In the most devastating global conflict in history, the Battle of Alamein stands out as one of the great triumphs of the Allied forces. In October 1942, the little Egyptian railway stop became the showdown between two legendary commanders - German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the notorious "Desert Fox," and British Lieutenant General Bernard "Monty" Montgomery. When Rommel's Panzerarmee Afrika clashed with the imperial British forces under Monty, the entire dynamic of World War II changed. Now, in this account, John Bierman and Colin Smith unfold the whole story of the decisive campaigns of the desert war, from the Italian invasion of Egypt in September 1940 to the mass surrender of the Axis forces in Tunis in May 1943.Writing with great verve, Bierman and Smith create a stunning panorama peopled by some of the most glamorous, dangerous, and mysterious figures in the war, drawing on extensive and hitherto overlooked primary sources, including battle reports, regimental histories, and interviews with veterans from all sides of the conflict. The story reads like a great war novel as the two sides chase each other back and forth across an unforgiving North African landscape. They shed new light on the remarkable story of Rommel's desert advisor, the shady Hungarian adventurer Laszlo Almasy, who was recast as the romantic English patient in Michael Ondaatje's novel. They also tell the story of the secret war fought by a group of German Jewish volunteers from Palestine and the strange tale of the unfortunate American colonel who became an unwilling source of intelligence for the Nazis.The picture is large in scope, juxtaposing the designs and delusions of grand strategy against the courage, chaos, and confusion of individuals in combat. At Alamein, Nazi Germany's hitherto unbroken succession of land victories was finally reversed, and the mightiest war machine the world had ever seen suffered its first major defeat. This riveting account is military history at its absolute best. Read Less