ANNIVERSARY OF BATTLE

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23985, 28 June 1943, Page 4

ANNIVERSARY OF BATTLE

N.Z. DIVISION’S PART AT MINQAR QA’IM From Our Parliamentary Reporter ; - WELLINGTON, June 27, "This is the first anniversary of ! the Battle of Minqar Qa’im, the New , Zealand Division’s first engagement' after the dash from Syria,!’ said Lieu-tenant-General Sir Bernard Ffeyberg, in an address yesterday. “We took up a defensive position,; south of Mersa Matruh. Next morn- " ing Rommel’s army bumped into us and stopped.’’ Five separate attacks by tanks and infantry were repulsed with heavy loss, and it must, have been a shock to the enemy to find a fresh division barring his advance, he said. By nightfall 1 the New Zealanders were surrounded, but intact. Receiving orders to withdraw to Alamein, they smashed their way through with a silent bayo* net attack. Transport, taking a dif- • ferent route to avoid enemy fire, ran into the 21st Panzer Division, but dashed through at full speed. “The battle of Minqa Qa’im will always be a memorable one for us," he said, "because it stopped Rommel’s ' advance on Alexandria for a vital 24 ‘ hours, and it was the first time That unarmoured vehicles had carried out a charge.”