A.S.C. Men Heroes of N.Z. Desert Force

Northern Advocate, 26 December 1940, Page 2

A.S.C. Men Heroes of N.Z. Desert Force

(From the Official War Correspondent with the N.Z. Forces in the Middle East.)

WESTERN DESERT, Dec. 24. Army Service Corps drivers are the heroes of the hour among the New Zealanders serving *in the Western Desert.

To them has fallen a fuller share of the British offences than any other section of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force has been allowed. It is now revealed that a party of men of the Reserve Motor Transport Company actually partook • in the storming of at least one Italian position.

The party consisted of the drivers of a large convoy of trucks which carried British troops to the starting point of a lightning attack. In broad daylight the New Zealanders drove unhesitatingly, within a few yards of the outermost defences, almost under the barrels of the enemy guns. Before the trucks had stopped the British troops were tumbling out and beginning to chai'ge. N.Z. Troops Join In. Not to be outdone, the New Zealanders grabbed rifles from ihe racks in the cabs, followed hot on Hie heels of their erstwhile passengers, and flung- themselves into the thick of the confusion of the surprised Italians. When the brief battle was over they returned to reload the trucks with troops and push on to the next objective. These facts have been revealed by an English officer, who said that the New Zealand drivers were magnificent. With the company continuing to transport to more advanced areas, details of the impromptu engagement • are at present unobtainable. Its drivers are doing a splendid job which has won unstinted admiration. Ever since Italy entered the war they have been carrying every conceivable form of war material to the forward areas. Other Army Service Corps units are doing similar work. Close enough to the battle at times to have a grandstand view of exchanges of artillery fire by night, a detachment of Divisional Signals is playing a less spectacular, but no less important, part in. the present operations. This company has been attached to the western desert force even longer than the drivers, having been engaged since early June in maintaining vital desert communications. Wireless and telegraph operators and line men of the units are working with other British signallers in, advanced positions and the responsibility rose as the push continued. Except in isolated cases, the men, are attached to other British formations. Majority Still in Reserve. These drivers and signallers are the only New Zealanders who' have been in action in the current offensive. The battalion and other fighting units making up the bulk of the contingent have not yet had a taste of battle. Although this is a cause of dismay to every soldier, especially when, tihe Australians have gone past them to the front, it is in no way an indication, of unpreparedness. Circumstances have necessitated their merely standing-by and the disappointment wiil serve to increase eagerness for opportunity they feel sure the future will bring. j