Pendulum of War: Three Battles at El Alamein

Based on extensive original research, Pendulum of War looks at\nthe arguments behind the change in fortunes of Britain’s desert\narmy in 1942. Barr provides a vivid picture of the fighting at el\nAlamein from the early desperate days of July to the final costly\nvictory in Novembe A compelling new history of a crucial turning\npoint in the Second World War, and a detailed picture of the\nBritish Army at a critical stage in its fight against Hitler’s\nGermany. In June 1942, following the fall of Tobruk, the defeated\nBritish Eighth Army was streaming back towards the tiny railway\nhalt of El Alamein in the western desert of Egypt. The Eighth Army\nhad suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Rommel’s\nPanzerarmee Afrika. Yet just five months later, the famous\nbombardment opened the Eighth Army’s own offensive which destroyed\nthe Axis threat to Egypt. Explanations for the remarkable change of\nfortune have generally been sought in the personalities of the\ncommanders Generals Auchinleck and Montgomery, and that of their\nlegendary opponent, Field Marshall Rommel. Pendulum of Waris the\nstory of how an army learnt from its mistakes. Niall Barr shows\nthat the focus on personality has blurred the continuity of\nexperience that saw the Eighth Army transform itself from a\ntactically inept collection of units into a battle-winning force\nthat eventually mastered the veterans of Rommel’s Afrika Korps. The\nbook provides a vivid and fresh perspective on the fighting at El\nAlamein from the early desperate days of July to the final costly\nvictory in November.

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