Battle of Alam el Halfa

A Second World War battle fought in Egypt from 30 August to 5 September 1942, in which British and Commonwealth forces stopped an Axis offensive near El Alamein.

Bernard Montgomery: A British army officer who commanded the Eighth Army in North Africa and later led Allied forces in northwest Europe. He took command shortly before the battle and chose a defensive plan centered on Alam el Halfa ridge.
First Battle of El Alamein: A July 1942 battle in Egypt that halted the Axis advance toward the Suez Canal. It left both armies facing one another near El Alamein before the August offensive.
Operation Lightfoot: The opening phase of the Second Battle of El Alamein, launched by the British Eighth Army on 23 October 1942. Montgomery's later offensive followed the defensive success at Alam el Halfa.
El Alamein: A town on Egypt's Mediterranean coast that became the center of major Second World War battles. Alam el Halfa lay near this coastal town and its defensive line.
Eighth Army (United Kingdom): A British-led Allied field army that fought Axis forces in the Western Desert and later in Italy. Its units held the ridge and blocked the Axis advance toward the Nile Delta.
Erwin Rommel: A German field marshal who commanded Axis forces in North Africa during much of the Western Desert campaign. He launched the offensive in an attempt to outflank the Allied line.
Operation Torch: The Allied landings in French North Africa in November 1942. The battle preceded a western Allied landing that would pressure Axis forces from another direction.
Battle of Alam el Halfa order of battle: A listing of the forces and formations that fought in the Battle of Alam el Halfa. The opposing armies' composition explains the balance between Axis armor and Allied defenses.
Afrika Korps: A German expeditionary force that fought in North Africa during the Second World War. Its armored formations formed the core of Rommel's attack.
Second Battle of El Alamein: An Allied offensive in Egypt in October and November 1942 that broke the Axis position at El Alamein. Alam el Halfa preceded the better-known Allied breakthrough by several weeks.

Linked from 2 pages