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Private J. D. Caves: The Long Journey Home

7 June 1942 B Coy 24th Bn. N.Z.E.F. Middle East Forces

7 June 1942 B Coy 24th Bn. N.Z.E.F. Middle East Forces

My Own Jean,

You still blame me for not writing a full story of the scrap [second Libyan campaign] but believe me I'm sick and tired of telling it and hearing others glorying in their 'experiences'. We are practically a new brigade now and many old hands have played so much on their 'glory', which after all was mainly luck, that the whole subject is practically taboo. However, I'll write a full story now as it should be free of censorship and you should find it fairly interesting if only getting the story from another point of view.

As you know from the letters I wrote early in November 41 we knew for some time that the 'big push' was coming from lectures and training that we were receiving. Cooperation with different other units, issue of any gear we needed without fuss, the taking in of our bayonets for sharpening, all pointed to an impending scrap. We were quite keen and really looking forward to the thrill and excitement as many of us were new and the battalion had actually not come in close contact with the enemy in Greece.

Shortly before the day of departure from our position on the Mediterranean Coast some of us were unfortunate enough to have a mild attack of dysentery. Only one or two reported it as it would not look too good getting sent to base just before action. For myself, I lived on tinned fruit and milk for a couple of days and set myself right. I was however dubious about hundreds of miles of motor travel over miles of barren desert.

The great day arrived and the battalions moved to form up with brigade and finally to go forward in an almost endless file of trucks, pickups, bren-carriers and tanks as the whole division - about 3500 vehicles in all. One of the boys, a fine Dane who is now a P.O.W, caused us some anxiety and amusement as he had not fully recovered from his illness and had continually to hop off our truck and relieve himself. The convoy often moving off leaving him to clamber on a truck further back and regain ours at the next stop.

By the end of the first day the road was left and the open desert lay before us and the convoy formed desert formation. One was then able to get an idea of the hugeness of the whole. Imagine 2,000 vehicles roaring forward often in low gear over stony or sandy wastes. We weren't packed too tightly but sleeping except for some short snatches was impossible. For the first few days we travelled by day and slept beside the trucks in shallow slit trenches at night but as we neared the frontier night travel was more the order.

Our platoon was under Corporal Blackman (went down on hospital ship at Tobruk) as we had no officer with Turnbull being in charge of those left out of battle (L.O.B.). We were lucky as to provisions as a week or so previously we had been on guard on an air force dump which adjoined a ration one. Needless to say we fooled the guards on it and got away with half a dozen full cases of meat and vege, potatoes and sausages. These stood by us all the way up. We scrounged a dixie lid off the cooks and over a fire of benzene on sand in half a kerosene tin we made some great feeds. We were well stocked with tea and cocoa and were able most days to save a mug of water for boiling up. Sometimes we stopped a whole day in a position awaiting orders and footballs were soon out and a game in progress.

The nights were cool but not too bad. We slept two to a shallow pit and made up one bed of both lots of gear in it. Picket duty was cold enough as was stand-to an hour before daylight. After a week to ten days travel while going forward one night we got stuck in soft mud.

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We soon pushed the trucks out and that was all the mud we encountered. While out of the trucks however we saw and heard the first of the conflict. The artillery of an [writing indecipherable] regiment were pounding Sidi Omar. Our job lay far ahead. The bren-carriers however caught a lorry load of a Hun patrol stuck in the mud here.

The days rolled by. One brigade had left us to go on to Fort Capuzzo the story of which you know. The other brigade left us soon after to take another route up round to Tobruk. We now knew our job was to relieve the city and open up the way in. Two or three times the patrolling Brens came in with news of enemy columns sighted but always he retreated hurriedly. Occasionally surprised Germans from aerodromes now in our rear ran into our convoy to be taken prisoners. Two or three times we prepared to go into action only to find the Hun had again retreated.

At last after a forced run one night we caught up. Our battalion was in reserve (the rear of convoy). As dawn broke we came over a rise to look down on a wide waadi. The leading battalion was in action against a surprised panzer and infantry unit. It was a great sight. Bren-carriers and light tanks racing about like fussy hens with a lost chick shooting up trucks and machine posts and 25 pounders firing on retreating Germans. Hundred of Itis [Italians] and Huns caught napping and coming out with hands up and stray bullets whining too close occasionally. Cappy Brown keen as mustard to get us into it and us keen to loot prisoners for souvenirs. We captured there the headquarters of the panzer unit including a few generals.

That afternoon we again caught up with them and he held our rather too impetuous forces. Our company advanced on foot that night and dug in. Daylight found things quiet and we were told to take up new positions a few hundred yards ahead. We were moving quite casually when their 3" mortar barrage opened. Two were killed with the first one. The barrage shifted quickly however and it was quiet again. I was detailed with another chap to go down into a waadi to collect some wounded from a crippled tank. They told us we would be covered by our Vickers [Vickers heavy machine gun] but personally I was not too sure. However we got out a couple of very decent Pommies - a lieutenant and sergeant.

I got back on the hill to find the coy lining up for a bayonet charge. I was pretty hot and done in as the lieutenant had been heavy and the hill steep. Also we were damned hungry. In we went almost as on manoeuvres. It was hard to realize that the buzzing and whining around one's ears was death until one started jumping over the unlucky. The enemy fire proved impenetrable and the charge died out. We lay all day till dark under intense machine gun and mortar fire. It was no fun that day. My nerve shook badly after collecting a bullet along the crown of my tin hat. I had no matches on me and it was some time before I raised sufficient courage to get some off Bill Cullen who was slightly wounded and not far from me. We had no cover.

The relief of darkness and a cessation of fire gave us a new lease of life. I hastily opened a tin of apricots out of my small haversack and that helped two or three of us immensely. Some were detailed to look after wounded and dead, I and others to bring up ammunition. We had some bully stew and tea at 11 o'clock. At 3am we went forward in another charge. It was good after the inaction of the previous day. Jerry [Germans] uses tracers and one could see his bullets spraying the ground knee high. We ousted him from his position and when day broke fully we found ourselves in possession of quite large dumps of supplies. We had a good morning eating German black bread, Italian sardines jam, tinned cherries and even wine. We also got a good few souvenirs. Our casualties had been very heavy by this time. Cappy Brown was out with a bullet in the ankle and only one officer Capt Wallace, our 2nd in charge, remained.

That night we had a forced march and it tried all to the utmost but we reached an aerodrome behind Sidi Rezegh. It was 4.30am by this time. I woke to find the sun up and two artillery officers sitting at the edge of my trench. Artillery was heavily in support. Hell broke loose soon afterwards as the Hun finding us shutting him in tried to break out with tanks. We spent some pleasant hours watching our 25 pounders blowing them sky high. We were then ordered into a bayonet charge again with the 26th against the pill box opposing us. Fortunately for us the order was countered and we lay and watched the 26th go in. It was heroic but murder.

That night we moved again and lay out nearly all night in cross machine gun fire - somebody's error but we had no casualties. The firing was on fixed lines and went over our heads. Next day page 52we advanced over Sidi Rezegh taking prisoners. The 26th capture of the pillbox had broken resistance. In the waadi below us was a huge vacated German and Italian camp while dozens of vehicles from staff cars and damaged tanks and motorcycles lay about. We had a great day studying captured equipment and digging. Our objective was won. The S. Africans were coming to relieve us. The way was clear to Tobruk.

However as you now know by papers the S. Africans were badly mauled and arrived late. We beat off one counter attack but were overrun by tanks later. I told you how I escaped back to transport, how next morning we were again overrun and were forced out. That was only our brigade though. The 4th and 5th suffered very few casualties on their jobs and did good work. I was back in Egypt territory early in December.