The Battle of El Alamein, or actually the Second Battle of El Alamein, stayed carried out in the period from October 23 to November 4, 1943. The battle was fought between the German-Italian troops and the British units, supported, however, to a significant extent by Australian, New Zealand and South African troops. It is assumed that about 116 thousand people fought on the side of the Axis countries. people supported by approx. 550 tanks and approx. 800-900 aircraft. On the British side, around 195,000 people fought. people, supported by approx. 1,100 tanks and approx. 750 aircraft. The Second Battle of El Alamein was a kind of continuation of the battle, known as the 1st Battle of El Alamein in July 1942. As a result of this second battle, the Axis offensive towards the Suez Canal was slowed down and finally stopped. On the other hand, the struggle of October-November 1942 was a British offensive to the west, intended to completely push the enemy out of Egypt. It can be assumed that the commander of this battle on the British side - field marshal Bernard Law Montgomery - won mainly thanks to the material advantage and much better logistics. Undoubtedly, however, the British commander, aware of his advantages, decisively used them and led to a decisive victory for his troops, winning the greatest victory in his career. Axis troops lost at least 30,000. people (killed, wounded and captured) and about 500 tanks. The British lost approx. 13-14 thousand. people and about 330 tanks.
The British Eighth Army was formed in September 1941 in North Africa from forces stationed in Egypt. Until November of the same year, it was composed of two corps - XIII and XXX. It included, among others: the 2nd New Zealand Infantry Division, the 4th Indian Infantry Division, the 7th Panzer Division (the famous Desert Rats) and the 1st South African Infantry Division. At the end of 1942, there were about 220,000 people formed in 10 divisions and several independent brigades. The Eighth Army underwent its baptism of fire during the Battle of Tobruk in November 1941. Later, in 1941-1943, she fought in North Africa, winning a very important victory in the Battle of El Alamein, and later beating Axis forces in Libya and Tunisia. It is worth adding that its commander from August 1942 to December 1943 was Bernard Law Montgomery - one of the best British commanders of World War II. In the years 1943-1945, the Eighth Army fought in the area of Apennine by taking part in the landing in Sicily and in the landing in southern Italy. Its soldiers later broke through the Gothic Line and the Gustav Line, as well as fought at Monte Cassino in 1944. It was the 8th Army that included the 2nd Corps of the Polish Armed Forces under the command of General Anders. In 1945, the Eighth Army fought in the Po Valley, and later entered Austria, where it ended its combat route during World War II.