Viscount Montgomery of Alamein Viscount Montgomery of Alamein Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, of Hindhead in the County of Surrey, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The viscountcy was created in 1946 for the military commander Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery, commemorating his crucial victory in the Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October–3 November 1942) in the Egyptian town of that name, which sealed the fate of Rommel's famed Afrika Korps. As of 2011, the title is held by his son, David Montgomery, the second Viscount, who succeeded in 1976. He lost his seat in the House of Lords after
Second Battle of El Alamein of Stalingrad and the Guadalcanal Campaign. The Panzer Army Africa ("Panzerarmee Afrika"), composed of German and Italian infantry and mechanised units under "Generalfeldmarschall" Erwin Rommel, had struck deep into Egypt by 12 July 1942 after its success at the Battle of Gazala. This threatened the British Empire's control of the Suez Canal and Mandatory Palestine. General Claude Auchinleck withdrew the Eighth Army to within of Alexandria to a point where the Qattara Depression came to within of El Alamein on the coast. This gave the defenders a short front to defend and provided secure flanks because tanks could not traverse