First Battle of El Alamein of C-in-C (which he refused). Gott was killed on the way to take up his command when his aircraft was shot down. Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery was appointed in his place and took command on 13 August. First Battle of El Alamein The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, fought in Egypt between Axis forces (Germany and Italy) of the Panzer Army Africa (, which included the under Field Marshal () Erwin Rommel) and Allied (British Imperial and Commonwealth) forces (Britain, British India, Australia, South Africa
John Nichols (British Army officer) John Nichols (British Army officer) Brigadier John Sebastian Nichols, (5 July 1896 – 7 February 1954) was a British Army officer who fought during both the First World War and the Second World War. During the latter his most notable role was when he commanded the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division during the Second Battle of El Alamein and in the Tunisian Campaign from 1942 to 1943. Nichols was born on 5 July 1896 in the town of Markington, Harrogate, North Yorkshire. His father was the Reverend Sebastian Elijah Nichols, an Anglican clergyman, and his mother was Caroline Isabel Mare. Nichols