Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, interwar and Second World War

First Battle of El Alamein

First Battle of El Alamein was a battle fought on 1 July 1942 at El Alamein, in what is now Egypt; it lasted 26 days. It was part of Battles of El Alamein. The recorded result: Stalemate.

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IWM caption : THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH AFRICA 1942. Infantry manning a sandbagged defensive position near El Alamein.
IWM caption : THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH AFRICA 1942. Infantry manning a sandbagged defensive position near El Alamein.. Fox (Sgt), No 1 Army Film & Photographic Unit, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought1 July 1942lasted 26 days
WhereEl Alamein, Egypt30.841N, 28.943E
OutcomeStalemate
BelligerentsKingdom of Italy; GermanyagainstUnited Kingdom; Kingdom of Egypt; India; Dominion of New Zealand; Australia; South Africa
Casualties and losses10,000 killed or wounded; 7,000 prisonersand13,250 killed or wounded
Part ofBattles of El Alamein

Where it sits in Battles of El Alamein

First Battle of El Alamein, 1942Second Battle of El Alamein, 1942Outpost Snipe, 194219421942First Battle of El Alamein, 1942
3 placed engagements of Battles of El Alamein in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1 July 1942
to 27 July 1942
PlaceEl Alamein, Egypt
30.841N, 28.943E
KindBattle, interwar and Second World War
Strength96,000 troops (56,000 Italian, 40,000 German); 70 tanks initially (585 tanks later); ~500 planes150,000 troops; 179 tanks initially (1,114 tanks later); 1,000+ artillery pieces; 1,500+ planes
Casualties and losses10,000 killed or wounded; 7,000 prisoners13,250 killed or wounded
Commanders
  • Ettore Bastico
  • Erwin Rommel
  • Walther Nehring
  • Giuseppe De Stefanis
  • Enea Navarini
  • Benvenuto Gioda
  • Claude Auchinleck
  • William Gott
First Battle of El AlameinFirst Battle of El AlameinSecond Battle of El AlameinOutpost SnipeBattle of Alam el HalfaRaid on AlexandriaSiege of AlexandriaOutpost SnipeRaid on AlexandriaSiege of AlexandriaDamanhûrRashidMatruhEl Daba100 km30.841N, 28.943E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of First Battle of El Alamein
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 5 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of First Battle of El Alamein today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-05-30. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 22 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -4 to 32 m, 36 m of relief, flat country and today it is 48% bare ground, 30% built-up, 18% water.

bare ground: 48%built-up: 30%water: 18%grassland: 2%bare ground 48%built-up 30%water 18%grassland 2%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 23 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 22 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1942

First Battle of El Alamein is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 110 in present-day Egypt.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q162250, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article First Battle of El Alamein, revision 1385727233, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.