The The Al-Alamain War Museum is located 105 kilometers west of Alexandria and about five kilometers west of the Marina resort. It is placed within the military areas of El Alumni. The museum was opened in the year 1956 during the presidency of Gamal Abdel Nasser as a memorial of the The Battle of Al-Alamain between the British and the Germans in 1942 and the battles that took place in South Africa during the Second World War. The Al-Alemein War Museum was renewed and reopened in 1992 during the presidency of Mubarak. The museum is one of the best place to visit in order to achieve an understanding of Story of World War II in Egypt.

The Al-Alemein Museum is a complete illustration of the story of World War II in North Africa, containing records of all the events. Even before entering the Museum proper, in the garden are huge army tanks and various larger weapons. A visitor can view this heavy equipment from World War II, go inside a tank or an army car, or even jump up and sit atop a tank. The garden has about fifteen large pieces used by different forces in the Battle of Al-Alemein.

Inside the museum there are five halls. Each of them is dedicated to one of the four countries involved in the war, which include Great Britain, Italy, Germany, and Egypt. The museum also has a mixed hall that contains items from the war generally.

The Egyptian Hall

The Egyptian hall shows how Egypt helped the allies during the war. There are statues of Egyptian soldiers who helped the British troops in the war. A large statue of king Farouk is on display as he was the ruler of Egypt at the time. He was always criticized for his lavish life as he expended a lot of money on his personal pleasure without considering the people of Egypt and their sufferings during the war. The left wall of the hall is covered with a large portrait that shows a part of the Al-Alemein battle and how the Germans were defeated. The other walls are covered with photographed and painted pictures illustrating the help of the Egyptians to the Allies in the War.

The British Hall

The hall mainly concentrates on the British troops and how they were able to defeat the Italians and then the Germans in North Africa. Uniforms of the British army during World War II are on display with different statues of soldiers doing different activities in the war time. The British role and their strategy during the war are on displayed in the form of stories and maps shown on the wall. The weapons the British used are displayed in this hall as well. However, calling this the British Hall is a bit misleading, as their efforts were much aided by those of the Australians. Hence, it is more of a commonwealth hall.

The Italian Hall

The Italian Hall contains, just like the other halls, some statues of Italian soldiers wearing their uniform and participating in the war. Some pictures are displayed on the walls to show how the Italians suffered from the defeat in North Africa.

The German Hall

The German Hall displays the role of the German army in the battle of El Alamin and in the other battles of North Africa during World War ll. Many different German weapons are displayed in this hall as well. Pictures of Rommel and Hitler are shown on the walls beside notes that show why the Germans lost the battle.at Al Alemein.

The Mixed Hall

The most interesting hall of the museum in the Museum is the Mixed Hall, because it shows items from all the sides involved in the war. Small models in the middle of the hall demonstrate the important battles between the British and the Italian in the beginning, and the British and the German afterwards. The hall has one part that tells the history of each country and why they were involved in the war. Real photographed pictures of the battle are shown on the walls with information and statistics about each participant.

This museum is a must see for any weapons or history fan. It tells the story of one of the most important battles during World War ll, and it was built in the exact place where the battle took place.

The Alamain Memorials

The British Memorial, called al-Alamain War Cemetery. It was designed by Sir Hubert Worthington, and is maintained by the British War Graves Commission in Cairo. There are 7,367 burials for men from Britain, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Greece, France, India and Malaysia.

Entering one of the three archways, you come to a wide hall. At each end, broad flights of stairs lead to a rooftop with a breathtaking view of this memorial on one side and the Mediterranean on the other. The hall is lined with walls of white limestone, engraved with the names of almost 12,000 soldiers whose bodies were never found. A directory of the soldiers names and a map of the cemetery make it easier for guests to find the names of loved ones among the rows upon rows of gravestones emerging from the desert sand.

On the west side of the walkway leading to the entrance of the cemetery is the memorial to the gallant 9th Australian Division, who led the final charge in the Battle of al-Alamein.

About three kilometers west of al-Alamain on the south side of the road stands the small marker erected at the easternmost advance of the Axis army in North Africa. It reads, "Manco la Fortuna, Non Il Valor (Lacking Fortune, Not Valor}.  If one stands beside it and peers south into the desert, one can barely see traces of the original Springbok Road, the main desert artery used by the Allies. Originally, the Italian and German dead were berried by the British in a single cemetery in 1943. In 1949, the Italians sent Paolo Caccia-Dominoni to reclaim the Italian dead. He searched the battlefield for ten years.

Three kilometers west of the Italian marker and 9.6 kilometers from the Greek Memorial is the German War Memorial, a single octagonal building erected in 1959. It sits on the north of the road atop the knoll of Gebel Alam Abd al-Gawad and overlooks the sea. Patterned after the Castle del Monte in Apulia, the memorial contains the bodies of 4,280 German soldiers. Opened in 1959, the austere structure symbolizing Germanys fierce pride looks more like a fortress from medieval times.

Inside, each side of the octagon-shaped courtyard houses an alcove where stone caskets each representing a German province lie beneath plaques bearing the names of the dead soldiers from each region. These modern-day sarcophagi are only symbolic; the actual soldiers are buried in a common grave beneath the memorial. In the center of the inner courtyard is an 11.5-meter obelisk protected by four falcons. Khaled Abdel Raouf, the third-generation caretaker of the German memorial, says that this monument has a double meaning.

In Pharaonic Egypt, an obelisk surrounded by falcons traditionally evoked Horus, believed to be the protector of the dead. The falcon is also a symbol of German heritage. Abdel Raouf says that the Germans found it reassuring to know their soldiers died in a country with a history for honoring the dead, and so adopted the obelisk for the war memorial.

 

The elegant white marble Italian Memorial, the largest structure at al-Alamein, stands five kilometers beyond the German Memorial. A villa on top of a hill overlooking both the sea and the memorial. Sobhi explains, "This villa belonged to Paolo Caccia Dominioni, a reserve colonel in the Italian army and the son of an Italian diplomat who served in Alexandria. After the [battle], he hid in that very spot for three days before he left for Italy. When he got there, he sold everything he owned and used all his wealth to come back to the desert and collect the remains of the Italian and German soldiers. He then designed and built this memorial and villa, and kept visiting this site until his death in 1992."

Like the Commonwealth Cemetery, one must pass through the arched entrance to enter the grounds of the memorial. Instead of a sea of gravestones, however, you find yourself at the beginning of a long path leading gradually uphill to a tower with marble walls almost as white as the surrounding sand. It begins with an entry cloister containing a chapel, mosque, hall of  remembrances and small museum. In the chapel is inscribed, "To 4,800 Italian soldiers, sailors and airmen. The desert and the sea did not give back 38,000 who are missing." The main memorial overlooks the sea at the top of a oleander-lined causeway. In the interior thousands of white marble plaques bearing the names of the Italian dead line the walls.

To the left is the Libyan war memorial. Libya was conquered by Italy at the time of al-Alamein battle, so both forces fought side by side. The fallen Libyans rest separate from their Italian comrades because of differences in religious burial methods.

This section has colorful landscaping surrounding a mosque where Muslim visitors can pray for the souls of the fallen soldiers, as well as an edited memorial plaque. Anwar Sobhi, a guide, explains, "Originally, the inscription on the stone was translated directly from the Italian, which read Libyans who died for Italy. But a Libyan minister came and didn't like what he saw. So he covered it with a plaque which reads Honoring the memory of the Libyans.

The Italian memorial is a sacrario, designed as both a cemetery and a chapel. Walls are lined with 30 x 55 centimeter marble tiles, each dedicated to one soldier. Behind these tiles, caskets hold the remains of the fallen soldiers. Some remain anonymous and are identified only as unknown. The top rows remain empty for soldiers who are still missing in action.

The interior is illuminated by natural lighting. A star-shaped skylight of small openings guides the desert sunbeams through the high ceiling. The back wall of the building is a panoramic glass window facing the Mediterranean. If the memorials front door is open, you can look straight through the building to glimpse the stunningly blue sea.

In front of the window is a marble casket with a wooden cross on the wall above it, creating a serene chapel where visitors may pray for the souls of the fallen soldiers

In fact, Montgomery was waiting for the arrival of something that soldiers in the desert were only allowed to refer to as ‘swallows’. In fact, they were 300 Sherman. Their 75 mm gun shot a 6lb shell that could penetrate a Panzer at 2,000 meters. Montgomery also wanted to build up his forces to a point of overwhelming superiority.

To throw Rommel off the scent, Montgomery launched ‘Operation Bertram’. This plan was conceived to convince Rommel that the full might of the Eighth Army would be used in the south. Dummy tanks were erected in the south, and a dummy pipeline was also built, slowly, so as to convince Rommel that the Allies were in no hurry to attack the Afrika Korps. ‘Monty’s army in the north also had to ‘disappear’. Tanks were covered and made to appear as non-threatening lorries. Bertram seems to have worked. Rommel became convinced that the attack would be in the south.

The Eighth Army vs Rommel

Prior to the events that led to al-Alamein, the British military force in Egypt since the Battle of Tell al-Kebir in 1882 had been known as the Army of the Nile. It was a relatively small force, but by World War II, it was very experienced in maneuvering in the desert terrain, had excellent British surveyor maps. They had long-term reconnaissance capabilities from both the Light Car Patrols of 1915-1918 and the newly formed Long Range Desert Group.

By the time of the Battle of al-Alamein, this force had been organized into the Eighth Army with a total of some 220,000 men,  It had air superiority and its tank strength (about 1,000) outnumbered Rommels by two to one. They were also armed with a six-pound artillery gun which was highly effective up to 1500 meters.

These forces were organized into three corps, consisting of the 10th, the 13th and the 30th, which included Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Indians, Rhodesians, Americans, Greeks and Free French.

The 10th Corps was an armored division created in the Western Desert as Montgomery's answer to the Afrika Korps. During the Battle of al-Alamein, it was held back, while the 30th Corps breached the enemy line. Then the 10th was sent through the hole for the knockout punch. The 13th Corps was situated on the southern section of the al-Alamein line at Alam Nayal (Alam Nayil) and the Munassib Depression.

The 30th Corps was the workhorse of the 8th Army, and consisted of three dominion divisions. The 51st Highland Infantry Division were to bear the brunt of the attack across the al-Alamein line and led the infantry charge that created the breakthrough at al-Alamein. The 2nd New Zealand Division, the Kiwis, led by Major-General Bernard Freyberg, laid the groundwork for Operation Supercharge. The 9th Australian Division under General Leslie Morshead was considered the finest division in the 8th Army by its enemy. They had withstood the siege of Tobruk for eight months in 1941 and at al-Alamein they were hurled against the German gun line at Tell al-Aqaqir.

There was also the Libyan-Arab Corps. When the Italians entered World War II, the Sanusi leader Sayyid Idris, living in Egypt at the time, aligned himself with the British. Five battalions of soldiers joined the war in the Libyan Desert under the name of the Libyan-Arab Corps, four with the Eighth Army, and the fifth behind the lines in the desert, which they knew very well.

To cope with Montgomery’s attack, the Germans had 110,000 men and 500 tanks. A number of these tanks were poor Italian tanks and could not match the new Sherman’s. The Germans were also short of fuel. 

The Battlefield

The battlefield of al-Alamein is protected on the north by the sea and on the south by the Qattara Depression, thus making it a strong defensive position. Whoever controlled al-Alamein would also control the North African coast. In turn, they would also control Egypt and the trade routes to the Far East via the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The ancient Egyptians understood this, and so did their modern counterparts. During World War II, the Axis powers wanted to dominate Egypt in order to close Britain's sea routes to its colonial empire, which the British were desperate to protect. Beginning in 1940 with the Italian invasion of Egypt by way of Libya, the coastal towns of al-Diffa (the northern coast) were the scene of this ongoing battle.

Al-Alamein was the turning point of World War II. The British committed themselves, supplying their soldiers with ample equipment to secure the al-Alamein Line, the last tenable position before Cairo. Their victory convinced the Americans to enter the European war with an offensive called Operation Torch, which thrust into Morocco and Algeria.

The Battle Line

The two armies faced each other across an almost flat expanse of desert that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea in the north, south to the Qattara Depression. The 8th Army set up its defenses at the al-Alamein Line. The train station at Al-Alamein stood behind the British, and the small hamlet of Sidi Abd al-Rahman was in the midst of the Axis troops. The al-Alamein Line was fortified by a series of boxes enclosed by barbed wire and secured by minefields. There were ten boxes in all, each equipped with water piped from the Nile and stored in underground reservoirs near the railway at al-Alamein. Each contained two infantry battalions, and field, anti-tank and anti-aircraft artillery. At intervals along the line were hospitals, storerooms and headquarters.

The first box of the al-Alamein Line was the al-Alamein Box. It extended from the sea to the west of the al-Alamein station and then south below the railroad. It was manned by the 1st South African Division. Qarat al-Abd, about 15 miles south of al-Alamein, held another box on the al-Alamein Line. It, like al-Alamein, was built on high ground. Ruweisat Ridge, a rocky hill 200 feet high was 12.5 miles south of al-Alamein and held the next box. The line continued south to the edge of the Qattara Depression.

Between the two armies was the ‘Devil’s Garden’. This was a mine field laid by the Germans which was five miles wide and littered with a huge number of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. Going through such a defense would prove to be a nightmare for the Allies.

The Battle of Al-Alamein

Military historians usually divide the Battle of al-Alamein into five 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). No name is given to the period from October 29 to the 30th when the battle was at a standstill.

The Break-in

On a calm, clear evening under the bright sky of a full moon, Operation Lightfoot began with 882 field and medium sized guns releasing a barrage of fire that did not stop until five and a half hours later, when each gun had fired about 600 rounds. During that period of time, 125 tons of bombs fell on the enemy gun positions. Legend has it that the noise was so great that the ears of the gunners bled.

There was a reason for the name "Operation Lightfoot". The infantry had to attack first. Many of the anti-tank mines would not be tripped by soldiers running over them since they were too light (hence the code-name). As the infantry attacked, engineers had to clear a path for the tanks coming up in the rear. Each stretch of land cleared of mines was to be 24 feet wide, which was just enough to get a tank through in single file. The engineers had to clear a five mile section through the ‘Devil’s Garden’. It was an awesome task and one that essentially failed because of the depth of the Axis minefields.

The Allied plan called for the 13th Corps to make a feint attack to the south, engaging the Axis 21st Panzer and Ariete Divisions (both tank divisions, while the 30th Corps in the north attempted to make the narrow pathway through the German minefield for the armored divisions of the 10th Corp.

At 10 pm, the infantry of the 30th Corps began to move. The objective was an imaginary line in the desert where the strongest enemy defenses were situated. Once the infantry reached the first minefields, the mine sweepers (sappers) moved in to create a passage for the tanks. Finally, at 2 am, the first of the 5,000 tanks crawled forward. By 4 am the lead tanks were in the minefields, where they stirred up so much dust that there was no visibility at all, and traffic jams developed as the tanks got bogged down. Entire columns went astray when the lead tank moved off course, and they were seldom exactly where they thought they were. In fact, on this night the tank units though that they were through the first minefield and into the second when they were in fact still in the first.

The Crumbling

The morning of Saturday, October 24th brought disaster for the German headquarters. The accuracy of the barrage had destroyed German communications and Strumme, who commanded the German forces while Rommel was in Germany, died of a heart attack. Temporary command was given to General von Thoma.

Meanwhile, the 30th Corps had only dented the first minefields. It was not yet enough for the 10th Corps to pass through, so all day long, the British air force plastered Axis positions, making over 1,000 sorties.

The Panzers attacked the 51st Highland Division just after sunrise. By 4:00 pm there was little progress. At dusk, with the sun at their backs, Axis tanks from the15th Panzer and

Italian Littorio swung out from Kidney Ridge to engage the Australians, and the first major tank battle of al-Alamein was joined. Over 100 tanks were involved in this battle and by dark, half were destroyed while neither position was altered.

While the Australians were fighting the 15th Panzers, the Highlanders, on their left, were engaging in the first tank versus infantry battle at al-Alamein. It was to last for two days with many casualties, but when it was over the British manned Kidney Ridge.

D Plus 2: Sunday, October 25, 1942

The initial thrust had ended by Sunday. Both armies had been fighting non-stop for two days. The British had advanced through the minefields in the west to make a six mile wide and five mile deep inroad. They now sat atop Miteriya Ridge in the southeast, but at the same time, the Axis forces were firmly entrenched in most of their original battle positions and the battle was at a standstill. Hence, Montgomery ordered an end to conflict in the south, the evacuation of Miteriya Ridge, and a swing north toward the sea. The battlefield would be concentrated at the Kidney and Tell al-Eissa until a breakthrough occurred. It was to be a gruesome seven days.

By early morning, the Axis forces launched a series of attacks using the 15th Panzer and Littorio divisions. The Afrika Korps was probing for a weakness, but they found none. When the sun set, the British infantry went on the attack. Around midnight, the 51st Division launched three attacks, but no one knew exactly where they were. It was pandemonium and carnage, resulting in the loss of over 500 British troops, and leaving only one officer among the attacking forces.

While the 51st was operating around the Kidney, the Australians were attacking Point 29, a 20 foot high Axis artillery observation post southwest of Tell al-Essa. This was the new northern thrust Montgomery had devised earlier in the day, and it was to be the scene of heated battle for days to come. The 26th Australian Brigade attacked at midnight. The air force dropped 115 tons of bombs and the British took the position and 240 prisoners. Fighting continued in this area for the next week, as the Axis tried to recover the small hill that was so vital to their defense.

Counter: D Plus 3: Monday, October 26, 1942

Rommel returned to North Africa on the evening of the 25th, and immediately assessed the battle. What he found was that the Italian Trento Division had lost half of its infantry, the 164 Light Division had lost two battalions, most other groups were under strength, all men were on half rations, a large number were sick, and the entire Axis army had only enough fuel for three days.

The offensive was stalled. Churchill railed, "Is it really impossible to find a general who can win a battle?" A counterattack began at 3 pm against Point 29 near Tell al-Eissa. Rommel was determined to retake the position and moved all the tanks from around Kidney to the battle site. Air and ground power poured into the area as Rommel moved the 21st Panzer and Ariete Armored Division up from the south along the Rahman Track. That turned out to be a mistake. The British held the position and Rommel's troops could not retire for lack of fuel, and were therefore stuck on open ground at the mercy of air attacks.

However, back at Kidney, the British failed to take advantage of the missing tanks. Each time they tried to move forward they were stopped by pounding anti-tank guns.

On a brighter note for the British, the Royal Navy sank the tanker Proserpina at Tobruk, and it was the last hope for re-supplying Rommel's thirsty machines.

 D Plus 4: Tuesday, October 27, 1942

By now, the main battle was concentrated around Tell al-Aqaqir and Kidney Ridge. The 2nd Battalion (Rifle Brigade) of the 1st Armored Division of the British was at a position called Snipe, to the southwest of the Kidney. The stand at Snipe is one of the legends of the Battle of al-Alamein. Phillips in Alamein records that,

"The desert was quivering with heat. The gun detachments and the platoons squatted in their pits and trenches, the sweat running in rivers down their dust-caked faces. There was a terrible stench. The flies swarmed in black clouds upon the dead bodies and excreta and tormented the wounded. The place was strewn with burning tanks and carriers, wrecked guns and vehicles, and over all drifted the smoke and the dust from bursting high explosives and from the blasts of guns."

Mortar and shell fire was constant all day long. Around 4 pm, British tanks accidentally opened fire against their own position, killing many. At 5 pm, Rommel launched his major attack. German and Italian tanks moved onward. With only four guns in operation, the 2nd Battalion was able to score continual broad-side hits against forty tanks of the 21st Division, knocking out thirty-seven of them. The remaining three withdrew and a new assault was lunched. All but nine tanks in this assault were also destroyed. The 2nd was down to three guns with three rounds each, but the Germans had given up on this assault.

D Plus 5-6: Wednesday, Thursday, October 28-29, 1942

The Australian 9th Division was to continue pushing northwest beyond Tell al-Eissa to an enemy held location south of the railway known as Thompson's Post and force a breakthrough along the coast road. By the end of the day, the British had 800 tanks still in operation, while the Axis had 148 German and 187 Italian tanks. With the tanker, Luisiano sunk outside Tobruk harbor, Rommel told his commanders, "It will be quite impossible for us to disengage from the enemy. There is no gasoline for such a maneuver. We have only one choice and that is to fight to the end at Alamein".

D Plus 7-9: Friday-Sunday, October 30 - November 1, 1942

The night of October 30th saw a continuation of previous plans, with the 9th Australian attacking. This was their third attempt to reach the paved road, which they took on this night. On the 31st, Rommel launched four retaliatory attacks against Thompson's Post. The fighting was intense and often hand to hand, but no ground was gained by the Axis forces. On Sunday, November 1, Rommel tried to dislodge the Australians once again, but the brutal, desperate fighting resulted in nothing but lost men and equipment. By now, it had become obvious to Rommel that the battle was lost. He began to plan the retreat and anticipated retiring to Fuka, a few miles west. Ironically, 1,200 tons of fuel arrived, but it was too late and had to be blown up.

Operation Supercharge

This phase of the battle began on November 2nd at 1 am, with the objective of destroying enemy armor, forcing the enemy to fight in the open, diminishing the Axispetrol, attacking and occupying enemy supply routes and disintegrating the enemy army. Its intensity and the destruction was greater than anything witnessed so far during this horrific battle. The objective of Supercharge was Tell al-Aqaqir along the Rahman track, which was the base of the Axis defense.

This attack started with a seven hour aerial bombardment focused on Tell al-Aqaqir and Sidi Abd al-Rahman, followed by a 4.5 hour barrage of 360 guns firing 15,000 shells. The initial thrust of Supercharge was to be carried out by the battle scarred New Zealanders. The commander, Freyberg had tried to free them of this chore, as they were under strength and weary, but that was not to be, so on this cold November night with the moon on the wane, the New Zealanders moved out.

As dawn came on November 2nd, tank after tank was hit by the German 88 mm guns that kept firing through seven air attacks. The 9th never made it to their objective. In fact, they had 75 percent casualties and lost 102 of its 128 tanks. Nevertheless, they had breached the gun line and the 1st Armored Division of the 10th Corps, under the command of Raymond Briggs, was now about to be engaged. In the heat of the noon day sun, 120 Italian and German tanks advanced for the biggest, most critical and, to all intents and purposes, the final tank battle of al-Alamein, the Battle of Aqaqir Ridge.

This battle continued all day.

"The desert, quivering in the heat haze, became a scene that defies sober description. It can be discerned only as a confused arena clouded by the bursts of high explosives, darkened by the smoke of scores of burning tanks and trucks, lit by the flashes of innumerable guns, shot through by red, green and white tracers, shaken by heavy bombing from the air and deafened by the artillery of both sides."

Rommel called up Ariete from the south to join the defense around Tell al-Aqaqir in the last stand of the German army. By nightfall, the Axis had only thirty-two tanks operating along the entire front. While the Afrika Korps was fighting for its life at Aqaqir, Rommel began the withdrawal to Fuka.

The Break Out

Rommel sent a message to Hitler explaining his untenable position and seeking permission to withdraw, but Rommel was told to stand fast. Von Thoma told him, "I've just been around the battlefield. 15th Panzer's got ten tanks left, 21st Panzer only fourteen and Littorio seventeen." Rommel read him Hitler's message, so he left to take command at the head of the Afrika Korps.

When 150 British tanks came after the remaining members of the nearly vanquished 15th and 21st Panzers, von Thoma stood with his men. He was in the command tank at the spot where the two panzer units joined, and there he remained until the last tank was destroyed. At the end, when all was lost, von Thoma stood alone beside his burning tank at the spot that was to become known as the "panzer graveyard."

Despite the desperate situation, Rommel's men stood their ground. Entire units were destroyed, but the remnants continued to fight.  A 12 mile wide hole had been cut in the Axis line. "If we stay put here, the army won't last three days... If I do obey the Fuhrer's order, then there's the danger that my own troops won't obey me... My men come first!" Rommel ordered the massive retreat against Hitler's orders.

D Plus 12, November 4, 1942

On November 4th, the final assaults were underway. The British 1st, 7th and 10th armored divisions passed through the German lines and were operating in the open desert. The British had won the battle. The axis were in retreat. This day saw the liquidation of the Italian Ariete Armored Division, the Littorio Division and the Trieste Motorized Division.

So far, Rommel had lost 55,000 men, 1,000 guns and 450 tanks. The British had 13,500 men killed, missing or wounded. They also lost 100 gun and 500 tanks. John Currie of the 9th Armored Brigade pointed to twelve tanks when asked where his regiments were, "There are my armored regiments". Major-General Douglas Wimberley swore, "Never again".