keeping firm hold of Miteirya—should strike northwards toward the coast with the 9th Australian Division. The 1st Armoured Division—on the Australian left—should continue to attack west and north-west; activity to the south on both corps fronts would be confined to patrolling. The battle would be concentrated at the Kidney feature and Tel el Eisa until a breakthrough occurred. By early morning, the Axis forces launched attacks using the 15th Panzer and "Littorio" divisions. The Panzer Army probed for a weakness but without success. The British and Commonwealth infantry attacked at dusk. Around midnight, the 51st (Highland) Division launched three attacks but no one knew quite where they were. Pandemonium and carnage ensued, resulting in the loss of over 500 British troops and leaving only one officer among the attacking force. While the 51st Highland Division was operating around Kidney Ridge, the Australians were attacking Point 29 (sometimes shown on Axis maps as "28") a high Axis artillery observation post south-west of Tel el Eisa, to surround the Axis coastal salient containing the German 164th Light Division and large numbers of Italian infantry. This was the new northern thrust Montgomery had devised earlier in the day. The 26th Australian Brigade attacked at midnight, supported by artillery and 30 tanks of the 40th Royal Tank Regiment. The Australians took the position and 240 prisoners. Fighting continued in this area for the next week, as the Axis tried to recover the small hill that was so important to their defence. Night bombers dropped of bombs on targets in the battlefield and on the Stuka base at Sidi Haneish, while night fighters flew patrols over the battle area and the Axis forward landing grounds. In the south, the 4th Armoured Brigade and the 69th Infantry Brigade attacked the 187th Paratroopers Regiment "Folgore" at Deir Munassib, but lost about 20 tanks gaining only the forward positions. Phase three: the counter D + 3: 26 October Rommel, on his return to North Africa on the evening of 25 October, assessed the battle. Casualties, particularly in the north, as a result of incessant artillery and air attack, had been severe. The Italian 102nd Motorised Division "Trento" had lost 50 per cent of its infantry and most of its artillery and the 164th Light Division had lost two battalions. The 15th Panzer and Littorio divisions had prevented the British tanks from breaking through but this had been a