The Odyssey of the Ramcke Brigade at El Alamein

Fallschirmjäger in Egypt, from Bab el Katara to Mersa El Brega with war correspondent Hans Rechenberg.

El Alamein. This is where Rommel's offensive, which had seemed unstoppable, was halted on the road to Alexandria in the summer of 1942. There followed long weeks of positional warfare in the sand and rock of the Egyptian desert, under a blazing sun. Among the Axis units engaged was the Fallschirmjäger-Brigade 1, or Brigade «Ramcke», named after its celebrated commanding officer. Alongside their Italian comrades-in-arms, these "German desert paratroopers" waited impatiently for the chance to test themselves against the enemy…

At the end of October 1942, Field Marshal Montgomery's British forces launched an assault to the north of the brigade's positions. On their side, nothing stirred. Then suddenly, during the night of 2 to 3 November, the order to retreat sounded: the Fallschirmjäger had to withdraw westward at all costs to avoid encirclement and annihilation. A tremendous ordeal, as the unit had — at the outset — only a small number of motorised vehicles. Luftwaffe war correspondent Hans Rechenberg, who was permanently embedded with the brigade at the time, plunges us into the harsh daily life of the Fallschirmjäger at the El Alamein positions, then into the retreat towards Libya, with its moments of anguish, privation, and sometimes astonishing surprises. The reader will also gain an intimate insight into the brigade's officers, centred on the emblematic figure of General Bernhard Ramcke.

Written on the spot shortly before the author's capture in Tunisia in May 1943, this unique original typescript emerges from obscurity after more than 77 years, published here for the first time. Numerous photographs of the unit and of the Battle of El Alamein accompany this personal account. Originally intended for Reich propaganda, this document — devoid of pathos and closely tied to daily life in the desert — will no doubt surprise many readers.