COLONEL’S STORY OF ADVANCE

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23695, 21 July 1942, Page 5

COLONEL’S STORY OF ADVANCE

♦ Infantry Attacks With Bayonet “NEVER A SIGN OF HESITATION ” (Official War Correspondent, N.Z.E.F.) CAIRO. July 18. A thrilling story of the New Zealanders’ six-mile advance with the bayonet west of the Ruweisat ridge was told by ,the colonel in charge of the Wellington Battaliort, 4th Brigade, who has just returned after escaping from the Germans, “We started off about 11 p.m.,” he said. “It was quite dark. The objective was. a ridge about six miles distant, and west of Ruweisat. When we had gone about two miles, we struck the enemy fofward defence" machineguns. Dur infantry went .straight in with the bayonet, fsit nets kept up a concentrated-Are till we were right among them, when they' gave in quickly. From then .on we were taking prisoners all the time. “Our troops stuck together as a fighting body all the way. There was never a sign of hesitation. About 4 a.m. we reached our objective. ' There seemed to.be a great commotion up on the ridge, which appeared to be the enemy unit’s headquarters. People were running everywhere, trying to escape. We we-e able to take many prisoners. “Once on the ridge we immediately started digging in. The ground was very stony, turning the picks and making the going almost impossible. With the first light came our machinegunners, lending us great support. Morale greatly increased, especially when Royal Air Force bombers swept over, dropping a load on enemy positions a few hundred yards. distant. It was very heartening. The men cheered as the bombs found their marks. It is almost impossible to increase our men’s respect <for the Air Force. “The enemy soon realised the position, and started sending over heavy mortar fire. By now *we had been joined by a South Island battalion, linking fire and strengthening the defence. Throughout the day the enemy plastered shrapnel and mortars on us. It was almost impossible to move. However, spirits were very high. We stuck to it. We had found Jots of rations, and also water, among the Italian trucks. "Later in the afternoon the enemy attacked us with tanks, overrunning our position. There was little we could do about it. “One man put a tank out of action by climbing on top, opening the cover, and throwing in a grenade, setting the tank on fire. “The Italian opposition met during the advance had been mainly from the Brescia and Pavia Divisions, and it was not very hard to overcome. Both the artillery and the Royal Air Force had to a certain extent cleared the way the day before.” The colonel paid a great tribute to the men in the tanks, who “went in, kept their heads all the time, doing the right thing, often on their own initiative.” He was more than ever convinced of the efficacy of the bayonet wielded by determined men. “I think the bayonet the deciding weapon in battle—the finest weapon we have. I have yet to see an enemy stand up and fight against it,” he said. “Our New Zealanders can use it with dash.” This was the same colonel who, himself using a bayonet, led the Wellington Battalion in the Mersa Matruh breakthrough.