over all 100,000 Axis forces

in North Africa.

As they enter Egypt, Rommel's focus turns to Cairo.

Take it, and he will control North Africa

and the Suez Canal.

[gentle thoughtful music]

British civilians in the city,

alarmed by the news from the border,

begin a mass evacuation.

Author Olivia Manning observes the panic.

[Olivia] We were amazed to find uproar

when we reached the station.

The train packed with every sort of European refugee.

The Egyptian porters entered into the excitement,

with shouts of, "Germans coming!

"You go! Germans come!"

[Narrator] After 50 years of British occupation,

many Egyptians see the Germans as liberators.

But to the British, they're a threat,

approaching at full speed across the sand

and now also, from the air.

-[airplane engines whirring] -[suspenseful music]

Home movie footage

shot by members of Luftwaffe fighter wing 27

shows graders scraping airfields from the desert,

ready for the arrival of German air power.

During the early stages of the campaign,

the German Luftwaffe is able to fight successfully

against a weakened Royal Air Force

and to support the German operations on the ground.

[airplane engine whirring]

[Narrator] In the skies over the desert,

gun cameras attached to Messerschmitt Bf 109 aircraft

reveal the high-speed fighter's distinct advantage.

[guns blasting]

A few direct hits from wing-mounted

are all they need to send

the slower British Hurricanes down.

[airplane engine chugging]

Newsreels make German aces celebrities.

Hans-Joachim Marseille is fresh from the Battle of Britain.

There he had a reputation as a skilled

but reckless pilot and a womanizer.

He's often grounded for being too tired to fly sorties.

But he embraces the asceticism of desert life

and becomes a hero to the Hitler Youth camps back home.

-[dramatic music] -[airplane engine whirring]

He gains fame for extreme attack angles

and diving right into the middle of enemy formations.

[Hans-Joachim] You've gotta be able to shoot

from any position.

From left or right turns, out of a roll, on your back.

Only then can you plunge into the middle of an enemy swarm

and blow it up from the inside.

[explosion blasts]

[Narrator] Marseille's aircraft tail

is decorated for his 100th kill.

Nazi propaganda names him The Star of Africa,

a walking example of German dominance of the desert skies.

[airplane engines whirring]

On the ground, the British Eighth Army

has retreated back into Egypt.

The dire situation warrants a personal visit

from the British prime minister.

By going to Egypt, Winston Churchill wants to demonstrate

that he's got command of the situation,

both to the British public,

but more importantly to his American allies.

[Narrator] Churchill insists Rommel must be defeated,

and Axis forces pushed out of North Africa.

This considerable challenge requires a top talent

to oversee the ground forces.

Churchill's initial pick to lead the Eighth Army

is Lieutenant General William Strafer Gott

who's a veteran of the desert war.

But as he's flying to take up his appointment

he's shot down by a German Messerschmitt

and he's burnt to death in the wreckage.

[Narrator] Out of options,

Churchill agrees to the appointment

of Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery.

[gentle suspenseful music]

In a profession known for gigantic personalities,

Montgomery might have been near the top.

Even his own British colleagues see him as arrogant

and self-obsessed

and just a thoroughly unpleasant personality.

[Narrator] But Montgomery is also

a highly experienced commander with a keen eye for detail.

Every nuance has to be perfect before he's ready to march,

and he won't march until he is

absolutely certain of success.

[Narrator] As he whips Eighth Army into shape,

Montgomery is a constant, visible presence,

building a reputation to rival Rommel's.

Instead of goggles, he adopts a black tank regiment beret

to connect with the rank and file.

[Howard] When he wanted something to

After he arrived, morale soared.

[Narrator] Under Montgomery's guidance,

the Eighth Army begin to punch back.

[guns blasting]

Rommel's advance stalls

near the small railroad station of El Alamein.

The new front line is just 150 miles west of Cairo.

The terrain here presents a natural choke point.

To the north, the sea.

To the south a vast, unpassable expanse of salt marshes

known as the Qattara Depression.

[boots squelching]

The 25 mile stretch of rocky desert in between

forces a tactical battle of wits.

Rommel wants to keep the Allies on the defensive.

When the first attempt to break through the British lines

at El Alamein fails, Rommel decides to dig in.

He hopes that he will be able to

bring up more reinforcements to the front line

in order to relaunch the offensive.

[Narrator] Between July and October,

Axis engineers create a three-mile-deep killing zone

of defensive positions, mines, and barbed wire.

They christen them the Devil's Gardens.

Panzer divisions patrol,

ready to react to Allied breakthroughs.

[dramatic music]

If Montgomery is to achieve his task

of pushing Rommel out of Africa,

the Eighth Army must find a way

through these brutal defenses.

[gentle thoughtful music]

The British Eighth Army

and German and Italian Panzerarmee Afrika

dig in for the impending battle at El Alamein.

Now, they bear the brunt of the brutal desert conditions.

The North African desert creates

enormous wear and tear on the troops' vehicles,

on their equipment, on their weapons,

and it's a very difficult environment

for the human body too.

[Narrator] Vast sandstorms scour the soldiers.

Wind speeds can reach 90 miles an hour.

[Erwin] We gasped in breath painfully

through handkerchiefs held over our faces

and sweat poured off our bodies in the unbearable heat.

[wind whistling]

[Narrator] Once the storm passes,

swarms of sand flies arrive.

Drawn to food, human waste, and dead bodies,

they are a relentless nuisance.

[Alexander] Flies get into food, contaminate fluids,

and can turn even fairly minor wounds septic.

[Narrator] Despite signs urging the Germans

to boil water before use, disease is common.

Rommel himself contracts dysentery and jaundice,

which lead to a liver infection, low blood pressure,

and fainting fits.

On September 22nd, he flies back to Germany to recuperate.

Just as Rommel departs the desert,

help arrives for the British Eighth Army.

Testing footage from the Detroit Tank Arsenal

in Warren, Michigan,

shows the capabilities of the new Sherman M4 tank.

With a top speed of 25 miles per hour,

it can keep up with the German panzers,

and like them, has a rotating central turret

to give the 75-millimeter gun all-round fire.

But the armor is an inch thicker than the Panzer IV.

[Matthias] The Sherman is a very well-designed

medium-sized tank,

which combines a powerful gun with good armament,

and speed of maneuver.

And this gives the Allies

the upper hand in the North African campaign.

[Narrator] 318 Sherman tanks

and 100 Priest 105 millimeter self-propelled guns

roll into the desert.

Enough firepower and armor to match Rommel's panzers.

Montgomery begins to plan a major offensive of his own.

[gentle mysterious music]

First, he needs to reclaim the skies over the battlefield.

The Desert Air Force takes off.

[airplane engines whirring]

[Matthias] The aircraft of the Desert Air Force

are aging but numerous.

And they're trying to overwhelm the German aircraft

that are technologically more advanced

but available in far more limited numbers.

[Narrator] The fighting begins to take a toll

on the outnumbered Luftwaffe.

Hans-Joachim Marseille loses weight.

When two of his closest friends are shot down,

he starts sleepwalking and stops talking.

Signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.

[airplane engines whirring]

On September 30th, his Messerschmitt

and goes into a dive.

Marseille attempts to jump but miscalculates.

He smashes into the tail, then plummets to the desert floor.

[airplane crashing]

His body can only be identified by medals on the uniform.

Once it's recovered,

Italian engineers construct a pyramid shrine

on the spot he was found.

A replica stands there to this day.

Every Axis aircraft lost

reduces their ability to control the skies.

During October, their numbers fall from 770 to just 350,

and the British Royal Air Force

begin to dominate the desert.

Now Montgomery's ground offensive at

It's code-named Operation Lightfoot.

Infantry will lead the attack, moving through the minefields

and clearing paths for the tanks.

The attack will start with a massive artillery bombardment.

[dramatic music]

5.5-inch medium guns

can fire a 100-pound shell over nine miles.

They aim for the furthest German positions.

[guns blasting]

Closer to the front, the numerous 25-pound guns open up.

The new American-made Priest mobile artillery

gets in on the action too.

[Private Crawford] The whole horizon spewed heavenwards

in a fount of orange and blood-red flame.

A tidal wave of sound hammered on our eardrums

and whipped our shirts against our chests.

[Narrator] Montgomery's insistence

on close communication pays off.

Each one of the first 882 shells

land at exactly the same moment.

[explosions blasting]

[Martin] The whole sky was red with gunfire.

The shells were howling over you, exploding around you,

it was just horrible.

We thought that the world was coming to an end.

[Matthias] The initial artillery bombardment

is hugely effective.

It destroys German and Italian guns,

it causes casualties amongst the infantry,

it cuts the communication lines,

and it also has a very severe effect

on the morale of the enemy.

[Narrator] Under artillery cover,

the minesweepers move in.

Operation Lightfoot's name is apt.

The infantry charged with clearing the mines

will want to tread carefully.

It's one of the war's most nerve-racking jobs.

Some are lucky enough to get mine detectors.

But most infantry just use bayonets to prod the ground.

[tense music]

Thousands of mines must be carefully unearthed

and defused to provide a path wide enough for the tanks.

[Brigadier McMeekan] In the face of enemy fire,

the sappers worked steadily on, keeping to their drill.

It takes guts to stay standing up

when everyone else is either running forward or lying down.

[explosion blasts]

[Narrator] But under heavy fire,

the minesweepers can only clear narrow paths.

Tank columns advance but run out of space,

and become gridlocked.

-[tank engines rumbling] -[dramatic music]

Tracks churn up dust.

Entire columns head the wrong way.

As dawn breaks, German artillery spots

the unprotected Allied armor stuck in the sand.

[guns blasting]

[T.M. Lindsey] Suddenly all hell broke loose.

The tank crews saw armor-piercing tracer shells

screaming from all over the place,

then the explosions of tanks blowing up,

sheets of flame as they caught fire.

Montgomery is ruthless when it comes to accepting

Allied casualties in this operation.

He understands that he needs to fight his way

through the German-Italian positions,

and he is willing to accept high casualties

on the Allied side, in order to achieve this.

[gun blasting]

[Narrator] Battle rages up and down the 25-mile line.

The Eighth Army inflict heavy damage,

but the Panzerarmee Afrika do not concede much ground.

[suspenseful music]

[gun blasting]

The battle hangs in the balance.

On the evening of October 25th,

a rested Erwin Rommel returns to North Africa

and takes personal control of the battle.

The Desert Fox prepares his panzers to push back.

Rommel has over 100,000 troops and 500 tanks at his command.

But they're under pressure,

consuming vast amounts of food and fuel.

Rommel's entire front at El Alamein

is determined by logistics.

Every bullet, every bottle of water, every pair of socks

has to be shipped from Europe to North Africa

and then to the El Alamein front by truck.

Supply is the limiting factor for Rommel.

[Narrator] Most vital is fuel.

The tanks and the trucks supplying them

demand 66,000 gallons every day.

[fuel trickling]

With no place to hide in the desert,

the supply chain is an obvious target

for the British Royal Air Force.

Nose cameras from Bristol Beaufighter

reveal Axis supply convoys being strafed at close range.

[guns blasting]

[airplane engines whirring]

The supply lines are especially vulnerable

to the RAF aircraft based on a small British island colony

still holding out in the center of the Mediterranean, Malta.

[dramatic music]

Malta provides the Allies with a base

in the central Mediterranean

which some liken to an unsinkable aircraft carrier

from which they can launch anti-shipping strikes

at the supply lines sustaining Axis forces in Africa.

[Narrator] In 1942, the Luftwaffe begin a campaign

to bomb Malta into submission.

There are 154 days of continuous air raids.

[bombs blasting]

6,700 tons of bombs fall on the Grand Harbour area alone.

[gentle thoughtful music]

The 250,000 islanders determinedly struggle

for survival.

[Grace] We did not have anything to eat.

Always hungry.

Community kitchens provided us with food.

But we were never satisfied.

[Narrator] By summer, Malta is almost out of food,

fuel, and ammunition.

Germany draws up plans for an invasion.

If the island falls,

Rommel will be able to build up his forces unchallenged.

The British government devise

an audacious scheme to relieve the island.

Operation Pedestal.

[tense music]

14 merchant ships packed with supplies

enter the Mediterranean.

At the center of the fleet is the SS Ohio,

the biggest American tanker built to this point,

transporting 170,000 barrels of fuel

for the planes defending the island.

Protecting this precious cargo are two battleships,

three aircraft carriers, cruisers,

destroyers, and submarines.

The largest naval escort force in the war so far.

The Germans take notice.

Cameras on the ships film Axis aircraft

flying towards the fleet,

and anti-aircraft crews rushing to man the guns

as they return fire.

-[guns blasting] -[dramatic music]

[airplane engines whirring]

British destroyers drop depth charges

to ward off marauding U-boats.

[water splashing]

[explosion blasts]

Tracer rounds illuminate the evening sky,

as the Royal Navy blast away at the German bombers.

[guns blasting]

The SS Ohio comes under concentrated attack.

War correspondent Anthony Kimmins is on board.

[Anthony] If ever there was an example

of dogged perseverance against all odds, this was it.

Any of those hundreds of bombs in the right place

and she would have gone up in a sheet of flame.

[Narrator] The Allies suffer heavy losses.

Over 500 sailors and airmen are killed.

Nine of the 14 merchant ships are destroyed.

Finally, the remaining convoy reaches Malta.

Crucially, the SS Ohio has made it through.

But only just.

The massive tanker was hit by a torpedo

and is so badly damaged it must be towed into the harbor.

It will never sail again.

Maltese dock workers

frantically unload the vital fuel

from the sinking ship.

It allows the British Royal Air Force

to continue to wreak havoc on the Axis supply lines.

[guns blasting]

1/3 of Rommel's supply ships are going to be sunk

in the course of this campaign,

it's a big problem for the Germans.

-[guns blasting] -[airplane engines whirring]

[Narrator] In the desert,

Rommel's mounting supply setbacks make it difficult

to the Allied pressure at El Alamein.

By late October, his Panzerarmee is reduced

to fewer than 300 operational tanks.

Montgomery knows that if he can draw them into the open

and take them out,

the Axis position will become unsustainable.

He orders a massive offensive.

Operation Supercharge will be led by New Zealand

and British infantry.

They will attempt to create a funnel

for two further waves of tanks and self-propelled guns.

It will be the biggest concentration of force

in North Africa so far.

At 1:00 a.m., hundreds of British troops go over the top.

[Peter] There was the deafening crash

-of the shells bursting, -[shell booms]

interspersed with fierce bursts of fire

from German and British Tommy-guns,

[guns rattling]

and occasionally the crash of a British hand grenade

exploding in a trench.

[dramatic music]

-[gun blasting] -[explosion blasts]

[Narrator] The battlefield becomes a confusion

of heavy smoke and swirling sand,

hiding the Axis positions.

The Devil's Garden is living up to its name.

[tense music]

The right flank of the New Zealand infantry advance

is entrusted to the 28th Maori Battalion.

[gentle music]

Newly restored footage from the New Zealand archives

shows the soldiers in their homeland

as they prepare to depart for war.

Descended from the indigenous Polynesian people

who settled in New Zealand 600 years ago,

the Maori are proud to show off their distinctive

South Pacific culture for the cameras.

[soldier shouting in foreign language]

They perform the Haka,

a war challenge staged when different tribes meet.

[soldiers yelling]

Intimidating tongue and facial gestures,

as well as displays of weapons and fighting moves,

indicate the performing group's readiness for a fight.

[soldiers yelling]

It will be put to the test in Operation Supercharge.

[Harry] I heard someone calling my name

saying he was badly hit.

We couldn't stop and carried on.

Right at that moment,

a bullet passed through the butt of my weapon.

[Narrator] The 28th Maori Battalion

suffer over 100 casualties.

[explosion blasts]

But they hold the right flank.

[explosion blasts]

The infantry cut a large channel

through the Axis' desert defenses.

But further back, a formidable line of German artillery

and anti-tank guns is still intact.

[guns blasting]

It's going to take something

heavier than infantry to take them out.

94 Sherman and Grant tanks

of the British 9th Armored Brigade

blast across the open terrain.

With no cover, the German guns wreak havoc on their advance.

-[guns blasting] -[explosions booming]

The losses mount.

But Montgomery is committed to the action.

He sends over 100 tanks

from the 1st Armored Division to join the battle.

[tank engine rumbling]

As they advance, the remaining German and Italian tanks

finally counterattack.

[tense dramatic music]

El Alamein is now a clash of tank versus tank.

[explosion booms]

[guns blasting]

Captain Keith Douglas

experiences the battle inside a British Crusader tank.

[Keith] The turret was full of fumes and smoke.

Empty cartridge and shell cases littered the floor.

I coughed and sweated. Fear had given place to exhilaration.

The enemy fire grew more intense.

I crouched in the turret, expecting at any moment

the crash which would bring our disintegration.

It's a grind.

And the British take huge casualties,

much heavier than expected,

but the Germans take even heavier ones.

The German panzer force is decimated

by Operation Supercharge.

[Narrator] Burning tanks dominate the landscape.

The Panzerarmee Afrika had 500

at the start of the offensive.

Only 35 remain.

Montgomery knows victory must be near.

[tank engine whirring]

-[shell clanking] -[gun blasting]

24 hours into Operation Supercharge,

British Eighth Army infantry launch renewed attacks

along the front line.

With no tanks left to support them,

the Axis defenders in the Devil's Garden begin to crack.

[gun rattling]

At the end, Rommel doesn't have the reserves

or reinforcements to sustain his position.

[Narrator] With his defenses failing,

Rommel has no choice.

He orders a full withdrawal.

Rommel knows that he has to concede defeat at Alamein,

and withdraw deeper into Libya, to shorten his supply lines,

and build up his strength again,

if he is to save his army to fight another day.

[Narrator] As British tanks pursue,

news cameraman Terry Ashwood gets right to the action,

rolling film from the top of a supply lorry

as shells land around him.

-[explosion blasts] -[dramatic music]

[Terry] Shelling and bombing can be quite unpleasant.

So the next time you see this sort of thing on the screen,

remember the poor old cameraman who is trying to duck

and take pictures at the same time.

[tank engine whirring]

[Narrator] Rare footage reveals a high-level

German officer in the act of surrender.

General Ritter von Thoma

is one of the most experienced panzer commanders

in the German Army.

He's been captured whilst attempting

a desperate rear-guard action, protecting Rommel's retreat.

Montgomery invites von Thoma to dinner that evening

to discuss the battle.

[General Ritter von Thoma] I was staggered

at the exactness of his knowledge,

he seemed to know as much about our position as I did.

[Narrator] But aside from von Thoma,

the British fail to catch

the rapidly departing German commanders.

The actual breakthrough comes as a bit of a surprise

to the Eighth Army, and as a consequence,

the army is quite slow to react to it.

Montgomery also wants to be absolutely certain

that he has defeated the Germans and Italians,

and that he's won this battle

before he rushes into a pursuit.

[Narrator] The wily Desert Fox has turned tail.

But North Africa has become a trap.

[dramatic music]

2,000 miles west, the plans made by Roosevelt

and Churchill five months earlier come to fruition.

Operation Torch, a massive Anglo-American invasion force

commanded by General Dwight Eisenhower

approaches northwest Africa.

In scenes that foreshadow D-Day,

U.S. infantry crash from landing craft,

and paratroopers jump from C-47 transport planes.

[airplane engines whirring]

They aim to snatch total control of North Africa

using overwhelming force.

[Edwin] Violent, rapid, ruthless combat

is the only way to win.

Make it tough and make it violent.

[gun blasting]

[Narrator] As Rommel moves west, he has some successes

against the relatively inexperienced Americans.

[tank engine rumbling]

But despite reinforcements from Italy,

his army is overstretched.

Rommel and the Axis forces now face

Montgomery's troops advancing from the east,

a new Anglo-American army advancing from the west.

They're caught in between,

and whilst there are gonna be tough battles ahead,

from a campaign perspective it's game over.

[Narrator] Film from the U.S. Army Signal Corps

reveals American Lee tanks clashing with Panzer Mark IVs.

[explosion blasts]

As the enemy turns to flee,

swastika flags on the rear become visible.

They're meant to mark out the panzers

as friendly to the Luftwaffe.

[gun blasting]

Now they provide a helpful target

for supporting British artillery.

Trapped between two Allied armies,

Rommel advises Hitler to allow a full retreat.

The request is denied, and Rommel flies back to Germany.

He will never return to Africa.

The Allies hunt down his remaining forces.

In total, the Axis powers suffer

400,000 casualties in North Africa.

It's a major setback for Germany's war effort.

Mussolini's dream of a new Roman Empire lies in tatters.

El Alamein is 180 degrees.

From Axis victory to Allied victory,

and really, the rest of the war is going to be nothing

but a series of Allied victories.

[Narrator] In London, Winston Churchill reflects

on the importance of the events at El Alamein.

This is not the end.

It is not even the beginning of the end.

But it is perhaps, the end of the beginning.

[audience applauding]

[Narrator] Newsreels celebrate Montgomery's firm grip

on the Eighth Army,

and prove it is possible to defeat Germany

on the battlefield.

The liberation of Europe is no longer a distant dream.