The Battle of El Alamein: Fortress in the Sand

On the night of October 23, 1942, nearly a thousand guns from British batteries opened fire on the German positions just west of the small Egyptian railway depot of El Alamein. Over the next few weeks, infantry and armored divisions from Britain and the Commonwealth reversed the forward progress of Germany's Afrika Korps. Fought under harsh conditions, where men and tanks were challenged by both dense minefields and the desert landscape, the Battle of El Alamein marked the turning point in the war against Hitler's Germany. Directed by the newly appointed General Bernard "Monty" Montgomery, the British forces ultimately pushed the legendary Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and his troops back into Tunisia to their final defeat in mid-1943.

Fred Majdalany's acclaimed account puts the battle into context and perspective, explaining in engaging prose both the significance of the victory for the British war effort and the complexities of a wide-open desert battle that pitched tanks, aircraft, and men against each other. The Battle of El Alamein is among the most significant battles of the twentieth century and involves two of the finest tacticians of World War II; understanding its logistics and strategy is of paramount importance for the student of military history.