To what degree did air power contribute to the Allied victory at the Essay

To what degree did air power contribute to the Allied victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein in 1942 - Essay Example The historical context of the onset of this battle is the pre-emptive attempt by Rommel to strike the Allied forces in Africa before they received massive reinforcements, thereby not letting their might swell to threatening proportions. This effort not only failed but backfired and the Panzers were caught in a catch-22 situation created by their misendeavour. The Allies, who managed to capitalise on this situation, kept the Afrika Korps in check for six weeks and then, when they were fully replenished, they launched an all-out offensive, engaging the enemy in a battle that was to change the course of WW2 west of the Suez. This gigantic war effort was implemented on a vast scale. The sheer numbers and the scale of logistics was mind boggling. When the Allies first retaliated against the Afrika Korps in August 1942, its strength was 200,000 men and 10,000 tanks, while that of the Afrika Korps was exactly its half. But logistics apart, Rommel was fighting a losing battle at El Alamein right from the beginning and had inherited several other strategic disadvantages which circumstances only aggravated. Notable amongst the major shortcomings... just to desert warfare tactics and erroneous planning at crucial junctures which cost a heavy body count and massive loss of armour and artillery machinery. The mention of these factors is aimed at providing credence to historian Niall Barr's main contention in his important book on the subject, Pendulum of War: Three Battles of El Alamein that the Allied victory in this battle was as much due to the enemy's shortcomings as it was due to its own strengths. "Rather than attribute British victory to any unique stratagem resulting from Montgomery's august appointment, Barr finds that it was the combination of circumstances and positional realities, along with the Allied ability to modify its tactics-an ability the Germans apparently did not share-that led to decisive victory on November 4" (Pendulum of War: Three Battles at El Alamein). Notably, Barr is also sparing in his praise for Montgomery and instead, gives more credence to the ground forces for the victory. The Battle, which began on August 30, 1942, and ended on November 4 the same year, was conceived by Montgomery in various phases, "Consisting of the break-in - October 23-24, the crumbling - October 24-25, the counter - October 26-28, Operation Supercharge - November 1-2 and the breakout - November 3-7" ("The Second Battle of El Alamein"). At various stages during the battle, the Allied aerial attack was requisitioned to play its role in the battle, either to provide air cover or to attack the ground forces of Afrika Korps. These air attacks are chronicled below. In an attempt to thwart the advance of the Allied army towards its stronghold, the Afrika Korps had planted one of the largest quantities of landmines in WW2, numbering around 500,000. This plantation had earned a dubious name of Devil's Gardens. These