ALAMEIN ANNIVERSARY

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 October 1945, Page 5

ALAMEIN ANNIVERSARY

MONTGOMERY’S REVIEW HOW BATTLE WAS WON ' (Rec. 11.45 a.m.) LONDON, October 23. Marshal Montgomery described the winning of the Battle of Alamein ( by the operation of a “supercharge,” at the Alamein commemoration dinner at Claridge’s. He said he was delighted to see General Freyberg and others from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. “I believe when I arrived to take up command of the Bth Army there was a certain amount of speculation how long some of you might hold your appointments, and rather more soeculation about the length of mine. My A.D.C. told me, in fact, I did not know the form. I suppose he meant I had not got brown * knees and corduroy ' trousers. However, we survived and haye remained as a team ever since. n The original design of the Battle of Alamein, he said, was. to attack the enemy on the nol’thern flank and draw the main German strength, especially the armoured, to there, then roll up the remainder of the enemy front, with the New Zealand Division and other troops moving from north to south. However, the enemy resistance necessitated giving up the rolling up movement in favour of concentration to the north. I developed a series of attacks by night, so related as to give the enemy the idea I. intended to break through along tne coast road, which would be very serious xor nim. He concentrated against us.” Montgomery compared the tactics used at this stage with the operations at Caen. He described the withdrawal of the armoured divisions from the heat of battle, which could have been misunderstood by the uninitiated, when his intelligence officers located the southern flank of the Germans. “I put in one final tremendous blow, partly against tne Italianls'. General Freyberg led it personally in his tank. The Germans were overwehlmed and the Italians broke. Three armoured divisions passed through the gap and the battle W Mcn?gomery told of a visit from Mr. Churchill just before Alamein. The Prime Minister said he hoped the Bth Army would have the fame and fortune deserved. I feel 1 can justly say the Sth Army deserved both the fame and fortune won that day and later. The victory was not due to numerical strength, but to the courage and skill of the sons of Britain and her Empire.”