N.Z. Engineers in Syria and Egypt

Manawatu Times, Volume 70, Issue 280, 27 November 1945, Page 7

N.Z. Engineers in Syria and Egypt

The . defence and fortification ot Egypt before and at the time of El Alamein was the theme of a talk given at the Palmerston North Rotary Club luncheon yesterday by Mr. Murray Read, who served as a lieutenantcolonel with the N.Z. Field Engineers, being awarded the M.C. and bar. The construction of the Cairo de-fence-works was begun early in 1941 Dy tho N.Z. Engineers, said Mr. Read, and as the front line was then at Solium, the men expressed great dissatisfaction at what they considered a waste ot time. A plan had been devised whereby three-quarters of the Nile Delta could be flooded in the event of a German advance, but it was not until the time of the retreat to Alamein that the wisdom and foresight of tho oflicers commanding could be appreciated Tne recriminations recurred when tho Alamcm “box” was being constructed, and the men thought that they'were merely being given work to fill time. They did not realise to what lengths the commanding officer’s planning had

CrtJ . e re ‘/ eat L fr ,°“ and £ rat „ c ’. w t l ? en , th f Dodecanese Islands weie m the hands of tho Axis, and the German armies were advancing on a fent’ the ,Y‘ ddle East area was in a ferment, said the speaker, expecting every day to be attacked by parachut ists. Defences were hastily constructed tba air and ? Engineers were rushed ru Syria to strengthen the defences on the northern Syrian borders. Bridges culverts and roads were strengthened to

withstand the weight of heavily armoured vehicles, and the three tunneis from Syria to Turkey were mined, the charges being inspected every time u train passed through in case the jolting of the train dislodged or disconnected the charges. The water supply there, said Mr. Bead, was from age-old wells m which there was brackish water, collected by crude, open channels. The only way in which it could be drunk was in strong tea, but the usual test was with the milk, which went sour if the water was too salty. The El Alamein minefields stretched from the sea to the Alamein “box," a distance of 35 miles. The mines wore laid as close to the front line as possible in order to keep them under surveillance, and when the tracks of an attacking tank were broken by tne mines, the vehicle would be at the complete mercy of all anti-tank guns within range. The two months following the initial attack at El Alamein were tho hardest experienced by Jtiia company, said Mr. Read, for in six weeks they had deposited over 70,000 anti-tank mines, mostly at night, one stage they were laying 2000 to 3000 mines in four hours at night. Tne mines were locally made by the Arabs, and containing five pounds of gelignite were considered to be as good as, if not better than, the celebrated German mines. It was a record to be proud or, said Mr. Read, that none of the men m his company were casualties from “lifting" Gorman mines owing to tne precise drill ho and his oflicers had worked out and instilled into the men. Mine warfare was a new type of defence and the engineers had to conduct experiments and work out their own drill. In Egypt a mine school was instituted, and all engineers were required to go through a course of mine laying and lifting at the school. In one of the final tests, the men had to disarm all types of mines at night, in this way, efficiency reached a very hign standard.

The first minefield he struck at El Alamein was 130 yards deep, Mr. React said, but in three-quarters of an hour the company had cleared a 16-foot gap and erected lights to guide the vehicles through. The Italian booby traps were most ingenious, concluded Mr. Read, and at the same time most efficient. Divisional Orders had a constant memorandum warning fell soldiers of the danger ox picking up souvenirs. The most deadly of all, however, were the many trip wires stretched across No-Man’s-Land, the end of the wires being attached to 5001 b. and 10001 b. aerial bombs. On one mine-lifting excursion, 16 men from Mr. Read's company were wiped out when one sapper hit a trip wire witn his mine detector.