Second Battle of El Alamein

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The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 4 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented the Axis from advancing further into Egypt. In October 1942 Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery, commander of Eighth Army, opened his offensive against the Axis forces. In a 13-day battle the Axis Panzerarmee Afrika was crushed and forced to retreat from Egypt and Libya to the borders of Tunisia. The Allied victory at El Alamein was the beginning of the end of the Western Desert Campaign. The battle ended the Axis threat to the Middle East and Iran and revived the morale of the western Allies, being their first large success against the Axis since Operation Crusader in late 1941. The end of the battle coincided with the Allied invasion of French North Africa in Operation Torch on 8 November, which opened a second front in North Africa.

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