World War II: Fighting Rages at Second El Alamein

October 23-November 5, 1942 - British forces win the Second Battle of El Alamein. Following their success in stopping the Axis advance at the First Battle of El Alamein in the summer 1942, Prime Minister Winston Churchill decided to appoint more aggressive commanders for the British forces in North Africa. Selecting Gen. Harold Alexander and Lt. Gen. Bernard Montgomery (right), Churchill tasked them with pushing Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Corps back across North Africa. After implementing an elaborate deception plan to confuse Rommel, Montgomery began planning a massive offensive for smashing through the Axis lines. Commencing on October 23, British Commonwealth forces began a systematic attack on Rommel's position. By November 5, Montgomery had shattered the Axis lines, forcing them to retreat back across North Africa.

Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration