With 4th Indian
division in the Western Desert
August-December 1941
August —
December 1941 by Arnold Johnson, Royal Signals
Having waged
a successful war on three fronts, the Western Desert, Eritrea and Syria. HQ 4th
Indian Division settled down by the Med. at Bagush 35 miles east of Mersa
Matruh for a well-earned rest and reorganisation. A new team fresh from GHQ
Cairo relieved the cipher team, which had been with the Division since its
inception in India in September 1938. Iwas one of the reliefs who joined on
l0th August 1941. The establishment called for one officer and four sergeants
at main HQ and a Warrant Officer Class II and one sergeant (myself) at Rear HQ.
I quickly discovered I would be the only operator on a 24 hour shift day and
night.
Whilst at
Bagush, with Main and Rear amalgamated, we had a tented Sergeant’s Mess
situated a long way from the Staff HQs. The Indian cooks had a flair for
creating attractive dishes out of ordinary tinned army rations. Curry and rice
took the place of porridge, everything else was fried. Rolls of rice fried in
batter, fried bread, fried egg and bacon and corned beef rissoles covered in
batter and fried. Anything that could be fried was fried, something I was to
learn to my cost much later on!
To me the
regular soldiers seemed a hard-bitten unresponsive lot as if the years spent in
India, the desert and Eritrea had created a barrier between them and myself, a
civilian soldier. As I was RASC and not of the Royal Signals and only attached
seemed to widen the gap. Their conversation in the mess would eventually turn
to life in India, of Meerut, Simla and Ootacamund. familiarly referred to as
‘Ooty’ Queen of the hill stations and of life generally under the British Raj.
They discussed among themselves the news and gossip received from their
mem-sahibs left behind in Jubblepore. Hearing these conversations I found
myself being gradually orientated towards India, until finally I would imagine
myself living on the hot dusty plains or in the cooler hills. This illusion
only being dispelled on leaving the tent later and finding outside the stony
desert beneath my feet. One third of the Division consisted of UK troops,
two-thirds Indians who were all volunteers. The three Brigades. 5, 7 and 11
were manned by the various races, including the Nepalese Gurkhas.
From 1st
September the Division took over command of the frontier area facing the
Germans and Italians at Sollum and Halfaya Pass. Accordingly, Main and Rear HQs
split up into their respective parts and moved forward. Main Div to the Sofafi
area and Rear first to Nagamish Nala and then on to Wadi El Senab, At Mersa
Matruh we took the desert track to Siwa Oasis. The lorry lurched and bumped
over potholes tossing us about until we were thrown into a heap on the floor,
skinning our arms and knees! For the first two nights at Nagamish I had to
sleep in the open air. Each morning waking to find my blankets wet with dew. So
began my Bedouin life in the desert. On 24th September we rejoined the tarmac
road at Matruh and sped towards the ruins of Sidi Barrani barracks. Stark
evidence of the ‘terrific bombardimento’ by the Royal Navy of 8/9th December
1940. Turning due south and travelling for three hours over the desert we
reached our new destination, Wadi El Senab, my home for the next seven weeks.
The cipher
office and my home was a large evacuated hole over which was stretched a 180 lb
ridge tent that accommodated two folding tables and chairs with two raised bed
spaces and a central walkway. Everywhere in the Wadi were stones, dirt and
dust; not a vestige of green anywhere. The lack of an adequate water supply
proved most irksome. The official personal was one water bottle full per day,
which was drawn fromfrom the water tanker at teatime under watchful
supervision. Just enough for two washes and a shave a day Sandstorrns that
blotted out the sun, khamsin hot scorching winds from the south and above all
the pestilent and persistent flies were only too prevalent to add to our misery
On 260
September a cipher message revealed the demise of Western Desert Force, and
rising Phoenix-like from its ashes appeared the new fledgling 8th ARMY. This
was classified information, not to be published. Palestine became 9th Army and
Iraq 10th Army. Under command of the new ~8th Army were XIII and XXX Corps. The
‘Crusader’ campaign was due to begin on 18th November.
We had moved
foreward a few days before, to Sofafi where heavy rain fell on the 17th, the
Eve of the battle, turning the desert into a morass, bogging down vehicles. The
battle plan was for XIII Corps with 4th Indian Div and 2 New Zealand Div to
hold the frontier positions and XXX Corps with the armour to cross the frontier
and attempt to relieve Tobruk. All went well for the first three days. The Luftwaffe
was grounded due to the heavy rains. Rommel misinterpreted XXX Corps moves as a
recce in force.
Thereafter
fierce tank battles took place between the superior German Panzers and the
British Valentine and Crusader tanks equipped with 2 pounder ‘pea-shooter’
guns. 5 South African Brigade was destroyed at Sidi Rezegh. Our tank strength
had dwindled to 44 tanks fit for battle. The Army Commander lost his nerve, and
his Command. General Auchinleck flew up and took charge. On the 24th November
Rommel sent all his armour eastwards to the frontier and by wheeling northwards
hoped to bag the entire 8th Army. But for the prompt action 0f 4th Indian
Division gunners who with their 25 pounders used as anti-tank weapons. the
outcome would have been most serious.
On the 26th
November 1941 I deciphered a message informing us ... “Maj. Gen. Neil
Ritchie was to assume command of 8th Army, with effect from noon 27th November.’
We moved to Conference Cairn on 3rd November. All these days and nights I was
continually at work, sometimes till l.OOam.
The 2nd
December saw us at the frontier wire at Bir Scheferzen. The weather was now
bitterly cold as the winds swept unhindered across the open desert. Mealtimes
were most unpleasant. We stood with our backs to the biting wind, eating our
food from mess tins. Before we had finished the food was stone cold! Four days
of this and then we moved into Libya some 41 miles where I dug the first of
many slit trenches.
Tobruk was
relieved so we again moved northwards, despite being straffed (machine-gunned
from the air) by three German planes diving at us out of the sun. Crouching in
my hastily dug trench I heard the bullets whistling past. Next day we moved to
Bir El Zebli where the ground was rocky and impossible to dig down. We used the
rocks and stones to build upwards. Lying in this it was most unpleasant to hear
the bullets ricocheting off the stones and rocks. The following day at 3pm a JU
88 straddled us with four bombs. Hiding in the stone shelter I prayed.... “Dear
God. don’t let me die all alone in the desert!”
Thankfully
my prayer was answered as the bombs missed us! I had somewhat bravely peered
over the top of our shallow-built sangar and saw the four bombs fall from the
plane in a direct line towards our tent and counted the ‘crumps’, not knowing
which side of us they fell. It was a nerve-racking experience and I found the
Signal lads extremely quiet at teatime.
During these
raids we became aware of being isolated from the rest of the worM A!! trappings
of civilisation had now disappeared. Under these conditions the ~1I Army Spirit
germinated and bios corned. We took pride in being an elite and only band of
soldiers fighting the Germans on land.
We led a
monastic life, as apart from the enemy there was no one else in the Desert.
Officers dressed informally, no longer bound by convention. Some enjoyed the
isolation and vast emptiness of the desert. forcing soldiers to fall back on
their faith and resourcefulness. Others however, hated the life and yearned to
return to civilisation. I was glad I was not a wireless operator glued to his
set during these raids, either taking or receiving cipher messages for me to
unravel. I quite easily understood why some signals were corrupt! This
dedication to duty I found quite rcniarkable. Each one of us had a job to do
which was accomplished without fuss or supervision. Everyone fulfilled an
essential part of the Division’s effort to beat the Germans at their own game.
We disciplined ourselves. We all understood and believed in the cause for which
we were fighting. namely to halt further Nazi aggression. We took pride in our
particular tasks and in ourselves. 1 felt as if I was seeing history’ in the
making and rather exciting history at times! It was very rarely I felt homesick
but on reading mail from home reminding me of life before the war I became
nostalgic with a desire for the war to end quickly. war was a horrible
business!
How
different army life was in England compared to active service in the field! One
was all spit and polish, drills, exercises and useless guard duties,
soul-destroying routines that had little or no connection with winning the war.
Yet in the field where troops came into contact with the enemy, life was
completely the reverse. No doubt one life was complimentary to the other, but
isolation in the desert sharpened ones’ wits so that we viewed these matters
more objectively. Now, whenever I look in my mirror, somewhat badly cracked, I
hardly recognise the face staring back at me, covered with several days’ beard.
Water had become an absolute luxury, none cold be spared for washing and
shaving. Food during this operation had never been plentifull at Rear HQ 4th
Indian Div, especiallyon the daws we moved foreward when we lived on ‘hard
tack’ biscuits with no ‘afters’. We had reached the bottom of our ration
barrel,.
Although a
non-smoker I found the pangs of hunger could be alleviated by smoking
cigarettes. We still had a free ration of 50 per week but the English and South
African brands had given way to Gandhi’s contribution to the war effort, the
‘Victory V’ cigarettes from India. Dried cow pats were said to form the basis
of these cigarettes, which were universally scorned and spoken of with
derision.
By the 15th
December, the Afrika Korps and Italians had taken up positions based on the
Gazala Line. The New Zealanders and Poles held the seaward end, 4th Indian
Division with 5 and 7 Brigades in the centre with 7th Armoured Division at the
southern open end. The Next day, 7th Anned Div. Turned the southern flank
whilst the New Zealanders and Poles penetrated the Line south of Gazala,
leaving Rommel with no option but to withdraw south across the open desert
leaving his Italian Allies stranded in the Jebel Achdar region of Cyrenaica 7th
Armoured Div. (The Desert Rats) took up the chase in the desert whilst the
pursuit of the Italians in th Jebel befell the task 0f 4th Indian Division with
7th Indian Infantry Brigade. The Desert War in North Africa for the time being,
was over!
|
In April
1942 British ranks with 4th Indian Division were issued with Gurkha - type
felt hats. Photo of
me at Beni Yusef Camp June 1942 aged 25 |
MIDDLE
EAST DRESS CODE APRIL -
NOVEMBER Tropical dress
- Khaki Shirt, shorts KD or trousers KD. Hose tops & puttees & boots
or stockings & shoes for office staff. Winter- NOVEMBER -
APRIL Battle
dress blouse & trousers GS Cap (Forage & badge) Anklets web &
boots. Under
fire:- Steel Helmet. |
