The Retreat
to Gazala (part 1)
21st Jan -
4 Feb 1942
On the last
day of 1941 the GOC 4th Indian Division left to take over command of the newly
arrived 1st Armoured Division which was in the process of relieving 7th Armoured
Division in the Agedabia area. In his place we welcomed Maj .Gen. F.Tuker.
History was
now to repeat itself. Will we never learn by past mistakes? The Desert Rats
returned to the Delta for a refit as they had in April 1941 when they had
handed over to the new and untried 2nd Arrnoured Division, freshly out of the
UK. The result of that episode was calamitous as indeed this new hand-over
would prove.
22nd
Armoured Brigade which had arrived ahead of the main body made a foray against Rommel’s panzers between 28/30 December losing 60 out of its 90
tank strength! On this ominous and uneasy note, 1941 came to an end!
The New Year
of 1942 arrived with the usual spate of resolutions. For 8th Army it was
“Forward to Tripoli”, code-named ‘Acrobat’. A resolution that was to be along
time in being fulfilled as history once again repeated itself. Just as the call
of Greece had denuded the Army of the Nile last March and was the prime cause
of the surrender of Libya to the Germans, there came a similar call from India
and the Far East. All Armies in the Middle East were prevailed upon to make
sacrifices. Several hundred RAF Hurricanes and Blenheims left the Middle East
as did 7th Armd Bde from 8th Army. 6 & 9 Australian Divisions and 70
Division ex Tobruk also departed. 18 Division and RAF units sailing in the
Indian Ocean intended for the Middle East were diverted en route to Singapore
and eventual captivity!
Meanwhile 4
Indian Divisional Signals at Barce had returned to a world of ‘spit and
polish’. At least boots were cleaned and buttons sparkled and hair was cut by a
Italian barber. I found myself a billet in one of the offices of the
electricity generating station next to the turbine generators now a mass of
tangled wreckage under a collapsed roof. In consequence Barce was without
electricity. I had a metal spring bed and a primus stove - luxury indeed! Barce
consisted of a long main thorough-fare. The west side devoted to the Arab
native quarter and the east side was pure Italian colonial architecture with its
colonnade of arcaded shops and square, in the centre of which stood the
inevitable statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian patriot. The town was
under martial law and a curfew operated.
The weather
for the most part was atrocious. How it rained! The RAF were unable to use
forward airfields; planes stuck in the mud. WOs and Sgts mess was set up in a
wealthy Italian’s house in the main square. Here we sat down to excellent food
from the rich agricultural of Barce. But sitting in one of the owner’s chairs I
felt like a squatter, a feeling I did not relish.
Main HQ
moved to Benghazi on the 4th leaving me to man the office which now became my
billet. A JU88 still paid us visits, bombing and straffing the town. The
personal element of being singled out for attack was now missing since leaving
the desert. By the 7th January the first convoy bringing fresh supplies reached
Benghazi. Everything now depended on the newly arrived 1st Armoured Division
around Agedabia to hold Ronmel at bay. This Division had arrived in Egypt late
November 1941, coming under command of XIII Corps in the forward area. Its
personnel had no knowledge of desert warfare. Its tanks had been sent to Mersa
Matruh by rail and thence driven the remaining 450 miles on their own tracks!
These almost needed replacement on arrival. Its petrol allocation was used up
cancelling all forward training at Antelat!
If Rommel
destroyed this Division containing 8th Army’s only armour, he could dash across
the desert south of the Jebel and completely cut off 4th Indian Division. This
was not a comforting thought as I went about my business in Barce.
4th Indian
Division was also weak in strength. 7 Brigade was in the Benghazi area, 5
Brigade was located at Derna 180 miles to the rear, whilst 11 Brigade less one
bn. with XIII Corps was still in Tobruk.
In the first
few weeks of the New Year 8th Army was thus extremely weak and very thin on the
ground. The only theatre of war where we had come to grips with the Germans,
thus creating a ‘Second Front’ our High Command could only muster 2/3rds of an
untried armoured division and 1/3rd of an experienced Indian Division in the
battle zone! There were times when I was ashamed of the fact that the War was
being fought by Imperial troops, a fact used by Goebels propaganda machine.
Main Div HQs
returned to Barce on 10th Jamuary relieving me of my 24hr duty shift. Night
duty brought in a continual stream of messages that I rarely had time for a
nap. 0ff-duty hours were spent taking long walks, weather permitting or
catching up with lost sleep.
So the days
at Barce passed as we waited for the lull in the fighting to be broken. The
Italians in Barce appeared to tolerate our presence in their town as if they
knew our stay would only be temporary. They had seen it all happen before. Had
not a similar advance by the Australians taken place last February and by April
the Germans and Italians were once more back in possession. “The same thing
will happen again, you wait and see!” summed up their attitude.
On the 17th
January the defenders of Halfaya Pass being without food and water surrendered
to the South Africans, officially bringing ‘Crusader’ to an end