Part 5/15:
British Commander Ritchie attempted to halt the 15th Panzer Division’s westward advancement with a firm command to Gott’s 30th Corps—"Stick to them like hell!"—but by dusk, the tanks had already pulled back five miles southward, comfortably perched near the New Zealand B Echelon supply area. The Germans leveraged this withdrawal by pushing an additional 7 miles forward, securing their day's objective near the New Zealand positions at El Duda, as other Axis divisions—Ariete and 21st Panzer—advanced from different directions.