FAMOUS "LEFT HOOK"

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 23, 12 November 1943, Page 3

FAMOUS "LEFT HOOK"

WAS DARING EXPLOIT

A graphic account of the famous "ielt hook" that turned the Mareth Line in Tunisia was given by the. correspondent of the London Daily Herald, Avho accompanied the force that, followed in the wake of Sir Bernard Freyberg's men. iOf all the exploits of the Btli Army (he wrote), fe.w can have been more daring than the secret jourrey of the living column which drove deep into the scorching desert on the fringe of the Sahara to outflank the Mareth Line. The column was a complete little anny in itself, with a powerful force of first-class infantry, tanks, guns, and all modem weapons of ■war. Moving this large force, with its huge Ueet of vehicles of every description over vast stretches of desert —much of it soft sand—'was an extremely difficult and hazardous operation, as 1 saw for myself while travelling with its reinforcements. Ji: was magnificently carried out, and the force successfully reached the Melab Clap, about thirty miles south-west of Gabes. Montgomery's Orders "What happened was this: Mont-> gomery called General Freyberg, V.C., one of his boldest and most experienced leaders, and said:

''Ji want you to take your force right down south of the mountains, make a big circuit thnAigh the desert* and strike on the other side of the mountains while we attack on the Mareth Line. "Travel by night, l,ie lip by day, until you are discovered. Then use your discretion." The force wa.s called a hooker force, as it Avas cutting in from the side with a left hook. Then the great column, stretching dozens of miles along the set off "into the blue." maintaining absolute wireless silence oil the journey. Lt meant travelling through the great No-Man's-tLand west of the mountains whence the Germans might launch their attack. A journey of over 200 miles woidd bring it back by a huge loop to a point only about thirty miles away from where it started. The great fleet of vehicles first moved over fairly hard ground, and later ploughed its way through deep .drifts of soft .sand. Some vehicles got bogge(J| but were quickly hauled out, and. the convoy proceeded at an even pace. Strange Scene The scene in the bright blue desert moonlight was a strange one as the convoy poured on across the ■wide plain between .ranges of jagged. ghostly mountains. Often it was travelling In live or s.i.\ parallel ranks, so that it was a might}' river rumbling and rattling along under the starry night. There were dim shapes, of great ti:nks being towed on their jangling twenty-four wheeled transporters. There were guns bumping be- j hind trucks. There were long lines o!' lorries ciowded with men being jolted, and flung from side to side.

The convoy carried all the water, food and petrol it would need for inanv da vs.

Everybody \v;is strictly rationed lo hsilf a pillion nl' water a day—vann, brown, salty water—which meant only one mug available to o«ich man for washing and shaving for the -whole, day. As dawn approached the vehicles scattered over a wide area. For a while the men slept. When the moon came up the next night the Hood poured on northward. The ilying column moved right up and. on without any interference. Then enemy machines flew over. Freyberg ined his discretion, lie decided to attack at once. lie hail now almost completed his -journey and was close to the Meiab (lap. So he pushed, forward boldly ir- daylight. Rommel Surprised Rommel, startled by the sudden appearance of a Brhish force Jess than thirty miles from at iirst had little more to resist it than Italian infantry. Urgent orders were given for omj .Panzer division to oppose it . The German tank force raced, up tq block the .Mela!) (lap and tank bat-* ties developed. liy this time the failure to get juiti-tnnk guns and heavy iicro.ss tile Wadi Zigzaou had Thwarted Generai .Montgomery's plans to pour his army through the .M;:rr.{h Lino in the coastal .sector. lie decided to play his >e< - o;ui card -—to rush further armoured nssisiancc to the "honker" force an.l

switch the entire battle area to the left llanlc. He ordered a force of British tanks waiting in reserve to make a similar deep detour round the mountains end to reinforce the first column. His orders were: "Go oil' at once. Get there as fast as 3 ? ou can!" I made the journey and am thus able to give a first-hand account of some of the difficulties. J.t was, in fact a complete relurn to the worst conditions in Egypt and Libya, with soft sand engulfing the wheels and tracks of Achiclcs at every turn, with sweating and straining men digging, pushing and pulling hour after hour, with water strictly rationed. Mouths anil tongues and threats were caked with dust until it. was difficult to speak. Enervating Wind To add to the troubles a Klnuuseen wind blew daring practically the whole trip. This is a hot desert wind that saps the. energy like no other climate condition. ft whips Siind into whirling eddies, filling your eyes, cars and mouth. It increased the temperature to such an extent that radiators boiled every few minutes), and precious water had to be used for other purposes than drinking. One particular night was com. parable, with the most unpleasant experiences of hardened desert troops. The: Khamseen, instead of dying down with the setting sun. as is usual, continued to howl. Sleep was almost impossible. Even swathed in blankets from the top of the head to the feet it was still difficult t,o escape the flying sand. The danger of attack from the hills on the left of this advancing Bth Army column necessitated close guard at nights. Sappers on the initial trek had discovered an enemy minefield right out in the blue, and had cleared the track through it. They had left a sign pointing out this .safe lane and reading: "Mines. Stick to the track." But soft sand hail blown over the track, and the. comment of one drive." as he pulled up in front of the sign was: "Thanks a lot. male, but where is the ruddy track?" Men on foot reconnoitred the traeky which was fortunately not a lengthy one, and the column passed th rO ugh s u ccess fu 11 v.