STEEL AND SAND

The fighting in the Western Desert between Allied and Axis forces was as bitter and merciless as any war could be, and at Ruweisat Ridge a British armoured brigade suffered catastrophic losses at the hands of the Afrika Korps. On the German side, the actions of just one man, Günter Halm, stood out as he battled to stem the Allied advance winning the Knight’s Cross in the process. Robin Schäfer presents his remarkable story which is told exclusively for Britain at War by Günter Halm himself.

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel awards the Knight’s Cross to Günter Halm. (left)

Ruweisat Ridge is a rocky and austere geographical feature in the Western Egyptian desert, set between the Mediterranean Sea and the Qattara Depression about 12 miles south of El Alamein. The series of engagements fought across it as part of the Battle of El Alamein rightfully rank among the most crucial of the African campaign in the Second World War.

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