the Eighth Army fell back to El Alamein. In August 1942, General Harold Alexander replaced Auchinleck as Commander-in-Chief Middle East, and Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery became commander of the Eighth Army. Robertson knew both well; Alexander had been a fellow student at Camberley, and Montgomery had been an instructor, having been nominated to attend staff college by Robertson's father. Lieutenant-General Sir Wilfrid Lindsell, the Chief Administrative Officer at Middle East HQ had also been one of his instructors. Robertson was happy to go along with Montgomery's organisation of the staff under which the head of the General Staff branch, Major-General Freddie de Guingand acted as a chief of staff, controlling both administration and operations. Robertson was still permitted direct access to Montgomery when he requested it, a privilege that he did not exercise often. For his part in the earlier campaigns, Robertson was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in September. "What gave me confidence," he wrote to his wife, "more than anything else was Monty's attitudes and methods. To watch him on his job is like watching a test match played after watching just good club performance." Elaborate preparations were made for the Second Battle of El Alamein, not just for the battle itself, but for the subsequent pursuit. Seven days' supplies and of POL for X Corps were stored in forward dumps, along with five days' supplies for XIII Corps and XXX Corps. The forward dumps held 268,000 rounds of 25-pounder, 12,800 rounds of 4.5-inch and 6,400 rounds of 5-5-inch ammunition, together with four days' supply of other ammunition. Three days' supply of stores, ammunition and POL were held at the railhead, and another of ammunition at 4 Advanced Ammunition Depot in Alexandria. On the eve of the battle, Robertson was hospitalised with pneumonia, but he returned to duty on 26 October, to oversee the Eighth Army's pursuit. Tobruk fell on 13 November, and Robertson visited it the following day. The first ship unloaded there on 16 November. Benghazi fell on 20 November, and Tripoli on 21 January 1943. Between 14 and 17 February, Montgomery held a conference in Tripoli on the lessons of the campaign, with lectures from various participants, that was attended by senior British and American officers. Robertson was given two hours to talk about the logistics. His role was also recognised by his being made a Companion of the Order of