| Original caption: “Night pictures taken during enemy air attacks on the new forward British positions. On the second day of the new battle in the Western Desert the enemy launched repeated counter attacks, but were unable to dislodge the Eighth Army from the positions they had captured. Tanks began to come into action but no major tank clash occurred anywhere. More prisoners continued to roll in from the fighting areas. These pictures were taken on the second day and night of the offensive.” Having assembled a powerful multinational Allied force, Montgomery unleashed his offensive on the night of October 23, with a spectacular artillery barrage. In the early hours of October 24, British infantry and engineers began Operation Lightfoot, a painstaking and hazardous process of creating 2 channels in the minefields through which the armored forces were to advance. Royal Canadian Army Staff Sergeant “Ernie” W. H. Huntley (???? – December 8, 2009) of London, Ontario, recounted the initial assault of the 2nd Battle of El Alamein: “As usual in the desert, twilight fell very quickly. It was the time when all the Desert Force seem to come alive. The transport columns started to make their way forward from the rear echelon, over various tracks, Sun, Moon, Star, Springbok and many others raising as they did clouds of choking dust which completely blackened out the sky. Each evening they brought up fresh supplies of food, petrol ammunition and the odd item from the canteen, letters, replacements and for some, the ever welcome hot evening meal.” “Supplies unloaded, the men sat down to eat. Those with letters read them very, very slowly. Then it was back to check, recheck, and keep under cover. Some of the replacements were surprised to learn they wouldn’t be needed this evening and when they asked the reason, were told they would find out soon enough.” “By now, the dust had settled and the moon was exceptionally clear amongst millions of stars.” “At the gun positions final checks had been made. Some of the men took off their coats, others took off their shirts for they knew before the night was over they would be wet with sweat as they were to be part of a large battery of 882 field guns which were to lay down a barrage of shells, the like of which hadn’t been seen since World War I and those guns still firing as daylight came, would have fired more than six hundred rounds each. At 0930 Hours, the preliminary orders were given and at 9.39 p.m. the gunners were ordered to ‘Take post!’” “The night of October 23 was a wonderful moonlit night, bright and clear, as were so many nights in the desert. The atmosphere was graveyard calm. Like a brewing tropical hurricane. At 2140 Hours precisely the West Suffolk Yeomanry, committed to a small patch of the Western Desert, over two and a half thousand miles from its home base took issue in the biggest barrage and concentration of gun fire since the First World War.” “The massive, creeping barrage, spectacular and fearful was laid by a thousand guns. The heavens were ablaze and the sky was lit by thousands of searing flashes. The thunderous roar of the artillery was raw and deafening as, from the sea coast, across the moonlit desert, to the Quattara Depression allied artillery poured thousands of tons of high explosives into the enemy defense line.” “The enemy gunners were bridled and stung to retaliation and, before long, shells began to fall all around us, throwing rich glaring glows, smashing equipment and killing men.” “In some outlandish and fanciful way it was like a great big dream, a dream that was diffused and had no core. With the increasing tremor that threatened to split the earth there seemed to be too much noise, too many gun flashes and too many hanging clusters of parachute flares for it to be well founded and real.” “Part of our night’s fire program was to lay one hundred and twenty rounds of smoke shells into the minefield to blind the enemy and to give cover to the engineers as they cleared the mine lanes. We were supporting the main attack in the northern sector and the guns on the slopes to our right were now hammering away at full bore at the faceless enemy in the invisible fastness of the night.” “There was a five minute pause in the fire program as the New Zealand Division, with the moon touching their bayonets, went on to establish lanes through the minefields and to take some of the high ground to the west.” “After a sleepless and exhausting first night of the battle, dawn brought into focus the beginning of a heavy and troubled day.” This photo was made by Sergeant Stanley Gladstone (September 7, 1915 – August 27, 1997) Number 1 Film and Photo Section, Army Film and Photo Unit (APFU). | |
| Image Filename | wwii0733.jpg |
| Image Size | 228.43 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1851 x 1864 |
| Photographer | Stanley Gladstone |
| Photographer Title | Number One United Kingdom Royal Army Film and Photo Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | October 27, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | El Alamein |
| State or Province | Matrouh |
| Country | Egypt |
| Archive | Imperial War Museum |
| Record Number | E 18541 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database