Little Food

Observation Post, Volume 1, Issue 3, 5 June 1942, Page 1

Little Food

We had. very little equipment, and likewise food. While we fought incessantly for days on end, the Hun poured in fresh .well-equipped troops. They had everything, yet despite this we gave them a shocking hiding. The mighty Luftwaffe blasted us. out. We could not fight aeroplanes, though we did attempt to with rifles until we found it useless. With impunity 300 planes dived, zoomed, and gave an aeronautical display from morning to night.' Otic day a dive bomber pilot, minus bombs and ammo, put his hand out and waved to us. We waved back, but next time he came round to see us Re ; didnt wave. On the fourth day of the battle, we three of us, were in a machine gun nest taking a —one ’ kept '. watch and two slept. ; During m} shift I thought I saw two figures making their way down the hill towards the little stream below us. I looked agair -hoping I’d been seeing things, when b and behold, two German soldiers, ,ob viously /oblivious of our presence, walk ed right out into the clearing on the edge of the stream and ’commenced tc undress preparatory to a swim. i First 1 - thought of pressing the trigger,',but then a better idea occurred to me. I let them shed every stitch of clothes, wok< up .my other companions and we/salliec forth.';Stealthily we made through thi trees until we reached the streamy onß a few yards from the two Jerries..The; were , talking away in German and ■ om I was washing the. other’s back. Just a. they were about to get up the ban! , we walked "right, out behind them am ■ pushed the barrels of our rifles into th, small of their backs. 1 Hands up

Fritzie old boy” said one of ’the fellows. They ceased talking and up shot their hands. We later' discovered they I were parachutists. One, who spoke English, told me he was a bank clerk from Hamburg, in civil life, while his companion!was a carpenter from Ber They told us they were told the Anzacs never took prisoners and they expected to be shot. Honestly, during both the Greek and Crete campaigns, I met. some good Germans. Likewise, 1. met a few surly, dyed in the wool Nazis.

As I said before, we - were - short of food. Seeing Jerry receiving food regularly each day made our mouths water. Each parachutist carries a crimson flag, in the centre of which is a swastika superimposed on a white circle. As you know, red show up for miles, specially in contrast to dark green. So when they wish to communicate .their particular position to their aircraft, they lay the flag out on a clear space among the trees and fire that flare. ‘‘Well” we thought, ‘‘Here’s where we have a feed.” We had found several flags among the booty and also many Verey light pistols, , together with a selection of cartridges for them. Having had nothing , but a handful'of broken biscuits for several days, we were ready to try. anything. So one laid the swastika flag out on .a, clearing, another firing the flare, and then we slunk back into the trees lest the aircraft should see us and recognise, our khaki uniforms. Sure enough, over-'-he came, very low. We watched him circle over the flag —then we ’ espied much to*’ our delight, . a big cylindrical, aluminium container, about 12 feet long by 4 feet wide, come swinging down on the end of a white silk parachute. .V ' soon as the plan: was an appreciable distance away, we pounced on the spoils like.hungry dogs.