In his retreat Rommel left behind 500 tanks, 400 guns and thousands of trucks to create one of history's worst traffic jams. Of his 96,000 troops, 59,000 were killed, wounded or imprisoned. The British lost some 13,500 men and 432 tanks. As Rommel fled American and British troops were landing in the path of his retreat at the western end of the Mediterranean. Incongruously, war in the desert depended on control of the sea. At their lowest ebb theBritish dared not risk sending supplies to Egypt through the Mediterranean, had to route them around the continent of Africa.
SOURCE: Life's Picture History of World War II. Time Incorporated. New York, 1950, p. 117.