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Why did Rommel have shortages of fuel and ammunition before the Second Battle of El-Alamein?

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Map showing the British and Axis military campaigns in North Africa during World War II, with labeled troop movements, key battles, and shifting front lines from Egypt across Libya to Tunisia along the Mediterranean coast. The map includes arrows and dates marking advances and retreats by both sides, and highlights major turning points and defensive lines. — North Africa campaigns Military drives, defensive lines, and key battles during the North Africa campaigns of World War II, 1940–43.

Before the Second Battle of El-Alamein, Erwin Rommel’s forces faced critical shortages of fuel and ammunition primarily due to the strategic success of the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy’s submarines in disrupting Axis supply lines across the Mediterranean.1

By October 1942, these Allied operations had become increasingly effective, resulting in less than half of the supplies dispatched from Europe reaching North Africa. The situation was exacerbated by the sinking of oil tankers, which left Rommel with only one-tenth of the fuel required for sustained military operations. Furthermore, the logistics of the North African campaign relied on a vulnerable, single-shuttle supply route from the port of Tripoli that stretched up to 1,300 miles, leaving the Afrika Korps highly susceptible to interdiction. These combined factors severely crippled the operational capacity of the German and Italian forces, leaving them unable to maintain the necessary momentum against the Eighth Army.12