St John's Cathedral, Brisbane and the Anzac Legend

Montgomery developed a quick affinity with the Aussie troops and, at one point, took to wearing a slouch hat. Like General Birdwood during the Gallipoli campaign, Monty liked to visit his troops on the front line, inspiring them through personal exhortation. This personal approach to the troops, like Birdwood’s, was a departure from the traditional class- based system of British command where senior officers traditionally kept aloof from the lowest ranks. His approach resonated well with the Anzac tradition of egalitarianism and mateship and the Australians responded to him with alactrity. Montgomery first halted Rommel’s drive to the Suez Canal in September 1942 in an operation known as the Battle of Alam Halfa. But he was determined to crush Rommel’s forces by taking the offensive. He decided to to do this at El Alamein, a rail stop near the coast about 96 kilometres from Alexandria in the western desert of Egypt—a harsh and torrid region plagued with dust storms and desert flies—where both the British and German armies faced each other in a stalemate. During the ensuing battle the 9th Division took the lead in taking on the Germans and Italians in the northern sector of the battlezone, fighting tenaciously and drawing in the whole might of Rommel’s Afrika Korps against them. The Division’s task was to act as military sponge—to soak up much of the enemy’s firepower, and create the opportunity for a British armoured breakthrough further south. With Rommel focused on the Australians in the northern front, Montgomery launched his full- blooded armoured assault, securing ultimate victory. The Allies’ success at El Alamein turned the tide in the North African campaign, ending the German/Italian threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal and the rich Persian oil fields. Psychologically it was a huge victory for the Allies, demonstrating that Hitler’s forces on the ground could be faced and decisively beaten. Much of the credit for its success, including that bestowed by Churchill and Montgomery, was given to the Australians. The 9th Division had already become illustrious in North Africa before Alamein, holding Tobruk during a long siege by German forces. Their performance at Alamein sealed their reputation and reinforced the reputation of the Australians as formidable foes. But the success of the 9th did not come without cost. The Division lost more than 800 men at Tobruk along with some 2000 wounded. At Alamein the Division’s casualties equalled those of the entire British 10th Armoured Corps which had been tasked with the breakthrough.

Map of eastern Libya and northern Egypt, showing the fearfully close proximity of the modest rail stop of El Alamein, less than 60 miles / 100 km from the Egyptian capital and

the vital waterway of the Suez Canal.

Masthead Design & Creative

Mediterranean Sea

Jerusalem

Benghazi

Tobruk

El Alamein

Suez Canal

PALESTINE

CAIRO

L IBYA

EGYPT

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Red

Sea