Members of the French military place the

Members of the French military place their national flag over the tombs of fellow Frenchmen buried in the British Commonwealth cemetery in el-Alamein, 350 kms north of Cairo, 27 October 2007 during the 65th commemoration ceremony of the famous battle of el-Alamein between British field marshal Bernard Montgomery and German general Erwin Rommel commanding the Afrika Corps. Fifty-three Frenchmen are buried amongst the 7,000 tombs of soldiers who fought for the success of the battle which was a turning point in the North African Campaign as the Allied forces' victory ended Axis hopes of occupying Egypt, controlling access to the Suez Canal, and gaining access to the Middle Eastern oil fields, thus marking the end of Axis expansion in Africa. AFP PHOTO/CRIS BOURONCLE (Photo credit should read CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP via Getty Images)