DEADLY ACCURATE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20827, 4 July 1942, Page 4

DEADLY ACCURATE

N.Z.E.F. GUNNERY PANZERS SMASHED UP ESCAPE FROM GERMANS (By Telegraph—Press Assn. Copyright.) i (N.Z.E.F. Official War Correspondent.) (1.30 p.m.) ,i CAIRO,. -July 3. Stories of the great havoc caused to the Panzer division by- the New Zealand 25-pounders in the course of Saturday's action,, 25 . miles, south ot Mersa Matruh, were brought to Cairo early on Thursday,morning by two New- Zealand gunners who were , captured by.the Germans but escaped. They told a . thrilling' tale of their escape in darkness when, a detachment of Indian .troops threw an Ital - ian unit into confusion with a swift, surprise raid, . ■ t,-.. The escapees were Gunners J. Archer., of Auckland, and R. D. Thurston,..of Wanganui. They , were Torqed by.tbe Germans to. march, up and down in a small area. under deadly, accurate New Zealand shell fire. The escapees-said the Ne\y Zealand artillerydid great damage and caused many casualties.:;,,.. ■ .- , .“They were amazingly , accurate, Said one gunner. “They- ranged .on two German troops of-heavy, artillery, and in no time,,knocked out all the guns of these-t\vo troops.” . With the..'.'guhs of. New Zealand s third Echelon field -artillery, the -two escapees left.Mersa Matruh on Thursday afternoon for the escarpment 25 miles to the south. .. The .stem of their tractor-broke down and they were forced to return do Me'rsa .Matruh for repairs. On Friday, night : they. : set,off again to join their regiment, and.,when they were about five miles , from the New Zealand, artillery,.positions they heard a column rumbling along,in. the darkness. Their, little convoy stopped. Atyay in, -the, ..distance. British night fighters were attacking, German raiders and they watched a dogfight ,in the moonlight. Soon after,, a -flight. of German bombers flew over their position and carried out, a swift, intensive raid on the New Zealanders. ... The prisoners, were loaded into trucks and the column,humped its way across the.moonlit desert.,.., t Under Constant Fire

At 4 oiclock in -the morning,., jthe column halted. The, New Zealanders were instructed |o dig.,,their: own slit trenches and also - trenches for their guards. All the next day the-six New Zealand prisoners were ; .under constant fire from the New Zealand ‘gUns. Tpey were given half a.dixie oi water among.them.and, no, food. ■ , c ;,j jjVkeri night, pafne the Germans gave the New Zealanders . .the .pption of marching behind the, German column or-being handed,pver to,.the-Italians. The,New: Zealanders,,Chose -the ; Germans,, but, : a ; -few, minutes .later the German decision was. reversed and the New . Zealanders. o found themselves guarded by-Italians.. .. u • Sunday, we lay .in the blistering heat, of the-desert-said one New..Zealanders. -The .number uof prisoners had - been, swelled -.during th? day., and, towards, evening, we found ourselves.. among..-a ..crowd of about,AdO British and Indians. There were.only.six,.Ne.w..Zealanders..”.j-, When the prisoners were, Redded down for - the night covered by an Italian, qnjxgd l.inps, therp.Ay.as a roar and a rattle a short distance away. Over the--escarpment and .down a wadi swept Bren carriers manned -by Indians. They were, carrying out a daring raid in an. attempt to release the prisoners.- Tracer bullets from Bren-carriers. ripped across the sky 'and the-Indians drove -a wedge into the. Italian- lines.- y Terrified -and screaming for mercy, the Italian 'guards raced a-way in confusion. . At the height of the commotion, the two New Zealanders made a-dash for it just as,the Italians, started -firing.-their mabhine-guns. They were quickly out . of range. . Scores of Indians Escaped.. SpnVe were killed-. Across the, dejsVrt flooded, with moonlight, the two .New. Zealanders trudged, .hoping to.find the Indiap camp. When they hfid covered about 10 miles they came across.a coluipn moving fast from the dire.ctiph...of M’ersa Matruh. .It was a - - column of about- 100 yeMcTes—bdds anej. ends, from .Me'rsa Matrph. .There were .signallers, A.S.C., and ojrdnahce. personnel,. the last of the British .trObps to leave Mers'a Matruh before the Germans walked in. • id. p< jti, Brilliant Navigator

: On-through;.the might:.the column rumbled, navigated brilliantly by .an unknown officers .-Soon ■ cajne .the crack and flash: of .German, anti-tank: guns. The column circled. Quickly j away to the south hut before they; could escape the curtain of, German fire six trucks had been set ablaze. Three more trucks were blown up as; the .escaping column ran into a Brit- 1 ish 'minefield. , i When dawn ..came the British] fplumn,. was chased by, .-Germani armoured cars. They managed to cut; off the tail of the convoy of four! trucks, one of which contained the two. New. Zealanders, whq started, to make! fqr El Dab'a but found their., way! Barred ...by .German • concentration's.] Back, into the desert -.they headed, making their way, all the-time.past-1 wards. After being machine-gunned 1 by, tvyo, German planes, the four trucks eventually . left the battle area ■ far behind and, after : hard travelling arrived at Cairo in the early hours of Thursday... morning. Both New Zealanders said that at 1 o’clock on- Sunday morning they heard a terrific battle as New Zealand battle groups..fought their way out. Theys also heard loud explosions as demolitions were carried out at Mersa Matruh. General Rommel was carrying out his moves always at night, they said. Vehicles were formed into seven lines, head to tail, with tanks out in front, tanks behind and tanks, on either side. He was moving quickly, but he was handicapped by an obvious shortage of petrol. He was using tanks to tow trucks so that petrol could be conserved. The New Zealanders going into action were in high spirits, and had every confidence, said the gunners. They were cheerful .and ; remarkably fit, showing the benefits of their solid training in Syria. - ■■