Second Battle of El Alamein order of battle Second Battle of El Alamein order of battle The Second Battle of El Alamein order of battle is a listing of the significant formations that were involved in the Second Battle of El Alamein during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, 23 October – 4 November 1942. Under the command of Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery Under command of Lieutenant-General Herbert Lumsden under Major-General Raymond Briggs under Brigadier Arthur Fisher 92 Sherman, 68 Crusader, one Grant = 161 tanks under Brigadier Thomas J. Bosville "(Attached to Hammerforce for mine clearance)"<br> Under Commanding Officer, 2nd Bn Rifle Brigade under
First Battle of El Alamein open left flank to the south in the same way he had at Gazala. He decided instead to employ delaying tactics while withdrawing a further or more east to a more defensible position near El Alamein on the Mediterranean coast. Only to the south of El Alamein, the steep slopes of the Qattara Depression ruled out the possibility of Axis armour moving around the southern flank of his defences and limited the width of the front he had to defend. While preparing the Alamein positions, Auchinleck fought strong delaying actions, first at Mersa Matruh on 26–27 June and then Fuka