El Alamein

By Field-Marshal Michael Carver

The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October - 11 November 1942) was a decisive battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein and marked the watershed of the Western Desert Campaign. In August 1942, Lt.-Gen. Sir Bernard Law Montgomery took command of the 8th Army, and the British victory turned the tide in the North African Campaign, ending the Axis threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal and the Middle Eastern and Persian oil fields via North Africa.

The Second Battle of El Alamein revived the morale of the Allies, being the first major success against the Axis since Operation Crusader in late 1941. The battle coincided with the Allied invasion of French North Africa in Operation Torch, which started on 8 November, as well as the Battle of Stalingrad and the Guadalcanal Campaign.

This book, first published in 1962, provides a detailed account of the Second Battle of El Alamein, based on original German and British sources and drawing on the author’s own observations as one of the combatants.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcole Publishing
• Release date: Jul 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9781787206779

Field-Marshal Michael Carver

Field Marshal Richard Michael Power Carver, Baron Carver, GCB, CBE, DSO & Bar, MC (24 April 1915 - 9 December 2001) was a decorated senior British Army officer. Lord Carver served as the Chief of the General Staff (CGS), the professional head of the British Army, and then as the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), the professional head of the British Armed Forces. He served during the Second World War and organised the administration of British forces deployed in response to the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya and later in his career provided advice to the British government on the response to the early stages of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Born in Bletchingley, Surrey and educated at Winchester College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Tank Corps in 1935. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1938. He served in WWII initially organising logistics at the Headquarters of 7th Armoured Division which was engaged in fighting the Italians in North Africa. He was promoted to captain in 1943. He was then given the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel, and appointed Commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Royal Tank Regiment in April 1943, leading them in North Africa. He was appointed Commander of 4th Armoured Brigade in 1944, leading them in the campaign in North West Europe. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1945. After WWII, Carver continued to rise through the ranks over the years. He was promoted to field marshal in July 1973 and became Chief of the Defence Staff in October 1973, before retiring in 1976. In July 1977 became a life peer as Baron Carver, of Shackleford in the County of Surrey. He died in 2001 in Fareham, Hampshire, aged 86.

Book preview