The Battle of Alamein was one of the greatest set-piece battles in World War II and the victory for the allied troops was the turning point in the fortunes of war. Within a year of the battle Mussolini had been toppled and the Anglo-American forces had established a firm presence in Italy. The battle was of particular interest as it was a clean war. Bitterly fought on both sides according to certain basic ideas of what those involved were not ashamed to call chivalry , the duel between to remarkable leaders - Rommel and Montgomery - is at the heart of this book. Both had fought and been wounded in World War I, both were personally austere and both had remarkable presence and powers of leadership with their respective troops.

A new and definitive account of the desert battle of El Alamein, an allied victory in 1942 and a turning point in the Second World War.

John Bierman and Colin Smith are both award winning journalists writing for most major newspapers. Bierman, is a seasoned ex-BBC television correspondent and documentary film maker. Smith covered many wars for the Observer, of which he was an Associate Editor. The authors' previous book FIRE IN THE NIGHT was the widely praised biography of the maverick British commander Orde Wingate who fought behind enemy lines in World War Two.