RAID ON ENEMY LINES

Southland Times, Issue 24836, 31 August 1942, Page 5

RAID ON ENEMY LINES

BRILLIANT ARTILLERY BARRAGE (Official War Correspondent) WESTERN DESERT, August 29. British troops raiding struck at the enemy last night. In a lightning attack the raiding party invaded the enemy’s lines with powerful artillery support. Casualties were very light. Last night’s attack took place in the short time between the fall of darkness and the rising of the moon. The artillery’s barrage made an amazing spectacle. The sky behind pur forward positions was lighted to an incredible brilliance by flash upon flash of gunfire while opposite where the shells were falling it was like a violently -erupting volcano. The enemy was quick to retaliate and blazed away without pause for a full hour. Flares shot up from the enemy’s lines and the vicious chatter of automatic weapons broke out from all directions. Our troops met with stubborn resistance from the Germans in weapon pits, but before their withdrawal they had silenced a number of these and demolished machine-gun posts. The artillery during this time shelled the enemy’s positions at greater depth. The whole operation was carried out in quick time with every phase exact to the minute. It is believed that the New Zealanders in the raid against the Italians killed and wounded 250 enemy troops. The New Zealanders crept forward under cover of a heavy artillery barrage which opened the way through an enemy mine-field and wire, and then stormed the enemy’s slit trenches. NEW ZEALANDERS IN BOMBARDMENT (Official War Correspondent) WESTERN DESERT, August 27. Probably as a reprisal for yesterday morning’s successful attack, the enemy this afternoon subjected a section of the forward lines to intense artillery fire lasting about 50 minutes. Despite the severity of the pounding there were no casualties, the troops remaining in the comparative security of slit trenches. “They threw over everything they had and did not hit a man,” said an officer who was there. Guns of all calibres appear to have been used, some of them very heavy. Our artillery replied by shelling enemy gun positions.