In the summer of 1942, the British Eighth Army and the German Afrika Corps faced each other in western Egypt. General Erwin Rommel, commanding the Afrika Corps, tried to punch through the British lines, but failed. In late October, it was the Eighth Army's turn to go on the offensive. On October 23, 1942, General Bernard Montgomery, commanding the British Eighth Army, launched an attack against the German line, which was extremely strong and well defended, especially by hundreds of thousands of land mines. The British attacked first on the Germans' left flank, achieving surprise. The Germans countered, but were unable to repel the attackers.
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