PATROL REVENGES STUKA RAID

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 18, 27 October 1942, Page 7

PATROL REVENGES STUKA RAID

It was one o'clock in the morning. Thirteen days before, these men had been sitting in the sun at Galatos on Crete—-now their regiment—an infantry regiment of the German Army—was digging in on one ol' the .southern sectors of the Alaniein front. As Uiev deepened thuir weapon pits, they talked. Suddenly one of them shouted and they grabbed rifles but a New Zealand patrol was among them, tommy guns and rifles; firing and bayonets jabbing. It was soon over. Some of the Germans were shot, but: most of them were bayoneted. Five of them went back as prisoners when the patrol retired. Three made a break and were shot. The remaining two, a Saxon who had fought against the New Zealanders in Greece and Crete and a Sudetan Mnce corporal, told the story. The New Zealanders of the patrol were mostly Otago men and were led by a former Civil servant, from Timaru. They left our lines at midnight, wearing sandshoes and with their pockets full of grenades. They eame up with the German wire Iwo thousand yards out and crawled over it, carefully avoiding the trip wire. Thirty yards away they heard the Germans talking as they carried on their digging. As the patrol formed up for the attack one Ger-i man gave a warning, but it was the New Zealanders' show. Although five of them are missing and, two of them were wounded, they killed many >times that number. The men of the patrol were pleased—very pleased—when I saw them. It had helped to niake up for a Stivka raid a few days before Avhen some of their comrades were wounded.