ACTION ON LIBYAN FRONTIER

Camp News (Northern Command), Volume 1, Issue 26, 25 October 1940, Page 5

ACTION ON LIBYAN FRONTIER

\ Prisoners Captured In > Night Raid NEW ZEALAND OFFICER 1 c TAKES PART i V-V ->■' • * (N.Z.E.F. Official News Service.) A New Zealand officer, Captain T. C. 1 Wallace, of the 2nd N.Z. Divisional ’ Cavalry Regiment, took part in a raid on the Italian lines on the Libyan frontier, on the night of August 22. The ; raid, carried out by English troops, 1 for the purpose of securing prisoners, ; was a complete success. _ A battalion of a famous English - regiment received the order: “Infor- 1 mation respecting the enemy is urgent- ‘ ly required. A prisoner will be taken.”. ' The enemy were of course the Ital- 1 lans. The area from which the prisoner was to be captured was north* of Capuzzo, along the road to Bardia. 1 The . raiding party consisted of one ' officer and 14 other ranks. The New 1 Zealand officer, attached to the regi- 1 meat at the time, persuaded the bat- ( talion commander to let him go too. The raid was to be a silent one; there would be no artillery barrage, no other ] help. It was expected that they would 1 be able to capture one of the cyclists 1 who had been noticed to travel along I the road, or a driver of one of the enemy motor vehicles known to use ' this road by night. J The preparations were simple 1 enough. Sandshoes were worn instead 1 of the usual heavy military boots. All means of identification were removed ( from tunics. Pockets were emptied of papers which might, in the event of capture, tell the enemy the unit opposite them.' Steel helmets, rifles and bayonets, two machine-guns and an anti-tank rifle were the weapons taken At 7 o’clock in the evening the party paraded. Each man was searched to see that no evidence of identity had been overlooked. The rifles and machine-guns were tried as a last pre- , caution. Half an hour later, seated in four military trucks, the party ; started off. At the top of Halfaya i Pass there was still to'' much light, so : they halted for half an hour. ’ Leaving the trucks, they silently ad- 1 vanced on foot, each mar . experiencing ; the tense feeling of a fast approaching - crisis. Suddenly one man noticed ' movement to the rear of the party Cover was taken and quietly the offi- | cer investigated the position. There < ; was nothing. The barbed wire which the Italians bad erected was reached. Two men ■ I crept forward and cut a gap sufficient . ly wide for the party to pass through. . When this had'been negotiated bear- : ings were checked and the party went on. The bitumen road was reached 1 and the party divided into two, one band on' either side, a taut wire stretched across the road to trip up ] the expected cyclist. . Silent Wait. 1 i For a- long hour the party waited listening intently. Distant voices, and . some bumping on the ground, alone broke the silence. It was decided to go on. The party silently marched toward the triangle made by the Si Aziez-Capuzzo-Bardia roads. A dark shadow appeared on the flank. It was a hanger. The party surrounded it, but it was empty. As they reassembled the sound of digging and movement could be heard ! clearly. As the area of the triangle was reached a sentry was seen standing on the Si Aziez Road on the left of the raiders. Another sentry was : noticed ahead, and then some large lorries. A group of the enemy could be seen. There appeared to be about '

150 of them. As the party crept up to the. Si Aziez road, a sergeant and two men with a. machine-gun were left behind as cover. The rest moved forward. Their objective was the men working on the Bardia Road. - About 20 could clearly be seen laying stones on the edge of a trench. One unwittingly helped the raiding party by smoking a cigarette. When so close that it was obvious that the enemy must soon see the moonlight reflected on x the white steel of their fixed bayonets, the signal was given. With, rifles out thrust, they rushed forward as one man. Enemy Surprised. A yell of surprise from the enemy, a few hurried shots, and rifles and bayonets did their deadly work. The enemy was thrown into confusion. The British party pursued the purpose of their raid. While some rounded up pri soners, others protected their capture by firing and bayoneting on either flank. A large dugout was noticed; a man in bed, clearly an officer, sprang up to collapse before a bayonet. The signal was given to retire. A field gun was noticed quite near. To push a bomb down its muzzle would take time and the Italians might rail) and prevent the taking of prisoners. So it was decided to leave the gun As the party was returning an enemy machine-gun opened, firing high. One of the prisoners made a cry to give the Italians the proper direction. - He was dealt with. The sergeant left to' cover the retreat attempted to open fire but the machine-gun jammed. The enemy fire was getting perilously close. Back went the sergeant with his file of men carrying the machine-gun. The enemy were now pouring in a deadly fire, and the sergeant halted and this time the machine-gun spoke. Two magazines were emptied at the Italians. Back went the party, forcing the prisoners along. Through the narrow gap in the wire all passed and then the enemy ceased firing. The lorries were reached, those prisoners who had been wounded were attended to and the party reported back to their battalion commander. Much valuable information was secured from the prisoners.