TAKING OF HALFAYA PASS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 53, 5 March 1943, Page 3

TAKING OF HALFAYA PASS

TE PUKE BOY'S PART FAMOUS EXPLOIT RECALLED 4 — <• * A PERSONAL NARRATIVE N ——— One of the heroes of the incident when three New Zeal anders took Halfaya Pass in the early stages of the Libyan vance and brought about the surrender of some 143 Italians Tte Billy Hill, of Te Puke, has written home giving a perslonal account of the exploit for the benefit of his Lodge friends. Awaiting the Attack The leter reads:—. Since I last -wrote you Ave have had some pretty hectic times. I * expect you have had a good account of the N.Z. Division's part in the last big push. For five or six weeks, before we actually l took part T in the battle, we did large scale manoeuvres under shell fire,' and when the time came for the big attack we carried the same manoeuvre out again, but this time we had to do it under enemy fire. After we did the first one we were taken to the beach for a spell l and while there we were told the date and time the big attack was coming off. Well, we were not too liappy about it, but we knew it had to be done. They tell you in the papers back there that we. are eager to get into it—well, its a lot of rot. About three days before the big show we packed up at 9 o'clock at night, embussed and travelled about 40 miles nearer and; parked for "the day. When night came again we moved on until Aye were just hind our front line defences, where we dug ourselves 1 slit trenches, where Ave had to lie in a!l day, as we did not Avant the enemy to .suspect anything. Artillery Barrage Opens ** That night at seven o'clock Ave had tea and then shouldered our packs, and began our march to our starting line which Ave had to reach before ten as that. Avas zero hour. At tAA r entj r minutes to ten 1 the artillery started their barrage, ; and, as you knoAV,, it Avas the biggest since the last AA-ar. The noise "was and it Avas jjust one con- • tinual flash and report after another. Ii AA-as very pleased I Avas on this end of it? Our little part in the action Avas not. due to start till about midnight,, as some of our other batwere ~to take the first line of enemy positions, and till they *. had taken theirs Ave just trailed up behind them, but Ave Avere getting stray shells and bullets our Avay. Our first casualty Avas from a stray bullet, which caught one of our chaps in the arm. Round about midnight the 1 other battalions reached their obJectiA r es., so Ave passed through their 'lines and began our advance. At this stage the moon was blotted out by the smoke and fumes from our own shells and guns. Some Narrow Escapes We were right up close under our own barrage Avith only, about 100 yards betAveen us and the bursting shells., Noav and again one or two of them fell a bit short, putting the wind up us for a minute or so. Things Avere going Avell until l B Company on our left struck a sticky spot, and avc had to halt for minutes or so till they cleancd it out. It was here that J'erry got * on to us with liis mortars, and believe me I never expected to get out of it alive. I Avas very nearly blown to pieces twice by direct hits from shells. ..They both burst within three feet of me and the blast from the first, one picked me up off the ground and dumped me again. I was acting as a connecting file at the time, and my cobbers K who Avere behind me said it looked to them like a direct hit. They sang out to me and Avhcn receiving no answer, came to the conclusion t that I Avas no more. I never heard them call out for the reason I Avas. deaf for three or four minutes and I was stretched, flat, out on the .ground Avith my hands oA-cr my ears as they Avere aching like the devilHowever the Sergeant came forward to see if there Avas anything he could do Avhen another came oA*er and landed almost in the same spot. Between Cross Fires , This time a piece got him through ffy 'Jthe hip and a piece also went through my pack, shaving outfit, aness dixies, and lodged in some 3)read I. Avas carrying for breakfast next morning. Shells were landing right in amongst us ; , and avc cculd

not. go forward, otherwise Ave would be amongst our oAvn shells. However, at last our barrage lifted and we Avent forAvard again, and from then on it was plain sailing. Of course, the enemy was still out in front of us. but he AA r as retreating. They sent up a few flares, and AA'e. could see them kneeling down firing at us. Still Ave Avent on, and about three o'clock in the morning Ave reached our objective, where Ave had to dig in and be ready to meet an encountering attack. In the meantime, while we, AA r ere digr ging in D Company went on ahead of us and cleaned out a few machine gun nests and brought back quite a swag of prisoners. Enemy Trucks Encountered Next daj r Avas fairly quiet, but an enemy truck Avith supplies came tearing in towards us to a mortar pit Avhich Avas only 100 yards in and wiped the lot out. Later on in the afternoon another truck went tearing over in front of. us; Ave got it too, but there Avas; an ambulance following behind him Avhich Ave did front of us, when they just about reached us Ave opened up on them not fire on, but he stopped and a German came striding down towards us Avith a tommy gun tucked under his arm. He waved him ofF and told him to clear out. He went back to the ambulance and tAvo t other chaps joined him and they disappeared over the rise. Then again about 4 o'clock the next morning Ave heard trucks coming toAvards us, so Ave lay loav until they Avere within 150 yards of us. They stopped and our officer AA"ent out to see them. One of the men off the trucks came out and the tAvo of them met half Avay. As soon as the Jerry saAA r that it Avas not one of his men he turned and fled. Our officer dropped flat and Ave opened fire on them. Well, they piled out of those trucks in a hurry., all except one chap and he managed to escape. A Valuable Capture After a Avhile Ave ceased fire 1 and six of us Avent out to round up any that Avere stilly about. We collected the lot, 16 of them, 2 trucks loaded Avith anti-tank shells and 2: antitank guns. As soon as it broke dayl(ight the tank battle started, and believe me it. Avas not too nice sitting in our slit trenches, with both sides firing over our l;eads. They seemed to crack just above us, but really they Avere quite some distance off. Up till no-w Ave had just managed to snatch a bit of sleep noAV and agan and Ave Avere all pretty tired. However, Ave stuck it out. Next day Avas fairly quiet, but Ave dare not sti'ck our heads up too far, as there were snipers having a go at us. They got one or tAvo of our boys and quite a few of the Black Watch Regiment, Avhich Avere only 100 yards out on out right. The trouble Avas Ave could not locate the fire. Once or tAvice Ave thought Ave had them pin-point-ed,and Avhen Ave tried to have a smack at them they opened up on us from somcAvhere else. We were jolly glad when evening came. It was the only time. Ave Avere able to haA r c a meal, although Ave used to chew away at army biscuits,-which were so hard that they broke one of my teeth. Next day Jerry got on to us with his mortars and 88 mm. guns an-d things "were pretty hot, but. he very little, damage. I Avas sorry for one chap;, just before dark Jerry sent, over quite a feAV heavy shells and one burst right on the edge of this cliapV trench and killed him. We. were due to go out that night for a spell—it Avas tough hick. Maoris Look for Loot The Maoris took over our positions, and all that, seemed to bo Avorrying them Avas Avhether avc had left them any loot. They-were only in for one day and then withdrawn, as they had another job for the N.Z. Di\ r i-sion. From the time the slioav started; they had given the enemy 12 days to crack and start to pull out. Then we were- to chase him. We used to Avateh our bombers going 0A T er every day in flights of 18 every half hour and Jhat Avas only in the one sector, so I expect lie AA-as getting it all along the line.. We moved up into positions, all ready to hop on the trucks and, start the chase as soon as Avord came through. At last it came and off Ave started. It took us some time to get through the mine fields, as the gap Avas aci v narrow. We cut out into the desert, Avitli our tanks and armour scouting out in front to see that avc. did not run into any traps, and all along the way Ave were coming across trucks and tanks that cur armour had caught up

with and destroyed, also batches of prisoners they had taken. An Enemy Patrol The first night out Ave had a bit of a fright. We were parked up in a close, column and it. was pitch black. We were waiting for word from .the tanks when firing broke out behind us and seemed to be jusi skimming the tops of the trucks. It happened to be an enemy patrol that had run into us and openedj fire. They killed a few of our chaps,i but. the tanks came back and drove them off. Next day the tanks cleani-i ed. them out.. We travelled all that night, and next day, and just before dark our tanks and artillery engaged a strong force outside Fuka. As Ave passed through a narrow gap in some mine fields the enemy opened up on us, but I think every truck got through safely. That, night Ave Avere told Ave had. to put in an attack, but it did not come. off. Next morning the bird had floAvn, so Ave started out after him, but did not get very far when it started, to rain and it did come doAvn with the result that our trucks soon got bogged. We spent the rest of the day and next day Avaiting for things to dn r up a bit. Bjy the time Ave. got aAvay the Hun had a good start on us, but our tanks Avere 1 still after him. Wc could tell that, by the number of prisoners we were passing. Forced Night March The next few days passed without much excitement, except for a couple of planes, which dropped a feAA r bombs but did no damage. One night we sat and played cards in the truck and the>n I had to go on picquet, and just as I finished my picquet and. Avas jumping into bed, word came round that Ave had to pack up and move. This Avas at 2 o'clock in the morning, so Ave on till daylight, Avhen Ave stopped and had breakfast. We were told then that Ave had to do a bit of mopping up at Sid;i Baranni, as some troops Avere fired on the night before Avhile entering the place. So two boys of us were detailed to do the job and Ave set off out into the desert so as to come in behind the town. On the Avay Ave passed over an aerodrome which Avas just littered Avith Axis planes, and about 11 o'clock Ave. set off at a ter- 1 rific pace and tore into the tOAvn, but it Avas a bloodless victory, as there Avas nobody there. The Bren carriers Avent on a bit further and came back Avith 19 prisoners Avho had been hiding out down by the beach. Havoc of Air Straffing We set off again on our journey AvcstAvards and. parked up for the night just. off the road, and you Avouldn't it unless you saw it, the amount, of Axis: trucks and tanks that AA r ere streAA'n all along it. The air force did a Avonderful job straffing and bombing enemy equipment. About 4 o'clock in the morning Ave Avere again Avakened and told Ave had another little job to do, this time to clean out enemy troops who were holding Halfaya (Hellfire) Pass, as Ave call it. They AA-ere holding up our supply columns. We boarded the trucks and they took us to the bottom of the pass, and then we had to march to the top Avhere. the enemy were camped. We did not expect much opposition, as Ave were told it was being held by one company of Italians. It Avas a hard and stiff climb to the top and after arriving there Ave at once took up our positions and advanced, on the enemy. Move Against Halfaya While going fonvard aac. came across one chap Avho Avas Avell out on his own. He must have been there as listening post and was too scared to move when he heard us coming. By the time Ave had looked oA T er all the dugouts Avhere Ave found him the rest of the company Avere in action against, the Italians. We were on our Avay to give, them a hand Avhen Ave heard trucks start-

ing up aAvay oA r er on our left,, so our officer thought \ve had better investigate. We fired a few rounds off and advanced over two minefields, and by this time it Avas just beginning to break daylight and Ave could see the dim shapes moA"ing about in front of us. Of course Avhen Ave. saw how many there Avere Ave began to feel a bit as there were only 1G of us and we were strung out over quite a big area. HoweA'er. it AA*as too late to back out, so on Ave went. We Avere still firing an odd round or two., and there AA'as. nothing coming back at us. Some of the Italians AA-ere piling into a big trtick and others behind big dugouts. White Flags Everywhere By this time Ave could see pretty

plainly and there were white flags waving everywhere. Well we thought this is going to be alright, but when we got to within 150 i yards some Of them opened fire on us. As there were only three 1 of us in this particular section we smartly jumped down behind a pile of rocks find opened up on them. They soon ceased fire, but we were not. too sure that they wouldn't open up again as soon as we stood up. However,j we had to do it, so we: very cautiously got to our feet, expecting every second to feel the impact of a slug. However, none came, so we went forward and rounded them up. They were a pretty sorry looking lot, and when we had them herded together we made a count, and in our little bunch there were 143, and the total for the lot was over 300. Quite a good bag for 16 men wasn't it? Altogether we took over

500 prisoners, and we were told there was only one company. Our casualties were one killed and one wounded and they were both out of our platoon. Visit to Bardia We stayed on the top of. the pass till 3 o'clock, then moved on again and camped that, night out in the desert. Next day we moved on, and camped about lunch time and have been there ever since. We went into Bardia one day and had a look over the place, but there is very little to see there now except a mass of ruins. The harbour, to, is full of sunken hulks and barges. We have been repairing the road a bit where it had been washed out. We also have been having quite a few sports meeting to "keep us fit. At the present time I am off duty with a poisoned arm, but hope to be on the job again shortly.