Battle of Mersa Matruh

E176154

The Battle of Mersa Matruh was a World War II engagement in June 1942 in Egypt, where Axis forces under Erwin Rommel defeated retreating British Commonwealth troops during the North African campaign.

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All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Battle of Mersa Matruh canonical 6

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf World War II battle
battle
alliedObjective conduct delaying action
preserve main forces for defense of El Alamein
associatedWith desert warfare
axisObjective capture Mersa Matruh
destroy British Eighth Army rearguard
belligerentStrength Axis armoured and motorized divisions
British infantry and armoured formations
campaignPhase Axis advance into Egypt in 1942
combatant Axis powers
British Dominions
surface form: British Commonwealth

British Eighth Army
United Kingdom
commander Claude Auchinleck
Erwin Rommel
Neil Ritchie
conflict World War II
conflictType land battle
country Egypt
date 26 June 1942
endDate 29 June 1942
followedBy Battle of El Alamein
surface form: First Battle of El Alamein
front North African campaign
surface form: North African Front
frontlineShift pushed eastward toward El Alamein
geographicalContext North Coast of Egypt
surface form: Mediterranean coast of Egypt
historicalEra 20th century
involvedForce German Afrika Korps
Italian armoured and infantry units
locationType coastal town
militaryBranch British Army
German Army
Italian Army (Kingdom of Italy)
surface form: Italian Army
notableFor Axis exploitation of victory at Gazala
retreat of British Eighth Army from Cyrenaica to Egypt
opponent Panzer Army Africa
partOf North African campaign
North African campaign
surface form: Western Desert Campaign
place Marsa Matruh
surface form: Mersa Matruh
precededBy Battle of Gazala
primaryAlliedCommander Claude Auchinleck
primaryAxisCommander Erwin Rommel
region Western Desert
surface form: Western Desert of Egypt
relatedOperation retreat to El Alamein line
result Axis victory
strategicObjective delay Axis advance toward El Alamein
theatre Western Desert
timePeriod June 1942

Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Western Desert notableBattle Battle of Mersa Matruh
German-Italian Panzer Army engagedIn Battle of Mersa Matruh
Middle East theatre of World War II hasPart Battle of Mersa Matruh
Libyan campaign hasPart Battle of Mersa Matruh
Egyptian campaign hasPart Battle of Mersa Matruh
Egyptian campaign notableBattle Battle of Mersa Matruh