Game of the Week, Oct 26–Nov 1

From October 26 through November 1, this week’s Game of the Week is Panzer Campaigns: El Alamein '42, on sale for one week. Take command in the Western Desert as Rommel’s German and Italian forces drive toward Egypt and the Eighth Army fights to recover from defeat. From the open flank at Gazala to the minefields before El Alamein, each stage of the campaign brings a different challenge.

A sweeping armored advance can leave its own supply route exposed. An infantry attack can seize a ridge and still face disaster if the supporting tanks arrive too late. Whether you are trying to keep the Axis offensive moving or assemble the Allied strength needed to stop it, success depends on bringing infantry, armor, artillery, and engineers together at the right place. Can you turn a battlefield opening into a lasting victory?

The end of the beginning

In early 1942, the North African campaign remained a contest over the approaches to Egypt. Britain’s position depended on the Suez Canal and access to the Middle East, while German and Italian forces operated from Libya. Across the desert, every advance stretched the roads carrying fuel, ammunition, water, and food. The army falling back approached its supply bases; the pursuer had to sustain its momentum over increasing distances. Ports offered relief, but their capacity and vulnerability limited what they could deliver.

By May, the Eighth Army held a defensive line running south from Gazala toward Bir Hacheim. Minefields and fortified infantry positions protected the front, with armored formations available to meet a breakthrough. Rommel attacked around the southern flank, taking German and Italian mobile forces into the Allied rear. The maneuver created opportunities, but also exposed his army to a dangerous supply problem, with the Gazala minefields between much of his fighting force and its support.

The resulting struggle centered on the area known as the Cauldron. Axis anti-tank guns helped defeat British armored attacks, while German and Italian troops opened a route through the defensive line. The Eighth Army failed to concentrate its counterattacks effectively, and Operation Aberdeen in early June ended in costly failure. The Free French defense of Bir Hacheim delayed the Axis advance, but the position was eventually evacuated. With the Gazala line unraveling, the British withdrew, leaving Tobruk exposed. The port fell in June, releasing Rommel to continue east.

The retreat carried the Eighth Army into Egypt. General Claude Auchinleck took direct command and rallied it at El Alamein. Here the Mediterranean protected the northern flank and the Qattara Depression restricted movement to the south. Rommel could still maneuver within the battlefield, but the great sweep around an open desert flank was denied him. Exhaustion and dwindling supplies weakened the attackers, and determined resistance stopped their early July assaults.

Auchinleck then tried to regain the initiative. Australian troops attacked near Tel el Eisa, while fighting farther south focused on Ruweisat Ridge and El Mreir. These operations exposed continuing weaknesses in cooperation between infantry and armor. New Zealand infantry captured objectives in night attacks, only to face German tanks without adequate support from their own armor or anti-tank weapons. Heavy casualties and prisoners followed. By the end of July, the Eighth Army had held Egypt, but its attempts to destroy Rommel’s army had also failed.

In August, Harold Alexander replaced Auchinleck as Commander-in-Chief Middle East, and Bernard Montgomery took command of the Eighth Army. Rommel made another attempt to force a decision at the end of the month, swinging through the southern sector toward Alam Halfa. Allied intelligence had helped prepare the defenders. British positions, artillery, and air attacks checked the advance, while fuel shortages narrowed Rommel’s options. He withdrew, leaving Montgomery time to train, reinforce, and prepare an offensive.

“Die Zeit war auch im Süden zum Bundesgenossen der Alliierten geworden.”

“Time was now on the Allies’ side in the south as well.”

— Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, reflecting on the aftermath of Alam Halfa, Soldat bis zum letzten Tag (1953), p. 178 (translated from German).

By October, the balance had shifted. The Eighth Army had built up its strength close to its Egyptian bases, while Axis forces struggled to obtain and move sufficient supplies. German and Italian infantry occupied defenses protected by deep minefields, with armor ready to counterattack. Montgomery planned to force passages through these obstacles, bring his tanks forward, and wear down the enemy’s mobile reserves. The work of the infantry and engineers would determine whether the armor could reach its battlefield.

Operation Lightfoot opened on the night of October 23 with a heavy artillery bombardment. Infantry advanced into the Axis positions while engineers worked to clear and mark routes through the mines. Progress was uneven. Congestion in the corridors delayed the tanks, and anti-tank fire punished those that emerged. The battle continued through repeated attacks and counterattacks. In the north, Australian pressure toward the coast drew German reserves into fierce fighting and helped create the conditions for another assault elsewhere.

Montgomery regrouped for Operation Supercharge, launched early on November 2. The experienced New Zealand divisional headquarters directed the opening attack, with two British infantry brigades providing its main assault force and New Zealand troops supporting the operation. Infantry and artillery opened the way for armor, which fought through heavy opposition. The Axis forces suffered losses they could ill afford. With tanks and fuel running short, Rommel sought to withdraw; Hitler’s order to stand fast delayed the retreat, but could not restore the front.

By November 4, the Axis position was breaking apart. Mobile formations escaped west, while many troops lacking transport were captured. The Eighth Army began the pursuit into Libya.

“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

— Winston Churchill, Lord Mayor’s Luncheon, Mansion House, London, November 10, 1942.

El Alamein '42 lets players revisit the decisions behind that reversal: exploit an open flank, keep a threatened supply route clear, coordinate a night assault, or commit the armored reserve before the defense gives way.

What's in the Game

• 80 scenarios, ranging from a solo tutorial to engagements of different sizes, with versions intended for human opponents and computer play.
• A 175,616-hex master map extending from Gazala to Alexandria along the North African coast.
• An order of battle covering the campaign’s Allied and Axis forces, plus additional formations for hypothetical situations.
• Editors for scenarios, orders of battle, and parameter data.
• Tools to extract smaller maps from the master map for custom scenarios.
• Design and campaign notes, with a bibliography of the sources used in developing the game.
• Computer opponents, Play by E-mail (PBEM), live LAN and Internet games, and two-player hot seat play.

Alongside the 1942 battles, the game includes Operation Compass (December 1940–February 1941), the British and Commonwealth offensive against Italian forces in North Africa.

Book and Video recommendations

Barr, Niall. Pendulum of War: The Three Battles of El Alamein. Jonathan Cape, 2004.

Dimbleby, Jonathan. Destiny in the Desert: The Road to El Alamein—the Battle That Turned the Tide. Profile Books, 2012.

Ford, Ken. El Alamein 1942: The Turning of the Tide. Illustrated by Howard Gerrard. Osprey Publishing, 2005.

Hammond, Bryn. El Alamein: The Battle That Turned the Tide of the Second World War. Osprey Publishing, 2012.

Kitchen, Martin. Rommel’s Desert War: Waging World War II in North Africa, 1941–1943. Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Latimer, Jon. Alamein. Harvard University Press, 2002.

Screenshots

We hope you enjoy this week’s Game of the Week: Panzer Campaigns: El Alamein '42. Like all WDS titles, it provides countless hours of rich historical gameplay at a very attractive price.