GOLD STEEL

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 05, Issue 76, 10 July 1942, Page 4

GOLD STEEL

ANALYSIS cf the ebb and flow of the Egyptian battle which new rests some 70 miles west of Alexandria will in dicatc to the observer that the sudden halt of the invading armies of Rommel at El Ala.mein after their lightning- advance must have had some definite, reason. The force that pulled the Nazi thrust up with a round turn was not accidental, for the impetus that it had gained led the whole Empire to pre-suppose the rapid investment of Egypt and the overthrow of the Allied dominance in North Africa. What therefore was the weapon which Auchinlech employed ? The answer, after the process of the confused and numberless actions has been sifted and carefully scrutinised would appear to be —the bayonet. It is an amazing thing that modern warfare with its devastating killing, wounding and maiming by high explosives, has not yet immunised its combatants from the thrill of horror inspired by "cold steel." Here we have the last remnant of hand-to-hand combat down the ages, which is still utilised in the midst of modern battle. But the shock of the bayonet charge seems to remain a British atribute only. It would seem that the weapon which stood our armies in good stead at Blenheim Quebec, Salamanca, Waterloo and Inkerman, and has been carried through the successive campaigns of Empire throughout the world is still capable of striking terror in the hearts of our foemen to-day. Reports are. now coming to hand of the sudden reversal which has been suffered by the forces of Rommel and almost without exception, they speak of the devastating effect of our bayonet charges, with particular emphasis upon our own New Zealand troops. Even armed columns seem to be unable to stand up to the. sweeping rush of armed men, seeking battle as man to mai* and promising but clean wounds against the blasting of shell fragments or the stifling death of poison gas. Something in the Axis training of men in the art of warfare, seems to have made the battle experts ignore the bayonet as an obsolete weapon of small significance. They are paying for this oversight to-day. Few can imagine the sinking feelings of the foe,, when as the objects of a bayonet charge they observe the glistening wall of steel bearing down upon them. The effect of such a scene must strike fear into the hearts of even the bravest combatants. Perhaps the greatest troops with the bayonet are our own men of the Maori Battalion whose utter contempt for danger and whose clash and bravery in the open charge, have e«arned for them the reputation of the finest shock troops in the army. By the use of 'cold steel' it would appear that we have found at least one vital weakness in our enemy's armour.