Introduction
The Second Battle of El Alamein in 1942 was a turning point in the Second World War. A German and Italian army was overwhelmed by British, Indian and Commonwealth forces, supported by the US from the air. Also fighting for the Allies was a British-trained brigade of Free Greeks, and (so it was said) an ancient Roman cavalryman.
ON October 23rd, 1942, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, commanding the Eighth Army, faced German and Italian forces in the Egyptian desert at El Alamein, a few miles along the coast west of Alexandria. At stake were British Mandatory Palestine,* the Suez Canal, and India beyond.
Allied Command chose the site as defensible; but of as much significance to the 1st Brigade of Free Greeks was having Abu Mena at their backs, a ruined (thanks to the Arabs) Christian monastery dedicated to the martyr St Menas.
Menas had died in the persecutions of the early fourth century, and something had moved Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria, to bury his body in the desert; the precise spot, near Lake Mariout, was chosen by his camels, who refused to budge.* The grave soon disappeared beneath the sands, but it was rediscovered after a sickly sheep made a miraculous recovery by rolling around on that spot,* and this time a monastery and basilica were built to mark St Menas’s resting place.
A region of former Ottoman Syria placed under British control by a mandate from the League of Nations, after the First World War. See British Mandatory Palestine. It was here that the brigade of Free Greeks — Greece had been occupied since her unexpected defiance on The Day of ‘No’ — received their British military training. Besides the Greeks and Free French there were troops from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, as well as India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka), all of whom were very much ‘next on the list’ had the Axis powers triumphed at El Alamein.
Something similar happened when the monks carrying the body of St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne around Viking-ravaged Northumbria ended their long wanderings at Durham. See Cuthbert and the Dun Cow.
A tale reminiscent of our own St Oswald, King of Northumbria. See On Holy Ground.
Précis
The Second Battle of El Alamein in the Second World War took place near a ruined monastery, which stood over the grave of St Menas, a Roman-era martyr. The Allies chose the place for military reasons, but the saint had been buried there back in the fourth century because the camels of his funeral cortege would go no further. (59 / 60 words)
The Second Battle of El Alamein in the Second World War took place near a ruined monastery, which stood over the grave of St Menas, a Roman-era martyr. The Allies chose the place for military reasons, but the saint had been buried there back in the fourth century because the camels of his funeral cortege would go no further.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, if, must, not, ought, since, until, who.
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
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