El Alaméin

Several years after the end of World War II, mechanical engineer Joe Banning returns to North Africa to recall his wartime experiences: As a civilian tank mechanic, Joe delivers the newest models of American-made tanks to the British Seventh Tank Corps. Eager to try out the tank, British captain Harbison, Joe and a partial crew set out on a desert patrol, but because they have a malfunctioning compass and no radio, they are soon lost. The crew picks up a Punjabi solder, Corp. Singh Das, the sole survivor of a search party wiped out by the Germans, and proceeds toward a supply depot, which is being held by a small Italian contingent. After driving off the Italians, the tank crew refuels and loads up with supplies. Joe repairs the Italian radio and Harbison realizes from information broadcast by British headquarters that they are deep behind German lines. Headquarters then announces confirmation of the start of the Allied campaign, led by Field Commander Bernard Montgomery, to drive the Germans, led by "Desert Fox" Erwin Rommel, out of North Africa. Anxious to reunite with the division to assist in the upcoming conflict, Harbison welcomes the addition of four Australian infantrymen separated from their unit who wander into the supply camp. Later that afternoon, a lone German fighter plane strafes the depot and is shot down by the tank crew. The pilot bails out and when he is discovered to be severely wounded, Singh offers to kill him to end his suffering. Harbison rejects the offer and while the men debate what to do next, the pilot tries to shoot the captain. Singh throws himself in front of Harbison and is killed by the pilot who later dies from his wounds. The men are further unsettled when they hear on the radio an English broadcast from Germany declaring that the Allied desert campaign will fail. Harbison decides to continue to an old Bedouin tomb near El Alamein, the designated rendezvous point of the brigade. Upon arriving the next day, they find a native and his teenaged niece, Selim and Jara, with their goat and camel camped there. When Selim reveals that the Germans have used the well near the tomb, Harbison orders the water tested for poison. Determining that the water is safe, Harbison suspects that the Germans will likely return and posts guards. When Harbison is unable to home in on the British radio signal, he worries that attack plan may have changed. Distrustful of Selim, Joe is nevertheless startled when Selim offers to sell Jara to the men