Lucas Majozi Middle East, members of the Native Military Corps were used as batmen, loaders, and guards and the more skilled ones were used as drivers, cooks, carpenters and telephone operators. Upon their discharge, black soldiers received a cash allowance of two pounds, a civilian suit and a gratuity for length of service. Majozi became famous during the Second Battle of El Alamein which commenced on 23 October 1942 when the British 8th Army under the command of General Bernard Montgomery, attacked the German/Italian forces under the command of Field Marshal Erwin Rammel. Throughout the night of 23 October, stretch-bearers worked under
Correlli Barnett the Italians from Cyrenaica in late 1940, and Field-Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck (whom he called "The Victor of Alamein"), who forced Rommel to a halt at the First Battle of El Alamein, only to be dismissed by Winston Churchill for his pains. He pointed out that Montgomery enjoyed massive superiority of men and materiel at the Second Battle of El Alamein, and described him as an "emotional cripple", a description, he noted in subsequent editions, borne out "in rich detail" by the Nigel Hamilton biography. However, Barnett's conclusions are attacked by Field Marshal Michael Carver in his book 'Dilemmas of