Tuesday, October 23, 2012

This Day in History: Oct 23, 1942: Second Battle of El Alamein Starts

File:El Alamein 1942 - British infantry.jpg


The Second Battle of El Alamein took place over 13 days from 23 October – 4 November 1942 near the Egyptian coastal city of El Alamein, and the Allies' victory marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War.

 
 
 
 
It followed the First Battle of El Alamein, which had stalled the Axis advance into Egypt, after which, in August 1942, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery had taken command of the British Eighth Army from General Claude Auchinleck.

 
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This Allied victory turned the tide in the North African Campaign and ended the Axis threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal, and of gaining access to the Middle Eastern and Persian oil fields via North Africa.

 File:A mine explodes close to a British truck as it carries infantry through enemy minefields and wire to the new front lines.jpg

 File:RAF Baltimore bombing El Daba airfield.jpg

 File:El Alamein 1942 - British tanks.jpg

 File:Sherman tanks of the Eighth Army move across the desert.jpg

From a psychological perspective, El Alamein revived the morale of the Allied side, being the first major offensive against the Germans since the start of the European war in 1939 in which the Western Allies achieved a decisive victory.

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http://media.iwm.org.uk/iwm/mediaLib/49/media-49478/large.jpg

 File:El Alamein barrage general view.jpg

734 South African soldiers were killed at El Alamein.

 File:2 Battle of El Alamein 001.png

File:South African Memorial El Alamein.jpg

File:Dan Pienaar-001.jpg

 

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