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Private J. D. Caves: The Long Journey Home

Denis' remarks on desert warfare

Denis' remarks on desert warfare

Related by Jean Caves and Michael Caves, Christmas 2003.

Getting sunburnt was a court-martial offence for Denis' unit.

Denis had much respect for the Germans. They had the best training, the best gear, they were professionals. He liked the ordinary Germans; it was the Nazis that page 36were the problem.

During a big push in the desert it came down to the will to live versus battle weariness. For some it seemed easier to get shot than to cope with sand in their food. So the New Zealand infantry were told the Japanese had landed in New Zealand. The rationale being that with nothing to live for they would take more risks in battle.

Denis said you were scared until something happened, then your adrenaline starts racing. Mates died and therefore you would want revenge.

On one occasion an Italian sniper pinned them down for three days. Denis had spotted a slight depression in the ground and crawled up a dry creek bed. It was flat country, but enough of a hollow to run the risk of trying to get behind the sniper. The sniper was in the trunk of a dead tree. Denis managed to crawl up close with the Tommy gun and shot him. It was the only time that Denis took a souvenir off a dead body – a wristwatch. Denis took the souvenir because the one guy had been holding down their group for days and maybe because Denis had lost his own watch.

Armour piercing shells and bullets would bounce across the desert for miles like skipping stones. Sometimes soldiers in camp would see bullets fly past from battles miles away that they could not hear.

One time in battle Denis dived into a trench and noticed a body at the bottom. He didn't have time to move the body so he stood on it for the day until the battle ceased. Then he heard someone gurgling. The person under him was still alive but with half his head missing.

The Maori battalion would perform a haka before battle then charge. The chanting would frighten the Germans. The Maori battalion had a reputation for ripping in with bayonets. The Germans feared them; they thought that if they surrendered they would be killed anyway.

On another occasion the new soldiers in the 24th were ordered to get prisoners and find out what was happening out front. Denis' 30 man platoon set out to do this. They climbed up rocks, down to a basin and saw a group of Germans setting up camp. They saw that one was setting up a heavy machine gun in a defensive position and Denis knew his platoon would have to act fast or they would be in trouble. His new officer disagreed, saying that the training manual said that model of German machine gun took a certain amount of time to set up, but Denis knew the Germans could do it much more quickly, and if they got the gun going then Denis's platoon would be pinned down. He disobeyed orders and got down amongst the Germans with his Tommy gun. His gun had impact and the Germans must have thought there were more New Zealand soldiers than there actually were and surrendered. Denis had to take 40 prisoners on his own because his officer who'd disagreed about the machine gun emplacement was sulking. Denis could've been reprimanded for disobeying orders, but was let off because of the POWs he'd taken. On the way back behind the lines, alone with the prisoners, he used his Tommy gun like a cattle dog with the prisoners – bursts of fire dropped around their feet. His heroism was mentioned in dispatches and should have been awarded but the officer's Landrover carrying the dispatches got blown to pieces the next morning.

Denis didn't have much respect for some soldiers who were awarded medals. Often they were the bullies with followers and took credit without necessarily deserving it. The real men who deserved the medals were quiet and got on with their jobs.

One time after the war Denis was out farming in his paddock. A car backfired down the road and Denis jumped into a ditch, a natural reaction for a soldier. Denis returned to the house caked in mud.

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