Foreword /William Roger Louis -- Introduction / Jill Edwards -- 1. The war in North Africa, 1940-43: an overview of the role of the Union of South Africa / James Jacobs -- 2. Training the troops: the Indian army in Egypt, Eritrea, and Libya, 1940-1942 / Alan Jeffreys -- 3. "The part we played in this show": Australians and El Alamein / Peter Stanley -- 4. "No model campaign": the Second New Zealand Division and the battle of El Alamein, October-December 1942 / Glyn Harper -- 5. The Free French in the battle for North Africa, 1942: military action and its political presentation / Rémy Porte -- 6. Between history and geography: the El Alamein Project: research, findings, and results / Aldino Bondesan -- 7. Silent service: the Royal Navy and the desert victory / Nick Hewitt -- 8. Feeding the fortress: Malta, summer 1942 / Thomas Scheben -- 9. "The highest rule": Rommel as military genius / Antulio J. Echevarria II -- 10. High command in the desert / Niall Barr -- 11. Alexandrians tell their story: oral narratives of the war in North Africa, 1940-43 / Mohamed Awad and Sahar Hamouda -- 12. The battle of El Alamein: impressions of a young schoolboy in Alexandria / Harry Tzalas -- "Here dead lie we" / A.E. Housman.