NEARLY CAUGHT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 December 1941, Page 3

NEARLY CAUGHT

MAJOR-GENERAL FREYBERG & STAFF

WHEN GERMANS BROKE INTO TOBRUK CORRIDOR.

ESCAPE IN LAST-MINUTE DASH.

(N.Z.E.F. Official War Correspondent). (Received This Day, 10.22 a.m.) CAIRO, December 23.

Despatch dated Western Desert, December 20: —With machine-gun bullets whistling all about them, and German infantry only 200 yards away, MajorGeneral Freyberg and his staff evaded capture by seconds when the Germans drove a wedge through the New Zealanders on the morning of December 1. On 'the previous night, a majority of the Divisional Headquarters staff had driven up the corridor into comparative safety at Tobruk. This move, carried out late on Sunday night, had been preceded by two days’ continuous shelling and mortar fire from the enemy. Only a skeleton staff, comprising the G.0.C., and his personal staff of liaison officers and staff officers was left behind as the Battle of the New Zealand Division. Under cover of night, Battle Headquarters moved over toward the headquarters of one of the New Zealand Infantry brigades. When morning came, the Germans continued the tank attack which they had started the night before. Tank shells and machine-gun bullets were crashing around Battle Headquarters thick and fast. Alongside an armoured car stood General Freyberg, watching through field-glass-es as the Germans advanced. A heavy German machine-gun bullet crashed, into the tank alongside. General Frey-. berg glanced casually at the hole and then continued to study the advance. Closer and closer came the tanks, with the German infantry riding on them. The New Zealand defences could not arrest the steady progress of the tanks and when they were 200 yards away it was decided to make a final dash and , withdraw. Into the staff cars and trucks hastily jumped the personnel of • Battle Headquarters. Seconds later,; they were racing east across the desert, followed by a stream of machine-gun fire from the German tanks. Bullet holes were discovered in the general’s car when th* party stopped, out of range of the German fire.