Breaching the Devil's Garden- The 6th New Zealand Brigade in Operation Lightfoot. The Second Battle of El Alamein, 23 October 1942. Appendices

This study is one in a series that will examine combat breaching operations. Other studies have covered Operation Citadel and Operation Desert Storm. In this report, the breaches created in the zone of the 6th New Zealand Brigade are studies in detail. This report has been structured such that the situations of both sides are discussed, followed by a detailed narrative of the operation. Of particular interest to students of military engineering, is the effect of the lack of antipersonnel mines on the effectiveness of the Devils Garden. Although this was forced on Generalfeldmarshall Rommel and his men by logistic constraints, it should be current interest as our soldiers are stripped of conventional mines by 2010.