El Alamein (, ) is a town in the northern

Matrouh Governorate Matrouh ( ) is a governorate in north-western Egypt. It borders Libya, and its capital is Mersa Matruh. Municipal divisions The governorate is divided into municipal divisions with a total estimated population as of January 2023 of 538,546. ...

of Egypt. Located on the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, it lies west of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and northwest of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. The town is located on the site of the ancient city Antiphrai which was built by the Romans.().

Tourism

Military cemeteries

Germany

There are Italian and German military cemeteries on Tel el-Eisa Hill outside the town. The German cemetery is an

ossuary An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years th ...

, built in the style of a medieval fortress.

Italy

The cemetary of the

Italian War Memorial at El Alamein The Italian war memorial at El Alamein is an Italian war cemetery, museum, and memorial to the Italian soldiers who fought at the two Battles of El Alamein in World War II. It's located at the site of the battle, in Egypt. Background At the Secon ...

contains 5,200 graves.

Greek

There is a Greek cemetery at El Alamein.

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth

Alamein Memorial The Alamein Memorial is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission war memorial in the El Alamein War Cemetery, El Alamein, Egypt. The memorial commemorates 11,866 Commonwealth forces members who died during World War II. The memorial was designed by ...

and attached war cemetery, built and maintained by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

, has 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 The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

recipients: *Private Percy Gratwick,

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial strength of one ...

*Private Arthur Stan Gurney, Second Australian Imperial Force *Sergeant William Bill Kibby, Second Australian Imperial Force *Private

Adam Wakenshaw Adam Herbert Wakenshaw VC (9 June 1914 – 27 June 1942) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Deta ...

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and ...

Others buried here include: *Squadron Leader George Barclay,

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

fighter pilot *Major

Henry Rew Henry Rew (11 November 1906 – ) was an English rugby union player. He won 10 caps for England between 1929 and 1934, and four for the British Lions on their 1930 tour. He was killed at Nibeiwa Fort while serving with the Royal Tank Regiment ...

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 World War I, First World War. Today, it is an Armoured warfare, armoured regiment equipped with Challenger 2 main battle tanks ...

This has monuments commemorating Greek, New Zealand, Australian, South African,

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

and

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

forces. The cemetery entrance is through the

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 Sir John Hubert Worthington (4 July 1886 – 26 July 1963) was an English architect. Early life Worthington was born at Alderley Edge, near Stockport, the youngest son of architect Thomas Worthington. He was educated at Sedbergh School fr ...

Beaches

Many Egyptians, particularly the upper and middle class travel to El Alamein during summer to flee the summer heat in other cities and towns.

Climate

El Alamein has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BWh'', common with most of the Middle East and North Africa. However, like the rest of the

northern coast of Egypt The Northern Coast of Egypt (, , . ''"The Northern Egyptian Coast"'' extends for about along the Mediterranean Sea, it covers entirely the northern territory of Egypt. It is one of the longest Mediterranean coastlines, and is popularly known o ...

, its climate is slightly less hot, compared to the rest of Egypt, because of the prevailing

winds.

World War II

Two important

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

battles were fought in the area: *At the

First Battle of El Alamein The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of World War II, fought in Egypt between Axis (German and Italian) forces of the Panzer Army Africa—which included the under Field Marshal Erwin ...

(1–27 July 1942), the advance of

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

troops on

was blunted by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

, stopping the Italian and German forces that were trying to outflank the Allies' position. *At the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

(23 October – 4 November 1942), Allied forces broke the Axis line and forced them all the way back to

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, the

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...

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 of Nations, 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 grave ...

, 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,

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 Crusader, in full "Tank, Cruiser Mk VI, Crusader", also known by its List of tanks of the United Kingdom#General Staff numbers, General Staff number A.15, was one of the primary British cruiser tanks during the early part of the World War II, ...

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