Alaimein

For Great Britain, there were two pivotal battles in the Second World War. One was the Battle of Britain. The other was El Alamein. There, in October 1942, in a remote part of the desert between Libya and Egypt, the British army won an epic battle of attrition with Rommel’s Afrika Korps. It was a defeat from which Rommel would never recover and a turning point in the war, famously celebrated by Churchill as “the end of the beginning”—the line in the sand that Hitler’s forces were never able to cross. Like his definitive history of the Battle of Britain, __The Most Dangerous Enemy,__ Stephen Bungay’s __Alamein__ is a trenchant re-examination of an event that has been cloaked in myth. In the struggle against Hitler, each of Britain's armed forces fought a battle it had to win. For the Royal Air Force it was the Battle of Britain. For the Royal Navy it was the Battle of the Atlantic. And for the army it was El Alamein. In 1940 the Battle of Britain had kept Britain in the war, only for two years of almost unrelieved disaster to follow: humiliating defeats in Greece and the Far East, and the seemingly inexorable German advance into the Soviet Union. By the summer of 1942 documents were even being burned in Cairo, as Germany's brilliant celebrity general Erwin Rommel threatened to sweep aside the Eighth Army and drive his forces through to the Suez Canal. But then in October 1942, with Churchill's government in desperate need of a military victory, British and Common-wealth troops under Montgomery embarked on a First World War-style battle of attrition in Egypt's Western Desert. After twelve days and thirteen nights they broke through the German and Italian lines at El Alamein. It was a defeat from which Rommel would never recover, and a turning-point in the war famously celebrated by Churchill as 'the end of the beginning' -- the line in the sand Hitler's forces were unable ever to cross.Like his magisterial history of the Battle of Britain, The Most Dangerous Enemy -- already acknowledged as the definitive account -- Stephen Bungay's Alamein is a trenchant re-examination of an event now cloaked in myth. Though the propaganda of the time focussed on personalities, this was a desert war, he reveals, determined largely by logistics. In a conflict that for two years had ebbed and flowed along the North African littoral, victory was always going to go to the side that mastered its supply lines -- in Britain's case not least by withstanding the epic siege of Malta. He also gets beyond the polemics and eulogies of many past writers in re-assessing Alamein's chief protagonists, Montgomery and Rommel, to show how it was precisely the most unattractive side of Montgomery's character that was needed to transform the Eighth Army into a force capable of fighting a battle it could win. But above all Alamein is a magnificently readable narrative illuminating every aspect of the desert war, from the grand strategy of the wider struggle for control of the Mediterranean to the movingly human, in a graphic evocation of the phantasmagoric blur of thunderous cannonade, baking heat and tormenting flies that was the soldier's war. In the year of the sixtieth anniversary of Alamein, this superb book is a gripping re-telling of one of the crucial battles of the war. From the author of The Most Dangerous Enemy , a study of the history, strategy, and logistics of the pivotal World War II battles at El Alamein. El Alamein was the Second World War land battle Britain had to win. By the summer of 1942 Rommel's German forces were threatening to sweep through the Western Desert and drive on to the Suez Canal, and Britain desperately needed a victory. In July, Rommel was halted. Then, in October, after twelve days of attritional fighting, Montgomery's Eighth Army broke through the German and Italian lines at El Alamein. It was a turning-point in the war after which, in Churchill's words, "we never had a defeat." Stephen Bungay's superbly readable narrative complements his definitive study of the Battle of Britain, The Most Dangerous Enemy , illuminating every aspect of this most famous episode of the Desert War, from the crucial logistics of keeping the distant armies supplied to the terror of battle in tormenting heat that was the soldier's war. Praise for Alamein "Terse and brilliantly written by a thorough master of his subject." —John Lukacs, Los Angeles Times "A brilliant balance between lucid analysis and piquant detail . . . masterly chapters." —Lawrence James, Daily Mail (UK) "A broad and pacy overview in a short compass." —Hew Strachan, Times Literary Supplement (UK) Like His History Of The Battle Of Britain, The Most Dangerous Enemy - Already Acknowledged As The Definitive Account - Stephen Bungay's Alamein Is A Trenchant Re-examination Of An Event Now Cloaked In Myth. Though The Propaganda Of The Time Focused On Personalities, This Was A Desert War, He Reveals, Determined Largely By Logistics. In A Conflict That For Two Years Had Ebbed And Flowed Along The North African Littoral, Victory Was Always Going To Go To The Side That Mastered Its Supply Lines - In Britain's Case Not Least By Withstanding The Epic Siege Of Malta. He Also Gets Beyond The Polemics And Eulogies Of Many Past Writers In Re-assessing Alamein's Chief Protaganists, Montgomery And Rommel, To Show How It Was Precisely The Most Unattractive Side Of Montgomery's Character That Was Needed To Transform The Eighth Army Into A Force Capable Of Fighting A Battle It Could Win.--book Jacket. I The Strategic War 1 -- Ii The Tactical War 18 -- Iii The Supply War 41 -- Iv The Soldiers' War 67 -- V Alamein -- Round One 95 -- Vi The Political War 113 -- Vii Alamein -- Round Two 133 -- Viii Alamein -- Round Three 160 -- Ix Perspectives 189 -- X Reputations 214. Stephen Bungay. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 238-242) And Index. El Alamein was the World War II land battle Britain had to win. By the summer of 1942 Rommel's German forces were threatening to sweep through the Western Desert and drive on to the Suez Canal, and Britain was in urgent need of military victory. Then, in October, after 12 days of attritional tank battle and artillery bombardment, Montgomery's Eighth Army, with Australians and New Zealanders playing crucial roles in a genuinely international Allied fighting force, broke through the German and Italian lines at El Alamein. It was a turning-point in the war after which, in Churchill's words, "we never had a defeat". Stephen Bungay's book is as much at home analysing the crucial logistics of keeping desert armies supplied with petrol and tank parts as it is reappraising the combat strategies of Montgomery and Rommel, and ranges widely from the domestic political pressures on Churchill to the aerial siege of Malta, key to the control of the Mediterranean. And in a chapter on "The Soldier's War", Bungay graphically evokes the phantasmagoric blur of thunderous cannonade and tormenting heat that was the lot of the individual men who actually fought and died in the desert.

For Great Britain, there were two pivotal battles in the Second World War. One was the Battle of Britain. The other was El Alamein. There, in October 1942, in a remote part of the desert between Libya and Egypt, the British army won an epic battle of attrition with Rommel’s Afrika Korps. It was a defeat from which Rommel would never recover and a turning point in the war, famously celebrated by Churchill as "the end of the beginning”—the line in the sand that Hitler’s forces were never able to cross. This is a trenchant reexamination of an event that has been cloaked in myth.

El Alamein was the World War II land battle Britain had to win. This book analyses the logistics of keeping desert armies supplied with petrol and reappraises the combat strategies of Montgomery and Rommel. It ranges from the domestic political pressures on Churchill to the aerial siege of Malta.