Subtitled 'The Battle of Ruweisat Ridge 2 July 1942'
Book published by Casemate in 2017, 238 pages. Hardback with Dust Jacket (N7481)
Brand New Book
From the front inside fly leaf: The second battle of El Alamein is often described as a decisive battle of World War II, yet the far less known first battle of Alamein, or Ruweisat Ridge, in July 1942, is the more pivotal of the two encounters. In fact the author of this book, Major F. R. Jephson, argues that it saw the turning of the tide in World War 11. He should know, as he was there.
Had the outnumbered British defenders at Ruweisat Ridge not stopped Rommel's Afrika Korps from continuing to its objective of Alexandria and then the Suez Canal, the outcome of the campaign in Africa, and the war, could have been very different. It is all the more remarkable that this small force had been 1,500 miles away just a few weeks before, and were only in the Western desert due to General Auchinleck's foresight.
As the seventy-fifth anniversary of the second battle of Alamein is marked, this eyewitness account seeks to bring proper recognition to the crucial contribution to the war played by the defenders at the first battle of Alamein...