WHEN the Allied bombardment began, just before ten at night on October 23rd, a brilliant moon was shining on the desert. Suddenly, the Greek brigade saw a cavalryman in ancient Roman battledress riding up behind them, from the direction of the monastery; and no one who had seen the icons of Menas in Heraklion and a hundred other churches could mistake him. Through the Allied lines he rode, until he was lost among the enemy.*
Only hours later, what historians dub ‘the crumbling’ began. The German commander Georg Stumme succumbed to a heart attack. Axis forces began surrendering in their tens of thousands. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was rushed in to take over, but momentum was gone, and the battle ended on November 4th with the enemy in a headlong retreat. It was to prove a turning point in the whole war. “It may almost be said,” mused Winston Churchill later, “‘Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat’.”
Reports of this appeared in the Egyptian Gazette for November 10th, 1942; a year later, Patriarch Christophoros of Alexandria recalled it in a sermon for the feast of St Menas on November 11th. Further insights later came from Dr Naguib Pasha Mahfouz (1882-1974), a Coptic Christian and a pioneering Professor of Gynaecology at Qasr Al-Ayni Hospital (Cairo University), who was often called in by Montgomery to treat members of Allied military families, and came to know ‘Monty’ quite well. He testified that Montgomery had told him how, on the night before the battle, he had dreamt that a man calling himself ‘Mena’ repeatedly gestured towards the enemy forces, and drove them away. See The Great Egyptian and Coptic Martyr, the Miraculous Saint Mena.
Précis
Shortly after the battle began, at night on October 23rd, 1942, some Greek soldiers in the Allied lines seemed to see St Menas ride up from the monastery behind them and into the enemy lines. A few hours later the Axis forces suffered a catalogue of mishaps, and tens of thousands of them surrendered, leading to victory for the Allies and a turning point in the whole war. (68 / 60 words)
Shortly after the battle began, at night on October 23rd, 1942, some Greek soldiers in the Allied lines seemed to see St Menas ride up from the monastery behind them and into the enemy lines. A few hours later the Axis forces suffered a catalogue of mishaps, and tens of thousands of them surrendered, leading to victory for the Allies and a turning point in the whole war.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 75 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: although, because, despite, if, just, may, or, otherwise.
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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.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Crumble. Over. Turn.
2 Christian. Defensible. Stake.
3 Build. Only. Ten.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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