ABLY SUPPORTED

Waikato Times, Volume 132, Issue 22093, 17 July 1943, Page 6

ABLY SUPPORTED

NEW ZEALAND DIVISION * i EL ALAMEIN BREAK THROUGH > HAMILTON SERGEANT’S STORY J “Our successes would not have ' been possible had it not been for the ] magnificent support of the Fourth 1 Indian Division, the 51st Highland ] Division and the 7th Armoured Divi- , sion, which operated on our flanks,”,; said Gunner-Sergeant John Jordan, ! 1 of Hamilton, a soldier on furlough, \ speaking of his experiences of desert \ fighting in the Eighth Army’s his- I ■ toric advance from El Alamein to; • Tunis. “These famous divisions ! had a lot to do with the successes ( achieved by the New Zealand Divi- j ■ sion and were ably led by the best ,' general we ever had—General Mont- , gomery. | j Sergeant Jordan said the Division |« did not fully appreciate what a : victory meant until they marched j 1 into Tunis, where the French women I and children, living for several years s under the Hun yoke, were in a state ■ of starvation. The Eighth Army j ] received a touching welcome and the j ; troops liberally distributed among S the starving populace their iron j; rations, consisting of milk, meat andj; biscuits. Our men were consider- I ■ ably embarrassed as women and j: children wept freely and unrestrain- | * edly as food was distributed among ■ them. “We received plenty of wine i in exchange and that made up fully ' for our shortage in rations,” added 1 Sergeant Jordan. j Tribute to Maoris • Sergeant Jordan pays high tribute , to the fighting qualities and sense 1 of humour of the Maori sold.er. * Their fighting ability brought the i' Maoris through some grim situations. ] When his unit lost their artillery i : on Crete they joined up with the Maori Infantry Brigade and Sergeant i Jordan had ample opportunity of • seeing them in action. He recalled ; the famous bayonet charge by the Maori Brigade at Suda Bay in Crete, which turned the tide, enabling hundreds of our men to get out and stage another rearguard action further back, thus permitting the withdrawal of a further large body. “The Maoris were just as out- i standing in the desert. The epic \ of Takrouna will live as one of the ‘ outstanding feats of the desert campaign,” said Sergeant Jordan. How <: those nine Maoris fought their way r up to the top of Takrouna and cap- [ tured and killed a large number of t Germans would ever remain a source I of wonderment. Their brilliant achievement turned the tide on the j whole front, enabling artillery oflfi- i cers to go up and observe tiie results j J of our fire cn enemy positions. Such c would not have been possible had a Takrouna, a formidably fortified £ position, remained in enemy hands, j Ghurkas in Action | J

Speaking of the 4th Indian Divi- i sicn. Sergeant Jordan described how I the Ghurkas were employed when | heights had to be taken. They used their famous kukris and they never failed to attain their objective, which was typical of all operations of the | Indian Division. Sergeant Jordan also recalls with j pleasure the Free French, a very friendly and .wonderful tinit. They also had done a wonderful job in the i desert and had been ably led in tne battle for Tunis by General Le Claire. On reaching Tunis th'ere! were many touching scenes enacted I as French soldiers were greeted by j relatives whom they had not seen for years. French civilians were joining up with the army wholesale. I •‘lt was then That we realised what [ victory meant,” Sergeant Jordan j added

The Seaforth Highlanders and the Black Watch, of tiie 51st Highland Division, were responsible for some outstanding work, especially at Gabes, where they had to advance through mine fields over ground every inch of which the Germans had covered with artillery and antitank fire. They took their objective in their stride. “We always knew what the result would be when they went into action,” he said. Guns Pour In Speaking as an artilleryman, Sergeant Jordan said that one of the big changes they noticed when General Montgomery took charge was the big increase in artillery units. In the earlier campaigns they thought they possessed a large number of guns, but just before El Alamein guns commenced to pour in every day until it seemed that everywiiere there was nothing but guns. “We knew that no enemy troops would be able to stand up to the barrage those guns would soon be putting over,” observed Sergeant Jordan. Brigadier Weir was in charge of the New Zealand artillery and he received the D.S.O. in the El Alamein action. Sergeant Jordan holds a high regard for the engineers of the New Zealand Division, who did a magnificent job in clearing mine fields and booby traps and paved the way for the tanks in the El Alamein breakthrough and the huge convoys that were soon pouring through for the Eighth Army. “The artillery will never forget the work our infantry did at El Alamein,” said Sergeant Jordan. Their brilliant actions in taking heavily defended areas, manned by j picked German treops, would always | be a proud memory. “They did everything required of them and we think they are as good as any troops j we have seen. We were always happy when we knew they were in j front of us,” he added. Italian Resistance Sufnming up, Sergeant Jordan said the Eighth Army had too many | for the opposition. Some of the Italian units were very good, he j thought, and they possesed excellent j artillery. Although they would | surrender in hundreds and some- i times thousands, they could on oc- [ casions put up very bitter resistance. This was the case at Takrouna, in, the hills. The sweeping success of the break- 1 through at El Alamein would never • have been possible, he thought, but' for the courageous and brilliant work of the Desert Air Force, which plastered the Hun on the ground and out of the skies. The Force comprised men from New Zealand, Aus- j tralia, South Africa and Britain. At one stage of the campaign they were ahead of the army and were using an aerodrome by the time the ground forces reached the area. Asked if the Division were eager to stay and finish the job or whether i the men would prefer to returp j home, Seregant Jordan said there i were many overseas who were physically and mentally war weary and needed a long rest. They should j be replaced, if possible, by grade 1 \ men. Three of Sergeant Jordan’s • brothers are also serving overseas. Captain W. S. Jordan is on special duties in the Middle East, Gunner R. P. Jordan is also in the Middle i East and Lieutenant P. Jordan is serving on a South Pacific station. ,