IN GOOD SPIRITS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 167, 17 July 1942, Page 6

IN GOOD SPIRITS

N.Z. TROOPS' ADVANCE

STUKA PILOT'S CAPTURE

(If.ZJS.Y. Official News Service)

CAIRO, July 16

How he took reinforcements straight into the battle line is told by a member of a New Zealand battalion, who found himself lent to the Army Service Corps for this special job. The way up to the front after leaving the main road had been a succession of hold-ups due to tne soft and treacherous nature of tne sand. At one time no fewer than fortv trucks were stopped, bogged, and had to be pushed, dragged and dug out. His truckful of men, who were veterans of Greece and Crete, were impatient to get close to tne enemy. Eventually they got under way and at last reached the infantry debussing point in the forward El Alamein defences. No sooner had the New Zealanders leapt from tneir trucks than the enemy opened up with machine-guns, spraying the whole face of the ridge. "It was a bit sticky for a while," said the driver. "I had to go further on with the artillery, and it didn t take us long to get under way. Again when we stopped the enemy plastered us, firing machine-guns, artillery, mortars and tracers for a Quarter of an hour unceasingly. They quietened down when our artillery got into action. They have a lot of respect for the New Zealand 2ppounders, and also for the Aussie artillery, which they tasted the other day."

The Now Zealanders were helping in mopping up after a tank battle, which resulted in a recent five-mile advance, and they were in gcod spirits as a result of their success. Enemy planes were being brought down regularly overhead by the R.A.F. and anti-aircraft fire. One Stuka came down in the New Zealand artillery lines, but the pilot was not hurt and was captured.

The New Zealand driver who recounted his experiences had a poor opinion, of the German artillery fire, j He said shells landed more ; than once 1 not many yards from his* truck without even denting the vehicle or hurting anybody. On one occasion a truck full of men was being transferred out of the area when a shell landed only a dozen or so yards away. Not one man was touched, nor was the truck even scratched.