British Army during the Second World War the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Alan Cunningham. Over time the Eighth Army would be commanded by Neil Ritchie, Claude Auchinleck, Bernard Montgomery, Oliver Leese and Richard McCreery. In the early years of the war Eighth Army suffered from poor leadership and repeated reversals of fortune until the Second Battle of El Alamein when it advanced across Libya into Tunisia and joined the First Army in the 18th Army Group. The Eighth Army, under 15th Army Group command, later took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily, the Allied invasion of Italy and the Italian Campaign, where progress was slow and
2/8th Field Regiment (Australia) 2/8th Field Regiment (Australia) The 2/8th Field Regiment was an Australian Army field artillery regiment that was raised for service during the Second World War as part of the all-volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force. Composed mainly of soldiers from the states of Victoria and Tasmania, the regiment was one of three field artillery regiments that were assigned to the Australian 9th Division during the war, and during its war service it saw action in North Africa in 1941–42, being heavily involved in the First and Second Battles of El Alamein between July and November 1942 before returning to Australian in