Thanks for watching, let's talk about Montgomery! Do you think he deserves the credit for victory at El Alamein?

The Australian 9th Div on the right flank were so tough they forced Rommel to send his armour and troops to try and stop them. This allowed the British armour to break through. My dad was part of the 9th Div 2/17 battalion sig corp who suffered 75% casualty in the battle. I’m convinced God was looking after him all through the battles he took part in as he was never wounded through Nth Africa, New Guinea and Borneo.

Those dummy tanks and "disguises" for the tanks so they looked like trucks were impressive. Even up close and knowing that they're fakes/disguises they were pretty convincing; from the air they would do their job extremely well. I imagine people with experience in set design in theatres would be very good at a job like this. In a World War even the theatre kids and their skills are a valuable resource.

My father was an RAF observer and was immediately behind the front line at El Alamein directing our aircraft onto targets. He often said that the noise of the guns left him partially deaf for several days as they fired all along the 50 mile front. Whatever folk said about Monty my Dad reckoned it was his can do attitude that gave our troops the confidence to fight at their best. We should be eternally grateful to them for turning the tide of the war for as Dad said we didn't stop at clearing Rommel out of Africa, we just kept going with the invasion of first Sicily then Italy, which forced the Italians out of the war allowing D day to take place. Dad was 31 just before Alamein and passed away aged 83 in early 1996 but he never forgot the date of the battle, it was always part of his life.

My Great Uncle was killed at El Alamein as a part of the 2nd/48th. I visited his grave in 2007. Years later I met some of his comrades and met the man who was with him when he died. Old Bill said my Great Uncle was a good soldier and was missed by his mates.

Great to stumble on this. My grandfather was part of the 8th and fought in El Alamein losing his leg to a mine. He passed shortly after his return to the UK from his injuries.

Monty's greatest victory was finally finding the largest beret ever seen by man after years of thrift shopping.

I always get excited hearing the part New Zealanders played in any theatre of WW2. But especially El Alamein

Salute to men from both the sides. Real men who answered the call to duty. Respect.

General Auchinleck did the marshalling of forces and resources and delivered Montgomery a key in hand fighting force.

The turning point of the war was not the 2nd Battle of El Alamein. If you want to put it down to a specific point then it has to be the battle of the Alam El Halfa ridge. This was Monty's first battle in charge of the 8th Army. It was fought in between the first and second battles of El Alamein and was the first of Rommel's defeats byMonty. The battle began on 30th August 1942 and Rommel was dancing to Monty's tune. So much had happened in the lead up to this battle that Rommel almost never stood a chance of victory. As a result of Monty's battle plan, Rommel was encouraged to use the now traditional flanking move around the end of the line. Apparently he never thought about why that flank was exposed after Auchinleck had closed it up. In truth, Rommel had lost his god like vista of the battle field when he lost his three main sources of intelligence that had given him better information on the disposition of allied forces than the British field officers had. Monty used this to lead him on into the teeth of his own armoured units on the ridge. These units were part of a combined arms unit that had orders to stand and not counter attack letting the Germans bash themselves against a steel wall. In the mean time, British light armoured units slipped in behind Rommel's forces and carved up his supply lines crucifying the Italian supply trucks and exacerbating Rommel's supply issues. This ultimately forced Rommel to retreat subsequent to which he was broken in the second battle of El Alamein. It is typical of British history that British historians love to ignore such a comprehensive victory because they can't bash the British forces over it. But Montgomery was the man to bring a breath of fresh air to the allied forces in the desert. He was meticulous in planning, met the troops personally to give them ownership of their roles, and established the mode of operations that stopped wild charges into the enemy guns and ensured that supply lines kept up with the advance. Something even Rommel did not do.

This was my father’s initiation to war. He was sent there as a junior officer. In charge of an anti tank unit. He was inspected by Monty who grunted ‘all Durham men then’. My father was from Southampton

Met a gentleman, in 1993, who was "over there with Monty". Great old guy with lots of stories.

Watching this on 23 October 2022, the 80th anniversary of the start of the battle of El Alamein and remembering the courage and sacrifice of the men of both the 8th Army and the Desert Air Force.

My late uncle served with Montgomery. RAF ground crew, he is somewhere in the crowd of soldiers gathered around his jeep. They, the troops loved the bloke, one of the boys, Les told me.

Have a close listen to this where the coastal line where the Australian ifantry advanced was where Rommel sent most of his armouir, they drew down on them a mechanised bigade a panzer divsion an extra infantry division as well as the original enemy infrantry division facing them and then Rommel had to send his reserve there too.

On the 10th anniversary of the battle my late father, being in the Royal Artillery, was present when the British Army restaged the artillery barrage from the start of the battle. Though they only had half the number of guns my father said it was still very impressive.

Rommel’s success had been based on a war of movement, since the Germans in N. Africa always were the smaller force and with difficult logistics. Being drawn into set-piece battles like El Alamein meant that Rommel was playing his opponent’s game, and bound to lose.

Friend of my dad's was left for dead at El Alamein by the Germans since he was covered in burns. As a kid I was strictly told never to talk to him about the war. The last year of life he wrote his life's story with a photo of him in his dress uniform from the war.

Not a word for the Free French Forces who held the axis troops for 2 weeks (May 27th - June 11th) at Bir Hakeim, thus unabling the British to retreat and reorganize to later win the 2nd battle of El Alamein.

The south of the Axis line was held by the elite Italian paratroopers division "Folgore" (light infantry). This division was hit from day one by Allied armor. They managed to hold the line till the end of the battle, without giving a single meter to the overwhelming waves of tanks thrown against them. They finished the battle with only 10% of survivors, still in their initial trenches. They fired everything they had, when they ran out of ammos they repulsed the last wave of tanks by running among the advancing tanks with mines in their hands to be put under the tanks tracks. When they had nothing left, except stones to throw, they finally surrendered. They knocked out more than 200 allied tanks. The few survivors, before being imprisoned, were awarded by Montgomery the military honours and let to parade, rifles in their hands, in front of the British troops. One month later, in a speech at the House of Commons, Churchill said: "We must honour the men that were the Lions of the Folgore". On a white commemorative marble stone in the desert around El Alamein there is written: "Mancò la fortuna, non il valore." (It lacked luck, not valor). Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, about Italian troops under his command in North Africa, said: "the German soldier has astonished the world; the Italian Bersagliere [infantryman] has astonished the German soldier".

Both my father and his elder brother were there. Father was on the heavy artillery (7.2's) and uncle was driving a Matilda II. Things were sufficiently hectic that they never met up while they were both there. Father, being an avid photographer, took a couple of illicit photographs of the 7.2's firing at night at Alemein - a very long line of gun barrels all lit up by their own muzzle flashes, no other light apparent. Very impressive looking. The Germans probably thought so too, though for entirely different reasons.

Where Charles Upham (NZ) won his second VC having one his first at Crete

Excellent Military documentary coverage introduced thanks for sharing

I really enjoyed watching this

I'm disappointed with the description of allied numerical strength. To ensure success against fortified positions, it's generally accepted that 3:1 superiority is required. Monty won this battle with around 2.5:1 superiority. It was his tactical control and pre planning that won El Alamein.

brilliant - it show the perseverance that the Allies had under their belt - love the content of the footage - so interesting

Excellent summary- thanks

Excellent history lesson thanks!!

The damage inflicted to Rommel’s supply lines and air power by the SAS leading up to El Alamein is another factor. The SAS destroyed more Axis aircraft than the RAF North African squadrons combined.

If I could give this 3 thumbs up, I would! A great explainer of this part of the campaign, and lots of great footage makes for another IWM hit. The plane strafing at 10:22 is so low it’s mind boggling lol

Many of the 8th Army defeats leading up to El Alamein we’re due to intelegence leaks from American sources directly to Rommel. He had access to pretty much all Alied plans, troop movements and composition.

My great grandfather was out there he was in Kings Dragoon Guards driving armoured cars he was out in Middle East from 1940 to 1943 after North African campaign ended he got malaria and didn’t get to Italy until December 1943.

The Australian 9th Division were the shock troops of the Empire. 17000 Australian soldiers threw themselves at that "diversionary attack", 1240 are buried there.

02:32 if this wasn't the Imperial *War* Museum, I probably wouldn't bring this up. But. When Montgomery took command of the 8th army he was a brevet Lt General. That rank would be confirmed in Oct 1942.

Appreciate the precious history told

I was under the impression that there were THREE distinct parts of the El Alamein battles... the First battle of El Alamein ( where Auchinleck succeeded in stopping the German advanced guard at the hastily constructed "Alamein Line " between the coast and the Depression ) .... The Second battle of El Alamein ( where Rommel tried his outflanking move but was stopped at the Alam Halfa ridge ) .... and the Third battle of El Alamein ( where the massively reinforced 8th Army, after the famous bombardment, finally broke through the minefields and swung out into open country )... Finally the Church bells could ring !!!

When the U.K., military got the battlefield hardware, albeit somewhat below the capability of the more advanced German equipement, they thrashed Rommel's Desert Army. 1001 excuses for the rout of the German army have been stated but the bottom line was they were well and truly beaten by the dogged determination and true grit of the British 8th Army.

My late father fought with 2nd Battalion Kings Royal Rifle Corps (60th Rifles) at El Alamein - he was a mortar man in the battle where,as attached to the 1st Armoured Division,they suffered heavy losses fighting German and Italian forces .He also took part in the pursuit of the defeated Axis army through to Tunisia and the end of the North African campaign.

Excellent

Much underrated soldier..Not a butcher.

My Grandfather Jack fought with the 8th army after Dunkirk. Dispatch rider, Royal Corps of Signals. From Africa to Italy he fought for his country.

Kidney ridge and Mieters ridge was taken by the 4th Indian div. This , as Rommel later mentioned was crucial.

My Great Uncle was in the 7Th AIF and around 1st El Alamein he was injured in the head and lost his eye. He was eventually cleared back to Melbourne before he was demobbed a Year later . The Head aches couldnt be resolved. Lucky for him as it was the 7TH was sent home to take on the Japanese in Papua New Guinea (before El Alamein2)

The footage at 1:10 is used as the intro to the Doctor Who story, The War Games, which is set in WWI.

The great 'Auk' demanded 3 months to build up for an offensive after 1st El Alamein. He was also an Indian Army General who had inadequate knowledge of his mainly British Army Staff officers' strengths and (too many) weaknesses. Montgomery promised an earlier offensive and replaced him. Monty still took 3 months to prepare for the 2nd Battle of El Alamein (and remove many poor staff officers). The UK 57mm (6 pounder) AT gun was extremely effective when Rommel exposed his armour in counter attack (look at 'Outpost Snipe').

You should do a video on the battle of Kursk and Stalingrad

Always love me some Monty appreciation.

The comment at around 2:30 - Montgomery didn't become a Field-Marshal until much later. He held Lieutenant-General rank at the time he took over Eighth Army.

Churchill Sept 42 "In spite of the heavy losses which I mentioned, the Army of the Western Desert is now stronger actually and relatively than it has ever been. In fact, so large have the new reinforcements which have reached this Army been, that what is to a large extent a new Army has been created while the fighting has actually been in progress. The principal measures which rendered this possible were taken before the disaster of Tobruk, and, indeed, before the opening of the battle at Gazala in May. They were part of the general preparation which, looking ahead, we made for the hazards and stresses of the Desert campaign of 1942. As far back as March last I asked President Roosevelt to lend me shipping to transport an additional 40,000 or 50,000 men to the Middle East so as to have something to veer and haul upon, so as to have a force which could be turned to the various theatres in which danger might develop. The President consented and placed at our disposal a number of American ships, and in consequence at the critical moment we had rounding the Cape a very large and well-equipped force which could be directed immediately to Egypt. It is to that that the improvement in our affairs, the maintenance of our affairs, in that region must largely be attributed. Besides this a broadening stream of drafts to replace casualties, of equipment, tanks, anti-tank guns, "Ack-Ack" guns and vehicles of all kinds has been flowing from this country and from the United States to the Middle East, and we now 90 have in Egypt a very good, strong, well-equipped and resolute Army barring the further advance of the invader." "I am strengthened in this view by the results of the heavy fighting of last week. Owing to the restraint and understatement which have been practised in the Middle East communiqués in deference to the taste of the House, the scale and intensity of these operations have not been realised, or have -only now begun to be realised. General Rommel has been much hampered by the sinkings of so many of his supply ships by our submarines, as well as by the British and United States air attacks renewed again from Malta and also from Egypt." Hansard WAR SITUATION HC Deb 08 September 1942

Remind you of anything ? Like Russia in Ukraine perhaps Overstretched and under supplied . And getting spanked My dad , long gone bless him , then moved over to Italy after this And fought st Monte Casino . He would never talk much about his time in the service , I don't blame him . But I do miss him dearly

Very interesting !

Very well done

The 9th Australian division decisive battles at the first battle of. El Alamein and the second battle of Al Alamein made it possible for the success of Montgomery operation supercharge to final brake Through Rommel's defensive line the Aussies brought pressure on the German lines forcing Rommel to send reinforcements to hold the unremitting attacks by the Australian 9th division suffering Heavy casualties in the process after the breakthrough the 9th Aussie division took no further part in the North African offensive campaign pushing Rommel's army right across North Africa into Tunisia they stood down rested they were then shipped back to Australia on the insistence of the Australian prime minister where they took on the Japanese in battles around New Guinea and successful retaking New Guinea

If Monty was the kind of cautious general, I wonder why he didn't put more efforts into completely destroying Rommel's supply lines by forming more SAS style units to cause trouble behind enemy lines and redirecting ground attack aircraft to attack truck columns.

That was awesome 👌

Thanks

Montgomery did a really good job here. He chose the ground well as it couldn't be outflanked, ocean to the north, Qatarra depression to the south. He realised that he did not have to attack Rommel prematurely and recklessly. So he took his time, patiently building up his resources and material, coming up with a solid battle plan, basically giving himself the best chance of winning possible.

The role of the Australians to fix the Germans in the north can’t be overstated

Well this explains everything..

Little note. Montgomery was not a field Marshall when taking over the 8th army.

Montgomery has to be given credit for raising morale and instilling confidence in the men. He wasn’t faking it either as he was full of confidence in himself. That confidence or overconfidence was exposed at Operation Market Garden.

The Australian 9th division loved Montgomery who was so much better than his predecessors. Auchinleck had a particularly toxic relationship with Australians and his relationship with New Zealanders and South Africans was not much better. The 9th division suffered 20% of the Casualties at el Alamein despite having only 10% of the men there. Still, such was their confidence in Montgomery, they never doubted that they would win in the end.

Monty was serving and wounded, I believe during World War One. He saw the debacles and the great number of casualties, despite evolving tactics. He determined to fight in a very different way during World War Two. The battles where his tactics went very wrong, were not his fault! In fact he was so good that the yanks have always done what they can to belittle his achievements! If nothing else, he never pistol whipped a PTSD patient in hospital!

Many people rate William Slim as the best British general of WW2

there is no doubt that the great Australian 9th div was integral to Rommels defeat,in saying that it was a joint effort of all who fought in this battle.

I bought the Memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery as a child still have the book as one of my prized possessions. I admire and respect British Field Marshal Montgomery and also German Field Marshal Rommel. They both deserve their place in history. I respect England and Germany both. Al Alamein, Stalingrad and Kohima and Midway are all important battles of WW 2. Hope Russia and the West become friends again like in WW 2. 🔥

As a American I see the great victory for the Allies was because they would win in navel battle air battle battle s so they could get supplies to the ground forces. And I believe Monty was a good general the Allies fought with Lion hearts and I believe the tanks, planes truck s and other supplies helped big time it shows working together as Allies Wins wars. A lesson we should remember today. The Nazi,s never worked well, with there Allies they missed used them on all fronts and would lose on all fronts💥💥👍👍the tanks trucks planes ext.the US sent helped

No real mystery to it. Rommel had run out of fuel and ammunition. He was working with far less than the army considered as the minimum necessary for operations. Add to that the overwhelming allied superiority in just about everything, it couldn't have gone any other way.

Well, control of the air, control of the sea, and numerical superiority there as well as on the ground (plus coming at Rommel from two directions) might just possibly have mattered.....

This battle was one reason that German generals considered Monty a cautious general rather than someone like Patton who the Germans considered more like Rommel, an attacking general. At many points during this battle Rommel almost won, even with the Allied 2/1 and in some places 3/1 advantage in numbers Rommel not only almost held them, but almost defeated them. If he had had the supplies he needed he would of won the desert war. So yes, Monty had greater logistical support and greater numbers but I would argue he was tactically superior to Rommel, in fact after the battle began Monty found himself reacting to Rommel's moves more than the other way around.

Field hygiene was also a factor - The British and commonwealth forces utilised ammunition boxes as de-facto latrines , which were then properly disposed of , thus limiting ( to a degree) the possibility of certain diseases and illnesses , the axis forces were not schooled in such matters , and as a result , they had a smaller percentage of forces actually fit for combat

You failed to mention the Intelligence gathered by the LRDG which gave Montgomery the strength and positions of the German and Italians. They were hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles behind enemy lines on what they called road watch.

My dad fought in Italy and north Africa 🇬🇧

Montgomery made many decisions that tremendously helped the war effort in North Africa that largely go unnoticed. Everyone likes to look at the general that pulls a victory despite being outnumbered and outgunned but it's important to remember that's the exception, not the rule. Winning the war needs supplies, sabotage, technological advancement, communication and experience, which Monty prioritized

My (step) grandfather (Roy) worked in "Codes & Ciphers" in Montgomery's HQ at El Alamein. He never revealed any details, other than to consistently say that Montgomery was overrated. I still wonder if he knew about Ultra!

Australia was always Monty’s saviour in North Africa.

Sad how many allies had to die because they weren't aware of the intelligence breach in Cairo. Makes you wonder if that had never happened, if Rommel would have gotten as far as he did. Knowing your opponent's plans, strengths and weakness is crucial in any battle plan.

What happened to the guy that was Allied member the German were reading information from? I heard about him a few times but not much

My dad was in Alexandria at that point, some of the cafes and bars were taking down pictures of the King, and replaced them with ones of the Nazi leader

I must admit I am not a big Monty fan. I would give him part of the credit for El Alamein, but the Royal and US Navy, plus the merchant ships also deserve credit for ensuring victory. Allied naval forces mostly British sunk the ships supplying Rommel and the huge mass of cargo ships that safely delivered tanks, fuel, and other weapons that defeated Axis forces.

He wasn't the best but he did exactly what was expected of him. Simple as

You forgot to mention the huge advantages Monty had over Rommel. Men, material, etc., and most of all, Monty had the Ultra Intel program. He knew more about Rommel's situation and his plans, even before the Desert Fox's generals did. Even with those advantages, Monty struggled. Had Patton been there, he would have trapped Rommel's entire Afrika Korp. Monty let him slip away.

All true, but Monty had made trivial amendments to Sir Neil Ritchie's plan. Monty's brilliantly stubborn insistence on the equipment and manpower denied Ritchie made Monty's execution of Ritchie's plan possible. Focus on Monty takes focus away from equally creditworthy aspects (in random Order): 1. USA supplied M3 Tanks; 2. Admiral Cunningham's Cochrane like victories which made possible the RN Med Fleet fighting the SS Ohio into Malta, making supply of the 8th Army possible; 3. The Indian Army's indispensable skill, weight, and courage; 4. The NZ Long Range Desert Group in Canadian Military Pattern Chevrolet Trucks; 5. The SAS destroying vital Luftwaffe Aircraft on the Ground; 6. The Merchant Marine with massive US and Commonwealth content; 7. Slim's pacification of Iraq, and access to Oil; 8. The RAF; 9. The Australian Division; 10. Commonwealth African forces; 11. 51st Highland Div. and their shockingly effective Pipers. Yes, Pipers; leading the critical infanty break-through; and 12. Inherited personal Staff and HQ systems which prevented Monty's capture, wounding, or elimination. Certainly Monty a first rate Conductor of this operation; But Monty was handed a brilliant Plan, International Commonwealth Combined Arms Forces, and FDR - Churchill Lend - Lease materiel and supply. Monty was a great General. But slow and stingy with thanks to those who made his success possible.

We owe a lot to the Commonwealth soldiers, sailors and airmen. Also all other foreign servicemen. Thank you

@6:39 Is that Gen.Claire Chennault? Cheers!

When you have the other side heavily outnumbered and control the air, you really have to screw up to lose

We owe a lot to the kiwis and Aussies, Canadians, Indian soldiers, but if Hitler had won no one on Earth would have been safe ,LEST WE FORGET.

I have a request that I want to make, can you do a video or a bunch of videos based on the battle of Stalingrad, such as why does hitler want to take the city and how and why the nazis failed at that battle? Please let me know soon.

Thanks to Wavell and the Auk

My uncle Harry was in whats now Libya in ww2 , he was 7th armour rolled into the 8th Army for the BIG PUSH ,my older bro did a paper for grammar school about him, i remember he said everyone felt the barage in their bowels 😅, he had souvenirs/hitler youth dress dagger 🗡 and many more goodies

As I understand the first ever defeat of the jerries was Tobruk..Rommels first defeat

Again, as always, the story of Lt. Gen. William Gott is ignored. Montgomery was NOT the first choice to replace Auchinlech. If anything, the change was decided by a young pilot and over heated engines waiting for Gott. Deciding to fly at 500 instead of 50 feet led to Gott being the highest ranking British officer to be killed in combat at the hands of the Luftwaffe.

13:31 In the extended version of this newsreel, you can see my great grandfather marching He served as a tank driver

1st Landing to Africa in 1942, 2nd Landing to Sicily in 1943 and 3rd Landing to Normandy in 1944. Besides those in Pacific&Rest of the World.

Montgomery 's greatest victory is the Rhine crossing. The troops of 8th Army were a mix of experienced divisions, 4th Indian, 9th Australian,2nd New Zealand 1st South African , 50th Northumbrian,7Armoured, others such as 51 Highlander and 44th Home Country. The manpower advantage of the Commonwealth forces was 2:1 not as much as insinuated by mythologists. What carried the battle was the determination of the the Commonwealth infantry to dig the guts out of the Axis defense in co ordination with centralized artillery and air power. In the end the gallant Italian infantry was abandoned by the Afrika Korps who stole their transport and fled out of Egypt. Commonwealth casualties amounted to 13500 while the Axis suffered 5939 casualties and 23602 prisoners. The dead from both sides came from the bravest and the best. May their souls rest in peace.

Monty was just following his predecessors plan.

My father was a sapper at El Alamein, I think the 2nd armoured division and spent his African war in minefields and then went to Casino in Italy. Quite a bad war to be involved in a couple of the most intense theatres.

Monty's greatest victory was the use of the enigma machine, thus knowing what the Germans were going to do before the battle, fact conveniently forgotten in posts like this.

lets not forget that the german codes were broken! It all comes down to inteligence