Battle of El Alamein

Second Battle of El Alamein
Part of World War II
Date October-November, 1942 Location El Alamein, Egypt Result Decisive Allied victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom Australia British India New Zealand South Africa Free France Greece	Germany Italy
Commanders and leaders
Harold Alexander Bernard Montgomery	Erwin Rommel Georg Stumme† Ettore Bastico

The Battle of El Alamein (October 23 - November 5 1942) marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. Generally known as the “Second Battle of El Alamein,” it saw the tide turn against the Axis forces in North Africa.

The battle took place at the Egyptian rail junction of El Alamein located 106 km west of Alexandria and 240 km northwest of Cairo. Allied forces broke the Axis line and forced them in a retreat that pushed them all the way back to Tunisia. The outcome of the battle was so significant that Winston Churchill said of this victory: "This is not the end, nor is it even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." He also wrote "Before Alamein we had no victory and after it we had no defeats".

Battle of El Alamein in Days of Infamy

As a result of the American defeat after the first attempt to retake Hawaii from the Japanese, the U.S. Navy had to withdraw carriers from the Atlantic to the Pacific, thus greatly reducing their naval power against Germany. Because of this, the US shipped a huge army around the Cape of Good Hope to join with Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery's army in Egypt.

Although news of the outside world was severely restricted, word of Montgomery’s victory over the Axis at El Alamein was still able to reach the residents of Hawaii. While at the community kitchen getting food, Jane Armitage over heard news of the battle. However, details were so sketchy she couldn’t make out what had happened.