EPIC OF DESERT
HOW NAZI FORT FELL
Handful Of British Troops
Capture 600
Rec. 12.30 p.m. LONDON, Nov. 28,
Fourteen men—the only survivors of one company of a British county regiment—with one tank and one 3in mortar, captured 600 Germans. Their feat was one of many heroic incidents in the capture of Sidi Omar Nuovo.
During the attack a battalion of Bren gunners left their carriers 400 yards from the defences and advanced on foot over a deep minefield. Several tanks were blown up and two company commanders killed and a third injured, but the men pressed on unhesitatingly, sometimes ahead of the tanks. A corporal, though wounded several times, continued to lead his section until too weak through loss of blood to stand. He then, gave covering machine-gun fire while his section silenced an enemy machine-gun post.
A platoon commander, wounded in both knees, staggered to his feet and went on until snot in the head within 15 yards of the enemy. The remainder of the men Captured the trenches, which were tht platoon's objective. Strong post after strong Eost fell to other units, including the eroic 14, and by dusk the fortress was captured.
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Bibliographic details
Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 283, 29 November 1941, Page 7
Word Count
196EPIC OF DESERT Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 283, 29 November 1941, Page 7
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