Marsa Matruh

Mersa Matruh was a small coastal port in Egypt. Initially fortified by the British in 1940 prior to the Italian invasion and first battle of Mersa Matruh. It was further strengthened in the lead up to Operation Crusader. Mersa Matruh was also the last fortified coastal position in Allied control at the time. It was defended by the XIII Corps and the X Corps.

Axis forces assaulted the town from June 26th to June 29th 1942 and captured the town after a dismal display by British forces resulting in heavy loses from the British in terms of men and equipment. The X corp were badly disorganized and were unable to take part in the early phases of the First Battle Of El Alamein.

With access to the Matruh airfields the German's were now within 160 miles of the British airbase at Alexandria. Due to this threat the British naval command withdrew the Mediterranean Fleet, dispersing its force to several smaller eastern Mediterranean ports.

Panic was in the air in Alexandria and Cairo. The head of the US Army Intelligence Division predicted the British position in Egypt would collapse in less than a week. People fled east to Palestine and official and secret documents were burned in preparation for a possible Axis advance. The British consulate was swamped with people requesting visas. The British army flooded sections of the Nile Delta, prepared to demolish infrastructure and built up defensive positions at Alexandria and the Suez canal. A scorched earth policy was discussed but decided against.

The British Eighth Army, in a month of battle checked, the German advance at the First Battle of El Alamein. After it was over both sides were depleted, but the British still held their positions.[62] The Allied crisis passed and the Eighth Army began to build up its strength in preparation for going on the offensive.