Battle Of El Alamein

The Battle of El Alamein, in 1942, was a turning point of World War II. Pushed back by the Germans and Italians in North Africa, the British retreated to the last defensible position west of the Suez Canal. However the Axis armies were overextended, at the end of a supply line thousands of miles long.

The British repulsed an Axis attack, and then Churchill installed Bernard Montgomery as the new commander. Montgomery ordered a frontal attack along several narrow corridors. After a few days these penetrated the Axis defenses to a depth of several miles, and the Axis armor was nearly obliterated in counterattacks. Under increasing Allied air superiority, the Germans took to their motorized vehicles and retreated, leaving their Italian allies to be rounded up and marched into POW camps.

Churchill noted in his book that before El Alamein there were defeats, after it there were only victories.