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Private J. D. Caves: The Long Journey Home

[section]

This passage describes the battle of Sidi Rezegh of November 1941, in which the New Zealand Division played a major role. Denis was in B Company, 24 Battalion, 6 Brigade, 2 NZ Division.

Rommel was preparing for a third attack on Tobruk. It was General Auchinleck's intention that the Eighth Army should drive the enemy from Cyrenaica and at the same time relieve Tobruk. His plan, in brief, was that XXX Corps, comprising most of the armour, should threaten the approaches of Tobruk and force an armoured encounter, while XIII Corps, in which 2 NZ Division was included, should isolate the frontier fortress line and later mop it up from the west.

On 9 November 1941 came the order for 2 NZ Division to assemble in the desert at Qaret el Kanayis. A field regiment, anti-tank and anti-aircraft batteries, a machine-gun company, and a field company of engineers were among the units [in 6 Brigade]. Travelling via the Baggush-Matruh road and thence south-west along the Siwa track, the group convoy, comprising about a thousand vehicles spaced out ten to the mile, was nearly 100 miles long and took six hours and a half to pass a given point. As Qaret el Kanayis was 70 miles away, the first vehicles of the column were arriving at their destination while the last were leaving the starting point. 24 Battalion was fortunate in being well up near the head of the column. All its vehicles had arrived by 5.30 p.m. and the men had made themselves comfortable for the night before darkness fell.

Having rested a day at El Kanayis, the whole division moved 50 miles west by daylight on 15 November, in a mass of widely spaced vehicles covering an immensity of ground, to a point about half-way between El Kanayis and the Libyan frontier. Here another short halt was made, and the men spent their hours of leisure playing football. Much to everyone's surprise no air attack had yet been made, but henceforward moves took place by night along an axis of advance marked every 1000 yards by green lights, shaded and facing to the rear. Advancing in a westerly direction by stages of 25 or 30 miles nightly, with vehicles dispersed at wide intervals during daylight, 2 NZ Division arrived on the night of 18 November at the great barbed-wire barrier built by the Italians and stretching from the Mediterranean coast southward along the Libyan frontier, deep into the desert. Lightning flashes lit the northern sky as they entered Cyrenaica and camped in the divisional area a few miles beyond the frontier.

On 19 November 1941 the Division was assembled south of Libyan Sheferzen. From there they moved north to the line of the Trigh el Abd, a desert highway crossing the frontier at Bir Sheferzen. The New Zealanders arrived after dark at their new position, ten miles south-west of Sidi Omar, and remained there throughout the following day. By 21 November enemy tanks were retiring westward and it appeared that the armoured encounter was going in Eighth Army's favour. The battle's second phase was due to begin. Crossing the Trigh el Abd, 2 NZ Division, led by its Divisional Cavalry and with 5, 4, and 6 Brigades following in that order, moved north-west towards the Trigh Capuzzo. At dusk 5 Brigade was swinging east to bottle up enemy forces in Sollum and Bardia, while 4 Brigade held its former line of advance with the object of cutting the Bardia-Tobruk road. Sixth Brigade was near Bir Tgheit, still some way south of the Trigh Capuzzo, when orders arrived for it to incline left and move to Bir el Hariga. Thereafter, passing under command of XXX Corps, it would advance westward towards Gambut and Bir el Chleta to clear that region of the enemy.

Denis later wrote to Jean of his experiences in the Battle of Sidi Rezegh – see his letter of 7 June 1942.

Sixth Brigade moved on throughout the night with 24 Battalion leading, screened by the carriers of 25 Battalion, while its own carrier platoon guarded the left flank. The surprise was mutual when 25 Battalion carriers encountered 20 Germans and took them prisoner without a shot being fired. Heavy rain had fallen, and an hour before midnight the brigade ran into a patch of soft mud in which most of its vehicles stuck fast. Daylight would have found them a helpless, sitting target for hostile aircraft, but two hours' hard work saw them extricated from the bog and on firm ground beyond. page 23At dawn they were approaching the Trigh Capuzzo and, since Bir el Hariga might still be occupied, the battalion's carrier platoon was sent forward as a protective screen. No enemy was found, but a few artillery vehicles which had lost touch during the night had gone on separately and were waiting in occupation of the position.

A squadron of Valentine tanks was due to join the Brigade Group at this point, but no tanks appeared and an officer sent in search of them found that they also had struck a muddy patch in the night. Of the squadron's 16 tanks, four were still stuck-one hopelessly. The runners having been guided in, 6 Brigade started off along the Trigh Capuzzo for Bir el Chleta at 3 p.m. on 22 November, with 24 Battalion still acting as advanced guard. The Carrier Platoon moved ahead as a protective screen and at 5 p.m. saw an enemy convoy astride the road south of Gambut. Word was at once sent back, but as preparations were being made to attack them, the enemy vehicles moved off. A few Germans belonging to the staff of the Gambut aerodrome were surprised and taken prisoner and the aerodrome itself was reconnoitred by a carrier patrol. The dugouts were all found to be empty, but everywhere there were signs of recent occupation. When 6 Brigade halted for the night at dusk it was still some way east of Bir el Chleta.

On 23 November Sixth Brigade arrived within striking distance of Point 175, only to find it held by the enemy in considerable strength. Without delay 25 Battalion was ordered to attack, with two troops of anti-tank guns under command, while at the same time 26 Battalion, with one battery of 6 Field Regiment and one troop from 33 Anti-Tank Battery, was sent to make contact with the South Africans, whose position had been pointed out by a liaison officer recently arrived from Corps Headquarters. The 24th remained in reserve on the escarpment near Wadi esc Sciomar.

Soon after crossing the start line 25 Battalion was halted and reinforced by a squadron of Valentine tanks, as it had become apparent that an armoured force formed part of the defence. Accompanied by the battalion's carriers, the Valentines advanced on Point 175 at full speed, leaving the infantry, who had debussed to attack, far behind.

Within a short time the New Zealanders were being counter-attacked in front, on their right flank, and even in their right rear. Pressure increased; the battalion commander, Lieutenant-Colonel McNaught, was wounded and, having no alternative, he sent back asking for assistance. Colonel Shuttleworth was at once ordered forward with C and D Companies of his [24] battalion to take charge of the situation and reinforce the hard-pressed defenders, who had been forced to give some ground and were now about 400 yards east of the hill summit.

Activity died down as darkness fell. 25 Battalion was disorganised, 26 Battalion was hard pressed, the South Africans had been overrun and there was the possibility of a tank attack in the morning. The only troops not yet committed to action were A and B Companies of 24 Battalion.

Egypt and Cyrenaica, the setting for Operation Crusader and the Battle of Sidi Rezegh.

Egypt and Cyrenaica, the setting for Operation Crusader and the Battle of Sidi Rezegh.

page 24
The advance to Sidi Rezegh, 23-26 November 1941.

The advance to Sidi Rezegh, 23-26 November 1941.

At 10 a.m. on the 24th November B Company [Denis' company] was sent forward through C and D to capture the summit of Point 175, from which our troops had been forced back the previous day. Captain Brown was instructed not to attempt a frontal attack, but to infiltrate under cover of the desert scrub and accomplish what he could with as few casualties as possible. His company reached the objective without much difficulty, but once in position came under heavy fire from a blockhouse and adjacent entrenchments west of Point 175. By nightfall there were about thirty casualties, among them Brown himself, who insisted, against all advice, on leaving the dressing station and limping back into action, only to be fatally wounded next day.

The troops on Point 175 were continually under fire from this strongpoint [the blockhouse], and the ground they occupied was too stony to allow digging in. Concluding that the obvious and only remedy for conditions so unfavourable was a further advance, Brigadier Barrowclough issued orders for a night attack along the escarpment to capture the blockhouse and dig in on its further side.

Denis himself had a lucky escape on his first day of action, when a bullet struck his helmet, leaving a dent but no serious injury.

At midnight Colonel Shuttleworth held a company commander's conference and explained that the attack would be made with D and C Companies, right and left forward, and with B and A right and
The capture of point 175, B Company, 24 Battalion, 24 November.

The capture of point 175, B Company, 24 Battalion, 24 November.

page 25
Valentine tank used by British tank units.

Valentine tank used by British tank units.

left rear. The axis of advance pointed straight at the blockhouse, and 26 Battalion would move forward simultaneously on the left of this line. The 25th was being withdrawn into reserve. At 4.30 a.m. the companies formed up 400 yards east of Point 175 and the advance began. The 26th went forward with only slight opposition for nearly five miles and reached the edge of Sidi Rezegh aerodrome, where it dug in. The 24th Battalion's path was not so smooth.

Opposition was encountered early on in the wadi, but this was soon overcome, though pockets of resistance were passed by in the darkness and remained to harass the transport that followed up later in the morning. Having crossed the wadi, the leading companies were approaching the blockhouse when heavy fire from behind the building itself pinned them to the ground. No. 13 Platoon of C Company advanced upon the blockhouse but met with murderous fire and was practically wiped out.

Eighth Army Bren gun carriers.

Eighth Army Bren gun carriers.

The British Valentine infantry tank was slow but designed to fight with infantry, and was the equal of if not superior to its German opposition in North Africa.

The British Valentine infantry tank was slow but designed to fight with infantry, and was the equal of if not superior to its German opposition in North Africa.

A Company and Bren gun carriers made a successful left flank attack and all the strong points and 200 prisoners were captured. With the whole objective gained by 9.30 a.m., 24 and 26 Battalions now held a line running north and south, facing along the ridge towards Sidi Rezegh, with the blockhouse immediately in rear.