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CAIRO, Oct 17, 2012 (AFP)
Delegates and World War II veterans will gather Saturday in the Egyptian town of El-Alamein to mark the 70th anniversary of the battle that sealed the Allied victory against Nazi Germany in North Africa.
The international commemoration, organised by Britain, is due to be held at the Commonwealth cemetery of the Mediterranean town.
But with so few surviving World War II veterans, the ceremony could be the last of its kind, diplomatic sources said.
Separate national ceremonies will also be held on the site of the battle, with New Zealand marking the event on Friday afternoon, and other ceremonies the following day for the fallen soldiers of Australia, India, South Africa and France, as well as for the Germans, Italians and Austrians.
The battle of El-Alamein — which began on October 23, 1942 — saw British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery’s forces fight the Afrika Korps of Germany’s Rommel.
The defeat of the German and Italian forces put an end to Hitler and Mussolini’s ambitions to take over the port of Alexandria on the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal.
The battle was a major turning point in war, halting the advance of the Axis in North Africa before the final victory a year later.
