Editing Second Battle of El Alamein (section)

====Operation Bertram====

{{main|Operation Bertram}}

Before the battle the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] forces practised deceptions, in [[Operation Bertram]], to confuse the Axis command as to where and when the battle was to occur. In September, they dumped waste materials (discarded packing cases, etc.) under camouflage nets in the northern sector, making them appear to be ammunition or ration dumps. The Axis naturally noticed these but as no offensive action immediately followed and the "dumps" did not change in appearance, they were subsequently ignored. This allowed the Eighth Army to build up supplies in the forward area unnoticed by the Axis, by replacing the rubbish with ammunition, petrol and rations at night. A dummy pipeline was built, hopefully leading the Axis to believe the attack would occur much later than it did and much further south. Dummy tanks consisting of plywood frames placed over jeeps were built and deployed in the south. In a reverse [[feint]], the tanks destined for battle in the north were disguised as supply trucks by placing removable plywood superstructures over them.{{sfn|Lucas|1983|p=123}}