TABLES TURNED

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 05, Issue 71, 29 June 1942, Page 5

TABLES TURNED

EXCITING INCIDENT IN LIBYA LOCAL MANS EXPERIENCE: It happened near Gazala in the second Libyan campaign when the New Zealand Division! played such a prominent part in Auchinleck's thrust towards beleaguered Tobrok and' the story was related to a Beacon representative by Warrant Officer G. Peebles now home on leave. Warrant Officer explained the small action which led up to his party being captured and then turning the tables on their Ito. captors. Of the whole of his battalion he said he had but 150 left after tak-r ing part in the severe fighting of tlic first thrust through. This small detachment of men Avere detailed off to hold a position Avhich Avas in the vicinity of the German outposts. A German staff car arrested their attention as it buzzed quite concernedly across the open desert. A feAV shots brought it to a standstill and the next moment the crouching diggers saAV a dirty handkerchief waved from the top of a stick. That was lioav General RaA*enstein AA'as captured. HoAvevcr Jerrj' AA'as not the man to be trifled with as easily as that ; and scarcely had the General been despatched to the rear than a convoy of vehicles halted a mile aAvay -and some 600 German soldiers commenced a careful advance. Rifle and machine gun fire beat them off lioAA r cvcr and later OAving to their exposed position they too surrendered. Later however the small Ncav Zealand force Avas surrounded by a "Avhcle enemy mobile unit and in their turn surrendered and Avere ■duly handed over to an Italian guard to be marched off to the Nazi base. It Avas here that the surprising lurn of events occurred. The l'tos, says our informant Avere jittery and •were ready to put the worst construction upon any incident which occurred. When a lone South African officer drove up in a light tank, -with an accompanying lorry, it Avas too much for their nerves. The 'New Zealanders, seizing the opportunity disarmed their guards and "reversed the position. Ihe South Africans drove off and all the =>Dominion boys had to do AA'as to about turn and march off in the opposite direction AA r ith their bag of a couple *of hundred Italians.