CAUGHT BY ROMMEL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 January 1944, Page 3

CAUGHT BY ROMMEL

BRIGADIER HARGEST’S EXPERIENCES NEW ZEALAND FORCE SWAMPED "* BY F’ANZERS. WHILE DEFENDING AIRFIELD NEAR BARDIA. (Special P.A. Correspondent.) LONDON, January 4. How he nearly shot up Field-Mar-shal Rommel’s headquarters and later had a talk with Rommel was told to me by Brigadier Hargest, who was taken prisoner at Sidi Aziez airfield, near Bardia, in November, 1941, and recently arrived in London. Brigadier Hargest was commanding the Fifth Brigade, which was defending the airfield. They were swamped by the German advance, becoming an “island ’ in the midst of a stream of advancing panzers:; nevertheless, the New Zealanders continued firing, hitting tanks and trucks. Brigadier Hargest decided that the guns should keep a reserve supply of 40 shells apiece to fight the final man attack against them, which he knew must come. Not long afterward a mass of tanks appeared , coming straight at the New Zealanders, .who returned their fire. It was decided, however, that this was not the mam attack and that the reesrve of shells should be maintained. Actually, it was Rommel’s headquarters, which Brigadier Hargest discovered when he was taken prisoner.- A British officer who was a prisoner in Rommel’s headquaiters, later said: “We were mighty glad when you stopped firing at us. It was too hot.”

The New Zealand “island’’ had no • chance against the advancing Ger- j mans, who shelled it to pieces and then overran it with tanks. One tank - came at Brigadier Hargest with its i gun pointing straight at him, but, he told me, “I was hanged if I was going to put up my hands. I shoved them in my pockets and just stood there, and at the last moment the tank sheered off from me and went straight over a slit trench in which there were two of my men. They were unharmed. POLITENESS & PLUNDERING. Brigadier Hargest was eventually taken prisoner by General Kramer, who was most generous in his praise for the way in which the New Zealanders had fought, and treated him with punctilious politeness. He asked Brigadier Hargest to retain his revolver —but when General Kramer was not looking it was quickly whipped, off him by a soldier. Later, Brigadier Hargest was taken to see Field-Marshal Rommel. He entered the tent thinking: “I’m hanged if I am going to salute this fellow,” so he bowed stiffly from the waist toward Rommel. Rommel, cold and austere, did not like this, and an interpreter told the New Zealander that Rommel expected him to salute. Hargest replied: “I do not salute enemy officers. I only salute superior officers of my own army.” Rommel then said, “Your men fight well.” Hargest said, “Yes,. but your tanks were too much for us. Rommel replied, “But you have tanks.” “Yes, but your tanks were too much for us.” Rommel retorted: "Then perhaps my men were better, after all.” Hargest requested that he might be allowed to keep his personal belongings in his car, to which Rommel willingly agreed. That ended the interview, but Brigadier Hargest never saw a stitch. He was taken from Bardia to Benghazi in an Italian submarine. Its commander was married to an Auckland girl. Brigadier Hargest had a high regal’d for him as an efficient commander. He had escaped round. Africa from the British in the Red Sea. He treated the brigadier very well, saying, “Well, , you can’t do much harm here, so we may as well be friends.” When the submarine surfaced at night the commander said- “Well, I suppose you would like’ to hear the 8.8. C. news.” Brigadier Hargest warmly agreed, and the comman'der said: “So would I, and swi c - ed it on. It was heard later that this Italian did not return from his next trip. AN UNPLEASANT PASSAGE. The next part of the brigadiers journey was by motor torpedo-boa from Benghazi to Italy. The torpedo- ' boat was providing escort for a merch- ; antman. Brigadier Hargest said: “The ‘ conditions aboard were directly the le- ' verse of those in the submarine. The commander was an unpleasant vidual. Every single member of the crew had the wind up badly. When a ' merchantman was torpedoed we saw the members of its Italian crew leaving in the ship’s boats, not caring about the hundreds of passengers, most of whom were .saved, due, we heard, to the efforts of a German officer.” When he reached port there was an 1 alarm, and every ship began filing at an aircraft. Brigadier Hargest, standing behind a breda, saw shells apparently going into the aircraft, which suddenly swept overhead. Then he saw it was a German. When Bugadiei Flargest commented on this, the commander replied: "Well, it might no have been. We had to fire at it just the same.” Brigadier Hargest was at Sulmona camp t?r a time and -later was moved to Florence. “The guards were jumpy and outnumbered the prisoners abou four to one.- Brigadiers Hargest and Miles were two of the very few prisoners who escaped, such a strict waten was kept. Brigadier Hargest arrived in Switzerland as a business man, ana he stayed there for some time, spending a few weeks haymaking and visuing farms. He was greatly impressed with the Swiss, whom he much admires. . __