the Axis retreat was complete. The Eighth Army lost and 68 tanks; the Axis lost 60 guns and Second Battle of El Alamein When the Eighth Army offensive began on 23 October, the had including of whom only front line troops. There were tanks, which were Italian, and guns. The Eighth Army had another repair, and guns. The Allied troops were well fed and in good health, whereas the Axis troops were undernourished and susceptible to illness. The had only of fuel per vehicle. By 27 October, the was down to tanks and by 2 November the had expended most of its ammunition and had only and tanks left. Rommel decided to retreat but Hitler ordered the to stand fast. On 4 November, the Eighth Army broke through Axis defences and Rommel ordered the retreat to begin, abandoning the non-motorized units, particularly Italian formations, in the centre and south. had suffered of the force and had lost and The Eighth Army suffered a far smaller proportion of the force and (only destroyed) and about (mainly anti-tank guns). The was reduced to about guns and Attempts to encircle the Axis forces at Mersa Matruh failed and the bulk of the had escaped by 7 November. The Axis forces retreated along the coast road but lack of tanks and fuel for a mobile defence of the open southern flank, made a stand at the Halfaya Pass or any other position impossible. Tobruk was retaken by the Eighth Army on 13 November and the Axis retreat continued; Benghazi fell on 20 November and the captured ports were quickly repaired to supply the British advance. Battle of El Agheila retired to the El Agheila defences (Mersa Brega line) but Axis supply and reinforcement priority was given to the forces opposing the British First Army (Lieutenant-General Kenneth Anderson) and Operation Torch, leaving the Italo-Germans with no capacity to counter-attack. Hitler ordered the Mersa Brega line to be held at all costs but Rommel favoured a fighting retreat to the Gabès Gap in Tunisia, which would increase the supply distance for the Eighth Army to . On 24 November, Ugo Cavallero agreed to withdraw west to Buerat, beyond Sirte, if the was attacked by a superior force. The Eighth Army reached El Agheila on 15 December and the New Zealand Division was sent to outflank the Mersa Brega line from as the 51st (Highland) Division attacked