LIBYAN CAMPAIGN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24792, 17 December 1941, Page 8

LIBYAN CAMPAIGN

: NAZI REVERSES : OENERAL % FREYBERG , S REPORT OONFIDENT OF SUCCESS (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Dec. 16. .The Prime Minister, Mr Fraser, re- { eased tor publication to-day the folowlng report received by cablegram; en December 8 from Major-general B. C...Freyberg, V.C.:— ' ?', I beg to report on the operations of the New Z«aland Division in the Libyan campaign up to the present phase, marked by the withdrawal from the'Tobruk sector of the Fourth and Sixth Brigades for rest and refit. I am still unable to- give the casualty fiugres, but every effort is being made to ascertain the position, and you will be advtoed of the approximate figures, followed by a detailed return at the earliest possible moment. • ■'"•;• r/caii, add that the general plan of the campaign was made with the great, Isf care for the safety of the division. as well ai the other troops involved. Ift my opinion the degree of its success would depend on the relative air strengths und the result of the, armoured battle. In the air the R.A.F. established complete mastery, similar to the Luftwaffe's in Greece. The 'methods now employed ate , really effective, and with more practice will b*a great factor in the ultimate success, ■-: :•*■''"* ■■■" .::'.■'■■. .V" "Qptimistic hopes of quick'victory were doomed to disappointment, because the armoured battle Was not conclusive. The enemy repair and recovery organisation was excellent; on the other hand, our tank resources are S -owing, and I am confident that the erman armoured forces in Libya will be neutralised. '.'•At 1 the result of the first armoured encounters.the German armoured column retired to the north-west, permitting the rest of our plan to be put into operation. ,; Brilliant Manoeuvre first objective of encircling end cutting off the enemy fortress line —Bardia-Halfaya-Sidi Omar—was brilliantly carried out by the New Zealand Division, but the relief of Tobruk, although nearly achieved, remains to be carried out. Oj>erations are continuing. ':■■%. ■' ?:k ■:' "> v.' '■■■''•.,:.": for the. New Zealand Division started by a long approach march of about 200 miles fromßagush to the frontier by night and day moves*. To our south an armoured division and the First (South African) Division . advanced on ah even longer axis. On the night of November 18 we crossed into Libya, and remained dispersed ina position of defence. The army commander would not commit "the. division until he considered the enemy armoured force disposed of. All the commanders had studied a relief model of the area, and everybody knew the scheme thoroughly. We were complete in every detail of equipment, including anti-tank 'and anti-aircraft artillery; and battalion 'V tanks distributed among our brigade groups, every, care being taken not to expose vulnerable Columns to the German armoured divisions.- -•; v-'^ : ---. '-.'.X' •'.;•".•■ ' • . Objectives Captured ''dji'Noveitiber 10 the entire division moved, "forward in desert formation covered by divisional cavalry. The speed and manoeuvrability of the mass of over 3000 vehicles were remarkable. "The Divisional Cavalry rushed Skli Aziet at dusk, capturing many prisoners. "Brigadier Hargest continued on during the darkness, and the 23rd Battalion carried out a successful, attack on. Fort Capuzzo. achieving a complete surprise. Many prisoners were taken, and the water pipe-line to Halfaya fortress and the supply line to Sidi Omar vwere cut. Brigadier Inglis led the' 4th Brigade forward by night to capture the escarpment norlhrWest of cutting the Bardia-Tobruk road.; The 4th Brigade was attacked by tanks, artillery and infantry, but the 20th, Battalion and - tanks counterattacked "successfully. They destroyed the 'enemy!- ahd took 370 prisoners, two armoured cars and some gun*, In these; operations we suffered <only slight casualties. ~t • ,T TKe fith. Brigade group, under Brigadier Barrowclough. moved to Trigh-Capuzzo, and on the following night the Maori Battalion took Mussaid and Solium Barracks,, prisoners, guns and- equipment being captured, including, the newest German tanks. The German fortress line was then Severed from its supply base at Bardia. . Move Towards Tobruk » "The «th Brigade group . was ordered to move towards Tobruk under the 30th Corps, and was detached temporarily from my command. It moved off complete in every detail, including squadron T tanks. At a later stage, Brigadier Barrowclough received orders to advance with all speed, and to occupy Point 175. and protect the flank of a support group heavily engaged at Sidi Rezegh. "Fighting their way forward, they found Point 175 strongly held- In a bloody encounter, it was taken, but 13 of the 15 tanks and 50 per cent, of the 25th Battalion were casualties. " The 28th Battalion was sent further west to support the sth (South African)' Brigade on Sidi Rezegh. where it, was attacked by a panzer division. The South Africans were over-run by tanks. The 26th Battalion held its ground, - completely , isolated,' and- knocked out- more, than 20.; tanks, later being withdrawn: into th? i 6th Brigade lines. The rest of the division remained in position near; Bardia until orders were.'given to take all the troops that could be spared from the. Bardia front to join the <|th Brigade and move on Tobruk, with the object Of cutting the by-pass road and establishing a' corridor into the fortress. The 4th Infantry Brigade was disengaged, and moved to Gambut, capturing the aerodrome,' 130 prisoners, and a considerable quantity of material. Divisional Headquarters, together with the 20th and 21st Battalions, followed, the 20th Battalion cleaning up enemy positions en route. "The advances by -day, and night along the Trigh-Capuzzo route,of the 4th and 6th Brigades and the; 21st Battalion were brilliantly, carried out Both sides had decided On simultaneous bold strokes. Rommel's Tactics ; "While we moved on Tobruk, Rommel moved his armoured force, together with an Italian Ariete Division, in an effort to recapture the Bardia - Sidi Omar fortress line. He took all his tanks and 3000 motor vehicles to just south of Sidi Omar. : "It is a fair assumption that, but for the strong pressure, at Tobruk, the full force of the German motorised infantry formations would have moved on Bardia to relieve the encircled garrisons. If he had succeeded our offensive would have failed. "Our advance upon Tobruk developed into a fiercely-fought battle. For the most part we attacked at night with the bayonet to disorganise heavilydefendet localities. The taking of the Sidi Rezegh spur by the 24th and 28th Battalions was a very fierce fight. It was strongly held by German infantry and the 6th Italian Bersaglieri Regiment, dug in, and supported by large numbers of anti-tank guns Heavy casualties were inflicted on both •ides. We also took several hundred prisoners and material. "At the same time the 18th and 20th Battalions earned out a very fine night attack Upon the Bel Hamed spur, overrunning three enemy positions, killing the majority, and taking 150 prisoners. Carefully co-ordinated attacks by infantry, cavalry and tanks in the next day arid night, including advance by the It-h Battalion of 10,000 yards, resulted in our joining hands with the Tobruk garrison at El Duda In these attacks many anti-tank and field guns were destroyed, and about 1000 prisoners taken.

Gentian Counter Move "These attacks largely destroyed the German units opposite us, and had we had reserves available then, we could have taken the next ridge, dominated the section, and cleared the way into Tobruk.

"As it was, General Rommel, seeing the threat to his whole forward position; concentrated all his available resources and attacked us from every side. We expected the Ist South African Brigade to arrive on the night of/November 30-December 1 to support the 6th Brigade Group on the southern flank. "Our own sth Brigade Group was to come as soon as it could be relieved by the 4th Indian Division, but relief never came, presumably owing to the heavy fighting in which the Indian Division itself was engaged. Although the South African Brigade came, it arrived too late to influence the situation. Sidi Rezsgh Lost " Heavy attacks by. tanks, and infantry against'the depleted 6th Brigade forced us off Point 175 on November 24, and off Sidi Rezegh on November 30. when the two battalions were over"On the morning of December 1 attacks round both flanks of the 6th Erigade converged, with 51 tanks, on Bel Hamed; Eleven tanks were destroyed, but the already depleted 20th Battalion was over-run. and a wedge was driven vbetween our battalions on El Duda and the rest of the force. Both Divisional Headquarters and, otn Brigade Headquarters narrowly escaped destruction or; capture. The. attacks continued unsuccessfully .against the remainder of the 4th Brigade Group until dusk, when the whole force other than the 18th and part of the49th Battalions, which remained with the. Tobruk force, disengaged witlv its transport and moved south-west ,tb junction with our armoured forces, by whom our. further' movement to the south was covered. ! ; . . "We had been fighting almost entirely against. Germans Jn Libyapahier division*; and motorised infantry. • At i the start of ; the operations their morale was .noticeably .high, and thev were commanded with determination and dash. In the attack to -. the oDen corridor, however, it was significant that over 1000 Germans, were taken by the Tobruk garrison and ourselves without much resistance. .The fighting was fierce, and losses on botn S 1" The e g6neral situation, owing to the very long distances covered in out advance, was confused.; Our long lines of communication were, open to raids, and supply columns frequently changed hands accordinrto the progress of the armoured battles to:the central.desert area.

Capture of Officers /'ln one raid the headquarters of the sth Brigade was captured; with Brigadier Hargest; in another stage the 6th Brigade captured General von Raven, stein, divisional commander of the 21st Panzer Division, complete with the most valuable documents. Convoys of wounded were captured and recaptured, and the dressing stations dealt with friend; and foe alike. In one case Rommel,visited one of our advanced dressing stations. " Our losses are great, especially in the 6th Brigade group, which was detached from the division during the early days of the offensive, and the 20th and 21st Battalions. The losses to the l 4th Brigade were not heavy. We abb lost .many senior officers. ' f The, results achieved.by the offensive in which We took such an active partare considerable. The enemy fortress llhe Was cut off, and its loss will cripple .the whole German plan- in North Africa and deprive him of a great amount of warlike stores and equipment. AH the German units have been thrown into the battle,;.in the. course of which we severely handled many, capturing a large number .of prisoners, and destroying much ;equipment. One result of our operations was that the 4th Indian Division has been enabled to. refit after its encounters, it must be realised that this was not a battle where the capture of ground or positions was of. the greatest consequence: It was a battle to destroy the German elements in Libya, the Italians being of small consequence. "It is fair to claim the part played by the division to date destroyed a large portion of the German force, together with a great deal of its equipment and material, and it-will, prove' a great contribute in the main Libyan campaign, which still ■' .''•;, •