Second Battle of El Alamein Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein had prevented the Axis from advancing further into Egypt. In August 1942, General Claude Auchinleck was relieved as Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command. When Lieutenant-General William Gott was killed on his way to replace Auchinleck as commander of the Allied Eighth Army, Lieutenant-General Bernard Law Montgomery was appointed command in his place, and led the Eighth Army in a
2/8th Field Regiment (Australia) possible German invasion, until July 1942 when the 9th Division was hurriedly transferred to El Alamein, after the fall of Tobruk. There, the regiment subsequently took part in both the First and Second Battles of El Alamein between July and November, firing over 163,000 shells, mainly in support of the 26th Brigade. In January 1943, the 2/8th was withdrawn to Australia as the 9th Division was brought back to join the fight against Japanese forces in the Pacific. The regiment, sailing aboard the Dutch transport, "Nieu Amsterdam", made landfall at Melbourne on 24 February 1943, and in April the 2/8th