Second battle of El Alamin. El Alamein, Egypt.
Photographer: Major Geoffrey John Keating
Some 100 odd kilometres to the west of Alexandria. Close to an old railway line. British Lieutenant-General Bernard Law Montgomery gazes into the distance as armoured divisions of the British 8th army, push Axis forces back into Tunisia, November 1942. His steed of iron and command vehicle on this occasion, a U.S. manufactured M3 Grant tank that keeps him mobile and safe from stray enemy fire.
A celebrated British commander of the mid-nineteenth century, Bernard Montgomery, like his opponent Erwin Rommel, was a veteran of World War I and a splendid military tactician. A serving Lieutenant with the 1st Battalion Royal Warwickshire. He had seen action in Belgium in 1918.
Was fatally shot in the chest in the battle of Meteren. Yet had survived an early grave. Promoted to the rank of captain and awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Before being drawn into the war again on the western front with the battles of Somme, Arras, Pass-Chendaele, Chemin-des-Dames and Amiens.
With the outbreak of World War II, Montgomery, a Major-General with the 3rd Iron Division of the British Infantry was part of the British Expeditionary Force in mainland Europe.
Halting German offensive for a while at the front line in Leuven, Belgium. And ordering an effective night withdrawal with rear guard defence. He was present at Dunkirk during the evacuation from Northern France.
Then in 1942 sent to North Africa to hem the rapid advance of Rommel. A mission that he eventually accomplished in the battle of El Alamein, between the 23rd of October and the 11th of November 1942.
Command of the 8th Army.
Montgomery had been appointed to command the 8th Army on the 8th of August 1942. He had arrived in Cairo on the 12th of August and spent the initial days in drilling the forces at his disposal in his method of warfare.
He is generally credited for turning the 8th into a cohesive fighting force. By successfully meshing together its regular British divisions with their Commonwealth counterparts. Comprising of New Zealanders, Sikhs, Poles, Greeks, Canadians, South Africans and Gurkhas.
Also much like what Rommel had achieved with the infantry, anti-tank and mechanized divisions of the Panzer Group Afrika. For synchronizing the diverse arms of the 8th for coordinated action. Including the participation of the Royal Airforce. That had worked in tandem with ground forces. Once he had assumed command.
Regarding the 8th Army, Montgomery writes in his memoirs.
My mandate was to destroy the Axis forces in North Africa. And it was immediately apparent to me, that the first step necessary was the initiation of a period of re-organization, re-equipment and training. I had also decided that the 8th Army had required a Reserve Corps (armoured division, much like one Rommel had possessed). Well equipped and highly trained.
Bernard Law Montgomery.
Yet, unlike the other two famous commanders of the North African theatre, Erwin Rommel and George S. Patton. What had clearly put Montgomery in a niche of his own was his rigid focus on caution and thoroughness.
A hardcore realist who harboured no place for chances and miracles. His ability for simplifying complexities was an indispensable asset in winning battles. As was his open-minded flexibility in changing plans on the field if things faltered. Not to mention his talent to boost morale and inspire troops under his command.
Montgomery’s advantage at El Alamein.
In contrast to Rommel’s instinctive battle tactics. Montgomery’s patience in allowing the 8th to achieve a numerical advantage had played a key factor in securing a decisive British victory in the featureless desert arena that was El Alamein.
Here, Montgomery is also said to have introduced British forces to mobile warfare. And frequently rotating units so that one particular division was not overwhelmed with casualties.
Constantly supplied with men, armour and other essentials from Britain. As well as from Britain’s colonies and allies. At El Alamein, Montgomery had not only out-manned Rommel by a considerable margin but had over a 1,000 tanks to put to the field to counter Rommel’s 500.
Furthermore, the success of British Intelligence in decoding encrypted German codes had also put him at an advantage. And ultimately as history had witnessed. He had forced Rommel to withdraw for lacking the required numbers to continue combat.
In the ensuing battle, both sides had sustained heavy casualties but only Montgomery had been in the position to invest fresh troops.
Monty, the legend: A Farbound.Net Wallpaper.
Critics of El Alamein.
Though Montgomery had eventually prevailed at El Alamein and with his victory had become an overnight sensation. Celebrated by the British Press and Winston Churchill. His role in North Africa in recent times has come to be debated as has the battle of El Alamein itself.
While some modern historians and authors have come to view El Alamin as a minor battle, and one that could have been largely avoided. Others, on the contrary, have continued to emphasize its importance. Especially as the hallowed ground that taught many famous commanders of the allied armies their trade and turned them into legends.
Montgomery himself has not been spared scrutiny for his supposedly conceited behaviour, tendency for self-glorification and colossal ego. Critics have also come to question his role in gaining victory in the light of the numerical superiority the British enjoyed over Rommel at El Alamein. Additionally bolstered with the arrival of U.S. forces in North Africa.
Who had actually put Montgomery in charge.
However, where there is unanimous agreement, is that Montgomery was never Churchill’s prime candidate for the command of the 8th Army. He had only stepped in after the death of Lieutenant General William Henry Gott. Killed while rescuing fellow passengers from the wreckage of an airplane.
His command, secured by General Alan Brook, Chief of the Imperial General’s Staff, and Sir Harold Alexander, who later was his superior at El Alamein.
While Brook had held a high regard for Montgomery’s tactical abilities and was eager to see him put in charge. Churchill had been more inclined towards Gott. A veteran of the 8th who had fought Rommel before but lost.
It had taken a great deal of persuasion on the part of Brook to have Montgomery put in command, and for every setback, Montgomery had suffered. Churchill had never hesitated to criticize Brook for his decision.
This photograph produced by Major Geoffrey Keating of the 1 No. Army Film and Photographic unit was taken on the 5th of November 1942. After the 8th army had gained an edge over Rommel’s German and Italian forces.
It is considered to be one of the most iconic photos of Montgomery with his Adjutant John Poston peering through a binocular in the background. The photo was not staged but captured on the battlefield. It has since appeared as the cover of numerous books on Montgomery and the battle of El Alamein in North Africa.
The iconic black beret.
The black beret that Montgomery can be seen wearing was at the time used only by the Royal Tank Regiment of the British army and was provided to him by the tank driver of the M3 Grant, Private Jim Fraser. The M3 Grant was Montgomery’s mobile command centre.
Prior to putting on the beret, Montgomery had sported an Australian bush hat bristling with badges. A souvenir he had received when visiting the camp of the 9th Australian division stationed on the Tel El Eisa Ridge, near Alamein.
Impressed by Rommel’s striking image in a peaked German officer’s cap and goggles. And realizing a need to create a somewhat similar aura that would aid instant recollection among British forces and the public.
Attaching a headgear to Montgomery’s persona was the idea of his Adjutant John Poston, Geoffrey Keating and Captain Warwick Charlton – editor of the newspapers, the Eighth Army News and the Crusader.
Keating had first photographed Montgomery wearing the bush hat and later the beret. Montgomery had substituted the bush hat with the beret. For the reason, the bush hat had kept blowing off his head when riding in the turret of the tank.
The two emblems on the beret that are dimly visible are a British General’s badge indicating Montgomery’s rank and the insignia of the Royal Tank Corps. Montgomery had continued to sport the beret long after El Alamein.
He is known to have twice refused direct orders to take it off. Stating in his own words, it was worth two battalions.
Geoffrey John Keating.
Born into an Irish family, Geoffrey John Keating was among the first British photographers to document the events of World War II.
Even before the Army Film and Production Unit was created and set up at Pinewood Studios (London) in 1941. To train photographers and cinematographers as soldiers to document the role of the Commonwealth forces in the war.
Keating had accompanied the British Expeditionary Force to Europe for the battle of France and later proceeded on to North Africa. Where he in the course of his assignments had become good friends with Montgomery.
After El Alamein, Keating had soldiered on to cover the D-Day landing at Normandy and the Allied advance towards Germany in Europe.
In Italy, war correspondent and author, Alan Moorhead, was delighted to discover he had been promoted to Major. Not to mention, given command of the 160 men strong, 2 No. Army Film and Production unit. Moorhead was a friend of Keating.
Keating was always ahead of the Vanguard looking for vantage points and the best source of food. He had found himself a villa in the hills and here in the evening, we played bridge.
Alan Moorhead
An illustrious career.
Far from the fate of Montgomery’s Aid De Camp in the photo, John Poston. A decorated officer who was killed on the 21st of April 1945. Just nine days before Montgomery accepted the unconditional surrender of Germany in Luneburg Heath. Keating had lived to see the end of the war.
A few years after witnessing the signing of Germany’s surrender in 1945 and receiving a Military Cross. He had worked as an international correspondent in Iran and later the Middle East. During this phase, he is known to have provided an extensive coverage of the region.
Keating had eventually retired at the age of 60 and started a property business in London. He had lived for another six years. His death is recorded to have taken place in 1980.
After his death, his vast collection of wartime photos were donated to the Imperial War Museum. Many of which are still withheld from public view. His photos can also be viewed on the G.J.K website. That is maintained by his daughter Rima Keating. As homage to the memory of her late father, Major Geoffrey Keating. (see G.J.K photos).
The importance of El Alamein to Churchill.
The events at El Alamein had held much more importance for Winston Churchill than they had for Adolf Hitler. In essence, not a single drawn-out battle but a series of attacks and counterattacks made by both sides. That in the final stages had lasted almost 12 days. The British victory had come as an immense relief for the British Prime Minister.
To Churchill, the loss of North Africa had meant more than the loss of a strategic position in the Middle East, and another defeat at the hands of Wehrmacht among a string of earlier defeats.
A German victory here had meant the loss of Britain’s possession of the Suez Canal that had connected her to her dominions in the east.
This photo is archived in the World War II collection of the Imperial War Museum, U.K.
