Author(s): William E. Hiestand (Contribution by)

Military

When Eighth Army retired into its defensive line at El Alamein in mid-1942, it was tired, dispirited and had lost almost all its tanks during a string of defeats. After savage defensive fighting at First Alamein, the reinforced Desert Rats defeated Rommel's last offensive in a tank-to-tank clash at Alam Halfa in September. The next month, a completely rebuilt and reorganized Eighth Army, equipped with over 1,000 tanks including the new American M4 Sherman, launched the offensive that would finally drive Rommel out of Africa. With rare photos and superb new artwork, military historian and analyst William E. Hiestand explains how Montgomery shaped the Eighth Army according to his own military ideas. On 23 October 1942, it was able to attack the Axis defences with the largest force of armoured divisions in its history, with the 1st, 8th and 10th united in a new 'corps de chasse' intended to defeat the Afrika Korps at its own game. This is a focused examination of the tank forces that won the Second Battle of El Alamein - the most famous British Army victory of the war, and one of its major turning points.