El Alamein ( ar, العلمين, translit=al-ʿAlamayn, lit=the two flags, ) is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the

Arab's Gulf The Arab's Gulf, also known as the Arab Gulf or Arab Bay (all translating the Arabic name Khalij el-Arab, خليج العرب), is a large bay to the west of Alexandria in Egypt. It is not to be confused with the " Arabian Gulf" (a historic name f ...

, Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. , it had a population of 7,397 inhabitants. The town is located on the site of the ancient city Antiphrai ().

Tourism

El Alamein war museum

El Alamein has a war museum with artifacts from North African battles.

Military cemeteries

Germany

There are Italian and German military cemeteries on Tel el-Eisa Hill outside the town. The German cemetery is an ossuary, built in the style of a medieval fortress.

Italy

The Italian cemetery is a mausoleum containing 5,200 tombs. Many tombs bear the soldier's names, with others simply marked IGNOTO, i.e. unknown.

Greek

There is a Greek cemetery at El Alamein.

Commonwealth of Nations

There is a

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

war cemetery, built and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, with graves of soldiers from various countries who fought on the Allied side. Buried here are 6,425 identified Commonwealth service personnel, 815 unidentified ones, and 102 of other nationalities. These include four Victoria Cross recipients: *Private Percy Gratwick, Second Australian Imperial Force *Private Arthur Stan Gurney, Second Australian Imperial Force *Sergeant William Bill Kibby, Second Australian Imperial Force *Private Adam Wakenshaw, Durham Light Infantry Others buried here include: *Squadron Leader George Barclay, Royal Air Force Battle of Britain fighter pilot *Major Henry Rew,

Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as th ...

This has monuments commemorating Greek, New Zealand, Australian,

South African __NOTOC__ South African may relate to: * The nation of South Africa * South African Airways * South African English * South African people * Languages of South Africa * Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the Afric ...

, Indian and Canadian forces. The cemetery entrance is through the Alamein Memorial and there is also a separate Alamein Cremation Memorial to 603 Commonwealth service personnel who died in Egypt and Libya and were cremated in line with their religion. The names of 213 Canadian airmen appear on the Alamein Memorial in Egypt. The cemetery was designed by Hubert Worthington.

Climate

El Alamein has a hot desert climate, Köppen climate classification ''BWh'', common with most of the Middle East and North Africa. However, like the rest of the northern coast of Egypt, its climate is slightly less hot, compared to the rest of Egypt, because of the prevailing Mediterranean Sea winds.

World War II

Two important World War II battles were fought in the area: *At the First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942), the advance of Axis troops on Alexandria was blunted by the Allies, stopping the German that were trying to outflank the Allies' position. *At the Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 4 November 1942), Allied forces broke the Axis line and forced them all the way back to Tunisia.

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

, the British Prime Minister at the time, said of this victory: "Now this is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." After the war, he wrote: "Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat."

Gallery

File:El Alamein Commonwealth Denkmal.jpg,

Cross of Sacrifice The Cross of Sacrifice is a Commonwealth war memorial designed in 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission (now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). It is present in Commonwealth war cemeteries containing 40 or m ...

, El Alamein Commonwealth cemetery File:South African Memorial El Alamein.jpg, South African Memorial El Alamein Commonwealth cemetery File:El Alamein Commonwealth Cemetery 11.JPG, El Alamein Commonwealth cemetery plaque – 1939-1945 – The land on which this cemetery stands is the gift of the Egyptian people for the perpetual resting place of the sailors, soldiers and airmen who are honoured here. File:El Alamein Commonwealth Cemetery 2.JPG, El Alamein Commonwealth cemetery File:El Alamein Italian memorial entrance.jpeg, El Alamein Italian memorial entrance File:El Alamein Deutsches Kriegsgraeberdenkmal.jpg, El Alamein German memorial File:El Alamein Commonwealth Cemetery 5.JPG, El Alamein Commonwealth cemetery – A soldier of the 1939-1945 war known unto God File:Египет47.jpg, In El Alamein museum File:Египет48.jpg, German cannon File:Египет49.jpg, The list of fallen German soldiers File:Египет111.jpg, German Memorial File:Египет112.jpg, British Crusader tank

References

External links

* * {{Coord, 30, 50, N, 28, 57, E, display=title Populated coastal places in Egypt Populated places in Matrouh Governorate Tourism in Egypt World War II sites in Egypt