October 29th, 1942...An advance party of 3rd New Zealand Division leaves Wellington for New Caledonia. By February 28th, there will be more than 13,000 Kiwis in New Caledonia.

At dawn off the Norwegian coast, the crew of Arthur and her Charioteers breakfast on ham and eggs. "Cor, what a crossing!" says Billy Tebb, one of the British Sailors on Arthur. "Tirpitz, here we come. Can't wait to put our crackers under your arse!"

At 8 a.m., Larsen anchors west of Edoy. He starts charging the Chariots' batteries, but the generator stops in 15 minutes, damaged in the crossing. Brewster shrugs. "To hell with it. We can chuck the generator overboard now. The batteries have taken the charge well enough, they can be used as they are."

Brewster and Tebb start attaching the warheads to their Chariots, just as a Luftwaffe patrol plane shows up. All hands cover the Chariots as the snooper buzzes the fishing boat. Billy Tebb aims the boat's machine gun at the airplane and Larsen shouts, "What the hell, you bloody fool!" in English. Tebb, sheepish, hides the machine gun.

The patrol plane zooms over the Norwegian, does a few maneuvers, and moseys off. Once it's gone, the Britons attach the warheads, and wait for the morning.

In the Aleutians, the Japanese decide to re-occupy Attu and establish an airfield there. A force of infantry, engineers, AA guns, and support units under Lt. Col. Hiroshi Yanekawa lands at Holtz Bay, and unfurls the Rising Sun. Simultaneously, 1,100 troops from the 303rd Independent Infantry Battalion sail for Shemya. As they sail, an American B-24 pops overhead. When the B-24 leaves, Tokyo signals that a large American force is in the vicinity. The Japanese postpone the Shemya landing. Japanese intelligence has failed again. There is no large American naval force in the Aleutians.

On Guadalcanal, Lt. Minegishi writes, "The sky cleared up in the morning and we saw the sun. I have begun to see what seems to be malnutrition. I don't know how many men must be left (behind) today."

The Japanese destroyers Shigure and Ariake deliver supplies to Guadalcanal, along with two passengers, General Miyazaki and Commander Ohmae. American PT boats, warned of the move by codebreaking, race in and send the destroyers back before they've finished unloading the cargo. The VIPs, however, make it ashore.

The condition of Europe's Jews is gaining attention in the free world. British churchmen and public figures hold a meeting in London today, protesting the persecution of the Jews. Winston Churchill sends the meeting a message, which reads, "The systematic cruelties to which the Jewish people - men, women and children - have been exposed under the Nazi regime are amongst the most terrible events in history, and place an indelible stain upon all who perpetrate and instigate them.

"Free men and women," Churchill says, "denounce these vile crimes, and when this world struggle ends with the enthronement of human rights, racial persecution will be ended."

In Stalingrad the fighting continues, house-by-house, yard by yard. The Germans now control nine-tenths of the ruined city, but their attacks are weaker and weaker.

Eisenhower says his farewell to King George VI in London. The King wants a full briefing on Operation Torch, and Ike gives it. The King wishes Eisenhower every success.

Ike meets with the British Chiefs of Staff. They discuss the perennial shortage of shipping - many ships have been diverted to Torch - and Ike's need for an additional British tank brigade and five infantry brigades.

As the day begins at El Alamein, Australian troops continue their attacks north while the British regroup. German troops counterattack against the Australian salient, facing the 2nd/17th and 2nd/15th Battalions. Australian and British anti-tank guns, mortars, artillery, and rifle fire, tear apart the German attacks. The Australians report, "It could be seen that dreadful casualties had been inflicted on the attackers." Italian and German bodies lie strewn in the sand between burning vehicles.

At 11 a.m., Montgomery reviews the situation. The German forces are mostly in the north, Italians in the south, leaving a seam just north of the original British northern corridor. Monty decides to attack that seam on the evening of the 30th. The objective will be the Martuba airfields, so as to assist in giving air cover to a convoy headed for Malta. The island is short of food, and nearly out of the aviation fuel that came in on the Pedestal Convoy in July.

The attack will be led by the reinforced 2 NZ Division under 30 Corps, along the Coast Road. 2 NZ will be backed by two British infantry brigades and 9th British Armoured Brigade. The Australians will continue to drive north. 10 Corps and the tanks will follow through the hole created. The attack will be a hard blow to the right, followed by a knockout blow to the left. The operation is entitled "Supercharge."

As Monty gets to work with his signal pad, Alexander arrives at the morning conference, bringing word that London is unhappy with the progress of the battle.

Alexander is right. Churchill has just learned that Monty is withdrawing whole divisions from the battle. Churchill is furious, and summons the Chief of Staff, Field Marshal Alan Brooke. Why is Montgomery letting the battle peter out? Why is he taking troops out of the battle? "Haven't we got a single general who can win even one battle?"

Brooke defends his protege, Montgomery, to Churchill, as does South Africa's Field Marshal Smuts. But Brooke, worried with defeats, is nervous, too, writing, "I had told them what I thought Monty must be doing. But there was just such a possibility that I was wrong and Monty was beat."

Thus Alexander and Minister of State Richard Casey arrive at Monty's Tac HQ, carrying telegrams from London.

Montgomery explains the situation to everyone, radiating confidence. Casey is unconvinced. He takes de Guingand aside and mumbles about telegraphing Churchill to say bad news may be on the way.

De Guingand barks, "For God's sake, don't! If you do, I'll see you're drummed out of political life!" Casey is stunned. He does not send a cable.

Less impressed is the very sharp Lt. Gen. Richard McCreery, Alexander's chief of staff. He says that the New Zealand assault should not be delivered along the coast, but just north of Kidney Ridge. McCreery suggests that to de Guingand, who studies the map, and says, "I will go and talk to Monty about it again - don't you for goodness sake! If one can persuade him it's his own idea."

De Guingand goes to Montgomery, and the two examine the maps. What McCreery says makes sense. Monty orders 2 NZ to attack along an extension of the original Australian sector's northern boundary, not along the coast road.

He sends this message to Freyberg, and the New Zealander grunts, "That's what I wanted to do originally." 2nd NZ Division starts to assemble in the Tell el Makh Khad area.

At noon, Rommel gets word that Louisiano has been sunk, adding to his difficulties.

As Rommel muses on the situation, General Count Emilio Barbasetti arrives from Rome. Rommel lets Barbasetti have it. What happened to the Louisiano? Where are the supplies, ammunition, guns, trucks that Mussolini has promised? Where is the fuel?

Barbasetti points out that convoys are heading for Benghazi.

Not good enough, counters Rommel. That's too far away. Supplies must go to Tobruk, and take their chances with the RAF. After all, the Italian Navy's purpose is to sail into danger!

Barbasetti leaves, shaken.

Early in the evening, Rommel gets a message from Italy's Commando Supremo saying that two British divisions have been identified by radio intercepts as moving through the Qattara depression to the south. The news seems improbable. Rommel sends scarce Luftwaffe planes to determine that the report is nonsense.

Rommel is having a rough day. He calls Field Marshal Albert Kesselring for more Luftwaffe support, and is told that there is nothing available. The Luftwaffe is being pressed to provide major support for battles around Stalingrad. The pilots Rommel has are few in number and weary from continuous fighting, short supplies, and difficult conditions. German Stuka pilots are apparently jettisoning their bombs - on friend and foe alike - when they see British Hurricanes or P-40s.

Rommel points out to Kesselring that his recovery teams cannot scavenge the battlefields for replacements. Kesselring asks about the use of captured equipment and vehicles. Rommel isn't capturing them any more. And he's running out of ammunition and spares for the captured equipment he's got.

Morale among frontline troops is sagging, too. German and Italian troops are exhausted from continuous bombardment. 100 infantrymen of 15th Panzer Division have surrendered to British patrols. Generalleutenant Heinz von Randow, commanding 21st Panzer Division, reports his men are depressed by the bombing, that seems to take place every hour on the hour. 21st Panzer men, watching the tight formations of British and South African bombers, call the strikes "Party Rally raids" after pre-war demonstrations at Nuremberg.

Nonetheless, Rommel is determined to take action. 21st Panzer Division is in position with its Mark III and Mark IV tanks as a mobile reserve. The Afrika Korps is down to fewer than 100 tanks, including several ancient Mark IIs. Their sector of the front is held by the remains of the Trieste Motorized Division and its 34 outdated M13/40 tanks. The south is held by Italian and German paratroopers and the Ariete Armored Division. In the north, everything depends on the German 15th Panzer, 90th Light and 164th Divisions.

That evening, the British resume the offensive. The 2nd/23rd Battalion attacks again, to find the Germans have withdrawn from the first 1,000 yards. The Australians move forward and consolidate their positions.