0710_01: Crumble at Tel el Eisa - PzC 11 El Alamein '42

Tel el Eisa, July 10th 1942: As the German attack petered out, 8th Army adopted a plan to 'thrust and parry' along the front in order to tire and wear out Rommel's remaining the panzer reserves. Fighting had lapsed into a virtual stalemate with the Allies holding the upper hand, but with no impetuous, or energy, to carry on the assault any longer. By the 10th, three days had passed without Auchinleck being able to muster any sort of offense. The lull was broken with the arrival of the 9th Australian Division. Fresh from reserves, this formation launched a major offensive on the Coastal Road which shattered the Sabratha Division, leaving the road held only by HQ Panzeraramee Afrika to hold the line. HQ troops and AA guns were deployed across the road and they successfully held the initial attack, but in the process lost a number of irreplaceable Wireless Intercept specialists. 15th Panzer responded with vastly reduced strength from the south, but the day was saved with the arrival of the 382nd Regiment, the lead unit of the 164th Division, the first reinforcement dispatched to Africa in months. This 'Crumble at El el Eisa' signaled a change in fortune for the Afrika Korps. [Size, small]