ALAMEIN VICTORY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21853, 25 October 1945, Page 5

ALAMEIN VICTORY

“MONTY’S” STORY EIGHTH ARMY TACTICS COMPARISON WITH CAEN LONDON, Oct. 23. Field Marshal Montgomery described the winning of the battle at El Alamein by the operation of a “super-charge” at the Alamein commemoration dinner at Claridge’s. Field Marshal Montgomery said he was delighted to see General Freyberg and others from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. “I believe that when I arrived to take up command of the Eighth Army there was a certain amount of speculation as to how long some of you might hold your appointments and rather more speculation about the length of mine,” said Field Marshal Montgomery. “My A.D.C. told me, in fact, that I did not know the form. I suppose he meant I had not got brown knees and corduroy trousers. However, we survived and remained as a team ever since.”

The original design of the battle at El Alamein was to attack the enemy on the northern flank, draw the main German strength, especially armoured, to there and then roll up the remainder of the enemy front with the New Zealand Division and other troops moving north to south. However, enemy resistance necessitated giving up the rolling up movement in favour of concentration to the north. Night Attacks In North

He added: “I developed a series of attacks by night so related as to give the enemy the idea that I intended to break through along the coast road, which would be very serious for him. He concentrated against us.” Field Marshal Montgomery compared the tactics used at this stage with the operations at Caen and described the withdrawal of the armoured divisions from the heart of battle. This could have been misunderstood by the uninitiated. “When my intelligence officers located the southern flank of the Germans 1 put in one final tremendous blow, partly against the Italians,” he went on. “General Freyberg led it .personally in his tank. The Germans were overwhelmed and the Italians broke. Three armoured divisions passed through the gap and the battle was won. 1 ' Field Marshal Montgomery told of the,visit from Mr. Winston Churchill just before El Alamein. The Prime Minister said he hoped the Eighth Army would have the fame and fortune it deserved. “I feel I can justly say that the Eighth 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,” he said.