El Alamein

The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October - 11 November 1942) was a decisive battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein and marked the watershed of the Western Desert Campaign. In August 1942, Lt.-Gen. Sir Bernard Law Montgomery took command of the 8th Army, and the British victory turned the tide in the North African Campaign, ending the Axis threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal and the Middle Eastern and Persian oil fields via North Africa.


The Second Battle of El Alamein revived the morale of the Allies, being the first major success against the Axis since Operation Crusader in late 1941. The battle coincided with the Allied invasion of French North Africa in Operation Torch, which started on 8 November, as well as the Battle of Stalingrad and the Guadalcanal Campaign.


This book, first published in 1962, provides a detailed account of the Second Battle of El Alamein, based on original German and British sources and drawing on the author's own observations as one of the combatants.