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El Alamein was one of the pivotal battles of the Second World War, fought by armies and air forces on the cutting edge of military technology. Yet Alamein has always had a patchy reputation - with many commentators willing to knock its importance. This book explains just why El Alamein is such a controversial battle. Based on an intensive reading of the contemporary sources, in particular the extensive and recently declassified British bugging of Axis prisoners of war, military historian Simon Ball turns Alamein on its head, explaining it as a cultural defeat for Britain. Alamein is a military history of the battle - showing how different it looks stripped of later cultural excrescences. But it also shows how 'Alamein culture' saturated the post-war world, when archival sources mingled with film, novels, magazines, popular histories, and the rest of Alamein's footprint. Whether you are interested in the battle itself or its cultural afterlife, if you have an opinion about Alamein, you'll question it after reading this book.

A British poet and officer describes tank battles in North Africa and his own impressions of war's comradery, danger, and excitement

Alamein was a decisive battle of the Second World War. Australia troops took a leading - and costly - part in the battle. Sixty years on Alamein and the North African war is virtually forgotten in Australia. This book tells the story of the Australians who fought the climactic battle of the desert war.

'This is the only book from the Second World War comparable with the first-war narratives of Sassoon, Blunden or Graves . . . When the battle of El Alamein began, the poet Keith Douglas was in Cairo with Divisional HQ. Eager not to miss the action, he took a truck and, against orders, drove to re-join his regiment. He served as a tank commander throughout the whole of the allied advance across North Africa, and Alamein to Zem Zem (1946) is his story. Boyishness and inexperience give it flash-bulb immediacy . . . Scenes of unforgettable pity and terror unfold . . . Everything, from flowers carpeting the desert in winter to vanquished enemies, is seen with a poet's eye and the generosity of youth.' John Carey, Guardian This Faber Finds edition of Keith Douglas's classic work - originally published two years after his death in Normandy in 1944 - includes a new preface by the novelist Richard Skinner.

'Excellent...a remarkable achievement and ought to be recognized as one of the most successful histories of the Western Desert and North African fighting yet to have appeared' - John Keegan, "Daily Telegraph". For the British, the battle fought at ElAlamein in October 1942 became the turning point of the Second World War. In this study of the desert war, John Bierman and Colin Smith show why it is remembered by its survivors as a 'war without hate'. Through extensive research the authors provide a compellingly fresh perspective on the see-saw campaign in which the two sides chased each other back and forth across the unforgiving North African landscape.

'This is the only book from the Second World War comparable with the first-war narratives of Sassoon, Blunden or Graves . . . When the battle of El Alamein began, the poet Keith Douglas was in Cairo with Divisional HQ. Eager not to miss the action, he took a truck and, against orders, drove to re-join his regiment. He served as a tank commander throughout the whole of the allied advance across North Africa, and Alamein to Zem Zem (1946) is his story. Boyishness and inexperience give it flash-bulb immediacy . . . Scenes of unforgettable pity and terror unfold . . . Everything, from flowers carpeting the desert in winter to vanquished enemies, is seen with a poet's eye and the generosity of youth.' John Carey, Guardian This Faber Finds edition of Keith Douglas's classic work - originally published two years after his death in Normandy in 1944 - includes a new preface by the novelist Richard Skinner.

There are some battles that change the course of history: Alamein is one of those. In October 1942, Britain and its allies were in real difficulties: Germany and its Axis partners seemed to be triumphant everywhere—in Europe, in Russia, in the Atlantic and were now poised to take the Suez Canal. It was in North Africa that the stand was made, that the tide of World War II began to turn. It was a battle of strong characters: the famous battle commander Rommel and the relatively untested new British commander, Montgomery, leading men who fought through an extraordinary eleven day battle, in an unforgiving terrain, amid the swirling sandstorms and the desert winds.

In June 1940, following the Nazi invasion of France, Ivor Paech, an ordinary primary school teacher from South Australia, enlisted in the Second AIF - the all-volunteer fighting component of the Australian Army in World War II. The unit he was assigned to would become Australia's most highly decorated infantry battalion of the conflict - the 2/48th Infantry Battalion. Ivor served in the front lines in North Africa during the Siege of Tobruk, both battles of Alamein, and bore witness to some of the most violent fighting undertaken by Australian soldiers during the war. This is Ivor's story, compiled by his grandson who is a former Army officer, based on the diary he kept during the conflict, background research and interviews with surviving members of the unit.

The desert battle between the Afrika Korps and the British 8th Army that changed the course of World War II; a classic narrative by a decorated British combat commander.

Before the Battle of El Alamein in 1942, the British had never won a major battle on land against the Germans; nor indeed had anyone else. Drawing on a remarkable array of first-hand accounts, this book reveals the personal experiences of those on the frontline and provides fascinating details of how the war was actually fought. It also includes analysis of the strategic decisions made by the generals. El Alamein 1942 is the story of exactly how a seemingly beaten and demoralized army turned near-defeat into victory in a little over four months of protracted and bloody fighting in the harsh North African desert.

Très Bon Etat dos de couverture insolé (voir photo). 14x22x2cm. 1990. Broché. 261 pages. Très bon état

The battle of El Alamein marked the turning point in Britain's fortunes in the World War II (1939-1945). There were three separate battles between July and November 1942, all of which were fought to halt the advance of Rommel's army towards the Suez Canal. This final battle at El Alamein, fought in October and November, saw the continuous bombardment of the German line that Rommel was instructed to hold at all costs by Hitler himself. The Allies shattered the German defences, and Rommel led a westward retreat in order to salvage what was left of the Afrika Korps. This book provides an in-depth analysis of the battle that turned the tide in favour of the Allies in Africa.

In 1940 a group of artists, sculptors, film makers, theatre designers and set painters came together to form the Camouflage Unit. Led by Major Geoffrey Barkas and including among their number the internationally renowned stage magician Jasper Maskelyne, the unit's projects became a crucial battlefield weapon. At the siege of Tobruk the unit made a vital desalination plant appear to have been destroyed by enemy bombers; from then on they used their storytelling skills to weave intricate webs of deception, making things appear that weren't actually there, and things that were, disappear, to deceive the enemy. Their stage was the enormous, flat and almost featureless Western Desert. The unit's schemes were so successful that in August 1942 the Unit was ordered by General Montgomery to come up with a way to hide the preparations for the Battle of Alamein, the biggest battle the 8th Army had ever fought. 'Operation Bertram' was born. In six short weeks two divisions, with armour, field guns and supporting vehicles, were conjured from the sand, while real tanks and lethal twenty-five pound field guns vanished from sight. Then, on the eve of the battle, the unit performed the biggest conjuring trick in military history. Right in front of the German's eyes they made 600 tanks disappear and reappear fifty miles away disguised as lorries. Rommel had been bamboozled by an army made of nothing but string and straw and bits of wood. The Phantom Army of Alamein tells for the first time the full story of how some of Britain's most creative men put down their brushes, pencils and cameras to join the rest of the world in the fight against the Nazis and played a vital role in the winning of the war.

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It was the British victory at the Battle of El Alamein in November 1942 that inspired one of Winston Churchill's most famous aphorisms: 'This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning'. And yet the significance of this episode remains unrecognised. In this thrilling historical account, Jonathan Dimbleby describes the political and strategic realities that lay behind the battle, charting the nail-biting months that led to the victory at El Alamein in November 1942. It is a story of high drama, played out both in the war capitals of London, Washington, Berlin, Rome and Moscow, and at the front in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Morrocco and Algeria and in the command posts and foxholes in the desert. Destiny in the Desert is about politicians and generals, diplomats, civil servants and soldiers. It is about forceful characters and the tensions and rivalries between them. Drawing on official records and the personal insights of those involved at every level, Dimbleby creates a vivid portrait of a struggle which for Churchill marked the turn of the tide - and which for the soldiers on the ground involved fighting and dying in a foreign land. Now available in paperback in time, Destiny in the Desert, which was shortlisted for the Hessell-Tiltman prize 2012-13, is required reading for anyone with an interest in the Desert War.

In the early years of World War II, Germany shocked the world with a devastating blitzkrieg, rapidly conquered most of Europe, and pushed into North Africa. As the Allies scrambled to counter the Axis armies, the British Eighth Army confronted the experienced Afrika Corps, led by German field marshal Erwin Rommel, in three battles at El Alamein. In the first battle, the Eighth Army narrowly halted the advance of the Germans during the summer of 1942. However, the stalemate left Nazi troops within striking distance of the Suez Canal, which would provide a critical tactical advantage to the controlling force. War historian Glyn Harper dives into the story, vividly narrating the events, strategies, and personalities surrounding the battles and paying particular attention to the Second Battle of El Alamein, a crucial turning point in the war that would be described by Winston Churchill as "the end of the beginning." Moving beyond a simple narrative of the conflict, The Battle for North Africa tackles critical themes, such as the problems of coalition warfare, the use of military intelligence, the role of celebrity generals, and the importance of an all-arms approach to modern warfare.

This History of one of the best-known Scottish regiments in the British Army covers the role of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in the latter part of the Second World War. The Regiment formed part of the famous 51st Highland Division with the British Expeditionary Force in 1940 and suffered grievous casualties before escaping through the port of Le Havre. It remained in the 51st Highland Division for the rest of the war, taking part in the North African campaign, including the Battle of El Alamein in 1942, and the invasion and liberation of Sicily in 1943, before returning to take part in the many hard-fought battles following the 1944 D-day Normandy Landings and through to the Baltic. Well-illustrated with photographs and many maps, this is a fine record of a proud unit.

After the protracted and bloody battles in the Gazala Line , May/June 1942, the defeated Eighth Army was in full retreat towards the positions at Alamein. Here the Eighth Army licked its wounds and replenished its stocks of men and materials. Montgomery was appointed as the new commander and instilled into his troops a new air of confidence. Most studies of Alamein focus on the northern coastal sector where the main action was fought. This study looks at the southern sector held by XIII Corps: 50th Northumbrian Division, 1st Greek Brigade under its command. 44th Home Counties Division and the 7th Armoured Division with 2nd Free French Brigade under its command. Though the fighting here was not on the same scale as the coastal sector it was none the less a series of bloody actions and hundreds of men perished. XIII Corps had the job of holding on their front German and Italian armoured divisions that would otherwise be sent north to impede the main attack by Eighth Army. After the first attacks in the north and south failed to break through the Axis forces Montgomery organised Operation Supercharge, a thrust in the north headed by infantry and artillery. 151 [Durham Brigade] was moved north to take a leading role in this attack in early November. After a bloody fight the Durhams and Scots troops broke through and the British armour streamed out into the desert as the Axis forces retreated.

Summer 1942 and the war in the Middle East is in the balance; Rommel’s Axis forces are poised on the borders of Egypt and all that is needed is one last push. For that to succeed, Rommel needs supplies and for the Allies to be denied supplies. With Malta still active and disrupting the Axis shipping routes across the Mediterranean he is denied those supplies. Meanwhile, the Allied build-up continues, and Montgomery holds at El Alamein and then counter attacks. Rommel is pushed back and then, in a double blow, the Allies land in Tunisia. The collapse of North Africa leads to the invasion of Italy and contributes to the final Axis defeat.But what if Rommel had won?In this alternate history, Ken Delve proposes that with a few strategic changes by the Axis powers and poor decision by Allied Commanders, the outcome of could have been very different. In this scenario, the Allied invasion in Tunisia fails, Rommel defeats Montgomery and seizes Egypt, leaving the Germans well-placed to sweep up through the Middle East, capturing oil installations and joining up with German forces in Russia.

The definitive history of the battle of El Alamein―"The end of the beginning," as Churchill said―the bloody conflict that would change the course of World War II.It was the Allied victory at the Battle of El Alamein in November 1942 that inspired one of Churchill's most famous aphorisms: “This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”In this thrilling historical account, Jonathan Dimbleby describes the political and strategic realities that lay behind the battle, charting the nail-biting months that led to the victory at El Alamein in November 1942.Drawing on official records and the personal insights of those involved, Dimbleby creates a vivid portrait of a struggle which for Churchill marked the turn of the tide―and which for the soldiers on the ground involved fighting and dying in a foreign land. 16 pages of B&W photographs