Bryn Hammond

This website is dedicated to the memory of my father, William (Bill) Hammond (1933-2008) - a good man and my hero.

About Cambrai, Alamein and the inspiration for the books

In late 1917 there was a convergence of strategic, political, scientific, technological and tactical factors that, together with chance, produced a marked change in how the British army on the Western Front fought its battles from this point. The changes produced by these factors were first seen in combination on 20 November 1917, a day that can legitimately be seen as marking the commencement of a ‘Modern Style of Warfare’. However, despite the major change wrought overall in the conduct of fighting on the Western Front, Cambrai was only a milestone on the road to ultimate victory. It did not provide all the answers.

In his first book, Bryn Hammond sought to cut through the myth and the (sometimes deliberate) misinformation associated with this frequently misrepresented battle and to present an account focusing not on hindsight but on the evidence of those who participated.

Now using a similar approach in returning to the accounts of those who participated, Bryn will endeavour to provide a balanced assessment of the three battles fought around El Alamein in the Western Desert in 1942. Once again, the intention is to move away from the myths. Was Rommel really the military genius he is so often portrayed as being? Was it really true that Montgomery eschewed the principles and methods of the British Army in the First World War in the planning and execution of Second Alamein? Was the performance of the Germans continually hampered by the inadequacies of their Italian allies? Were the Axis powers the architects of their own misfortune? Could they really have conquered Egypt and, in so doing, changed the course of the war?

Bryn's second book, Alamein 1942, will be published by Osprey in 2012