page_title: 133rd Armoured Division Littorio
section_title: 4 November
hierarchical_section_title: 133rd Armoured Division Littorio / Western Desert / Second Battle of El Alamein / 4 November
caption_attribution_description: Second Battle of El Alamein: 9th Australian, 2nd New Zealand, 1st Armoured, 7th Armoured and 10th Armoured attack: 7am November 4th, 1942. 1st Armoured and 10th Armoured break through and drive towards the coast. 2nd New Zealand Division moves toward Fuka destroying the remnants of Bologna and Trento Divisions on its way. 7th Armoured Divisions encircles Ariete Division, which is destroyed. Axis forces flee.
context_page_description: 133rd Armoured Division Littorio or 133° Divisione Corazzata Littorio was an armoured division of the Italian Army during World War II. The division was formed in 1939 from the Infantry Division Littorio that had taken part in the Spanish Civil War. It was a reserve unit during the invasion of France when it attacked through the Little St Bernard Pass, which was halted by the French defenders. It then took part in the Invasion of Yugoslavia, fighting at Mostar and Trebinje.
  It was sent to North Africa in the spring of 1942 where it fought until it was destroyed at the Second battle of El Alamein in November 1942.
context_section_description: The 4 November saw the destruction of the Littorio, Ariete and the Trieste Motorised Division which were attacked by the British 1st and 10th Armoured Divisions. Berlin radio claimed that in this sector the "British were made to pay for their penetration with enormous losses in men and material. The Italians fought to the last man." Private Sid Martindale, 1st Battalion Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, wrote:
  There was not much action to see but we came across lots of burnt out Italian tanks that had been destroyed by our tanks. I had never seen a battlefield before and the site [sic] of so many dead was sickening.
   Harry Zinder of Time magazine noted that the Italians fought better than had been expected, and commented that for the Italians:
  It was a terrific letdown by their German allies. They had fought a good fight. In the south, the famed Folgore parachute division fought to the last round of ammunition. Two armoured divisions and a motorised division, which had been interspersed among the German formations, thought they would be allowed to retire gracefully with Rommel's 21st, 15th and 19th [sic] light. But even that was denied them. When it became obvious to Rommel that there would be little chance to hold anything between El Daba and the frontier, his Panzers dissolved, disintegrated and turned tail, leaving the Italians to fight a rear-guard action.
caption: 4 November Littorio under attack from the British 1st and 10th Armoured Divisions
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