The backstory: How battle in Egypt's desert turned the tide of World War II

“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is perhaps the end of the beginning.”- Winston Churchill, November 10, 1942, following the Allied victory in the Second Battle of El Alamein.Eight decades ago, as World War II raged, Nazi Germany had overrun France and pushed deep into the Soviet Union, while Japan captured Singapore in February 1942 in one of Britain's worst military defeats. In June, German General Erwin Rommel's forces captured the Libyan port of Tobruk, pushing Allied troops towards Egypt and bringing the Suez Canal within reach.Thus, it appeared that the Axis powers had the upper hand until a massive artillery barrage broke the quiet of Egypt's western desert, triggering a 13-day battle that ultimately marked a change in the course of the war.The second battle of El Alamein began on October 23, 1942 between the Allied forces led by…