N.Z. DRIVERS’ PART

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 30 December 1940, Page 5

N.Z. DRIVERS’ PART

BATTLE OF WESTERN DESERT I EXCITING DAYS IN FIGHTING LINE J UNDER ENEMY FIRE C|j (From the Official War Correspondent attached to the N.Z.E.F. in the Middle East) WESTERN DESERT, 27th December. The most exciting days they have known were described in vivid detail to-day by New Zealand truck drivers who returned from the front for a brief stay at their headquarters in a quiet bay; somewhere along the Mediterranean coast. They are members of operating sections of the reserve motor transport company, A.S.C., whosa trucks carried English and Indian troops into the battle that rid Egypt of the Italian armed forces. Nearly 230 drivers and reliefs and officers in three fleets of heavy lorries took the assaulting parties to the very gates of the enemy positions in Sidi Barrani area. It is now confirmed that several of them decided on the spur of the moment to take an even more direct part in the offensive, following charging infantrymen into positions of the enemy and helping to round up the surprised enemy troops. Admittedly their action was irregular, but undeniably it was splendid. In addition they were forced after time to seek shelter behind the wheels of their trucks or in trenches* from bursting shells and bombs and a rain of fire from machine-gun nests and aircraft It is believed that one driver, firing a Bren gun from his shoulder, brought down a diving Italian machine. Yet they suffered only one casualty, a driver who was hurt, but not seriously, when his trucic ran over a landmine. Intense cold and continual sandstorms were experienced during the several days and nights spent by the drivers in ths front line.

The events moved so swiftly that they find it difficult to retrace them chronologically. One said his first thought after the troops had gone invo action was to make a mug of tea, and it was not till shots whistled overhead as he was doing this that he fully realised his closeness to battle.

All agreed that the element of compelte surprise made for the swift victory. Even the sight of the big New Zealand trucks, some of which were mistaken for tanks by the startled enemy soldiers, seemed to have had a demoralising effect. Incredibly enough, the men obtained adequate sleep. The most exhausting phase of their task was an all-night return journey with prisoners. They are now continuing their work of carrying supplies to th« British forces across the border. INDIAN TROOPS CARRIED One driver described how hit section loaded Indian troops and spent the first night in the open some 60 miles from the enemy. On the next day the troops practised debussing while the drivers were shown maps of the enemy camps and told how to make an entrance. They then moved up unseen and unheard to a bivouac about eight miles from and almost behind the objectives. Italian pilots flew overhead unsuspecting. “We went right alongside the outer tank traps, where some of our trucks met a number of tanks whose crews seemed to be so spellbound that they could not hit us. The Indian troops piled out and quite a few of our drivers hopped into the scrap with them. It was some hours before all the prisoners were rounded up. UNDER ARTILLERY FIRE “During the night, which was spent in the same camp, a crowd of Italians came from another position and took a few shots at us. but not enough to worry about Next day we took the Indians to another camp. We were not there half an hour when artillery opened on to us from somewhere else. Believe me, it was pretty warm, and I dived for a hole. I landed on two Libyans who had beaten me with the same idea. “We were under shellfire for more than an hour. When we moved to still another camp a few planes tried to machine-gun us. and I got about 15 shots away at them. There was no stopping the Indians and this camp fell like the rest.

“After spending the night there we had the uncanny experience of shellfire from British guns sailing over our heads towards some other position. When the area was finally cleaned up we set out for Solium, but word was received that no useful Italians were left in Egypt. We spent the next two or three days carting prisoners before returning to the job of transport* ing supplies.”