“IN THE BAG”

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 July 1942, Page 3

“IN THE BAG”

NEW ZEALAND BRIGADIER & COLONEL ESCAPE FROM ENEMY HANDS. AFTER BEING CUT OFF IN DESERT. (N.Z.E.F. Official News Service.) CAIRO, July 19. Prisoners for an hour and a half after the panzer counter-attack on positions the New Zealanders had taken west of Ruweisat Ridge, a brigadier and the colonel in charge of the Wellington Battalion made an exciting escape. Describing his experience, the col|onel said they were captured when three enemy tanks cut them off. “So there we. were in the bag,” he said. “We found a number of our men had also been taken. We passed the word to as many as possible to duck and hide when the enemy’s attention was taken up by shelling. This we ourselves were able to do unnoticed during the “I dropped into a slit trench and lay still, and then slipped out and worked a way round through the scrub successfully, though the Germans were only 500 yards away. I met the brigadier, who had also succeeded, and we made our way back to the old headquarters. There we found two captured vehicles with wounded aboard, and a small foot party. We were all ready to make a break when unluckily the enemy spotted us, and sent two armoured vehicles unexpectedly from the north, picking up the tow trucks and the foot party, excepting the brigadier and me.

AN EXHAUSTING RUN. “The brigadier dropped to the earth and lay still and unnoticed in the gloom. I started running, and kept running- till I fainted from exhaustion. When I came to it was pitch dark. Luckily I had picked up a compass, a pistol, and binoculars when I returned to the old headquarters, where I had hidden them beneath some sacking. “I did not know where the enemy was, nor where I was. Every bush looked like a man, and had'to be stalked. Derelict vehicles loomed from the darkness and I had to crawl up to make sure they were not tenanted. I must have gone two or three miles when I heard voices. I was unable to discern whether they were English or German till I was close up. I stalked the voices very carefully on my stomach, and then heard a typical New Zealand oath. It was a very welcome sound. They happened to be New Zealand ackackers 5 ’ “I was completely exhausted, but an officer revived me with a tot of rum. From there 1 was taken to the headquarters of an Indian battalion, where I stayed the night, and next day returned to the New Zealand forces. The brigadier, I understand, made a somewhat similar escape, made contact with the New Zealand artillery, and eventually reached safety.” The colonel paid a great tribute to the men in the ranks who “Went in and kept their heads all the time, doing the right thing often on their own initiative.” He said he was more than ever convinced of the efficiency of the bayonet, wielded by determined men. “I think the bayonet is the deciding weapon in battle, the finest weapon we have I have yet to see the enemy stand up and fight against it, and our New Zealanders can use it with dash.” This is the same colonel who hifnself using a bayonet, led the Wellington battalion in the Mersa Matruh break-through.

EXTENDED ACTIVITIES throughout battle area. ALLIED LONG-RANGE FIGHTERS AND BOMBERS. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 10.10 a.m.) RUGBY, July 21. In addition to the large scale air attacks on enemy aerodromes, a Cairo communique states: “Enemy barges and a fighter escort north-east of Sidi Barrani were successfully attacked and set on fire by our long-range fighters. Our medium bombers carried out attacks on tanks and transport vehicles in the battle area, causing explosions and fires. Over Malta, our fighters shot down one Messerschmitt 109. Five of our planes are missing.”

GERMANS GUNS DESTROYED BY NEW ZEALAND ENGINEERS. (Official War Correspondent, N.Z.E.F.) WESTERN DESERT, July 19. Many weapons either captured by our troops or abandoned by the enemy during the attack on Ruweisat Ridge,

have been destroyed during the past three days by New Zealand Engineers. These include two of the deadly 88millimetre guns of which the enemy is known to have only a limited supply. Other guns made useless are 19 of the 17-millimetre and 39 of the 20-milli-metre guns and 29 machine-guns. Every effort is made by the enemy to prevent the destruction of tanks put out of action in the recent battle and to be seen in front of the New Zealand lines.

GALLANT WORK OF ANTI-AIRCRAFT-GUNNERS. SEVEN STUKAS SHOT DOWN IN THREE DAYS. (Official War Correspondent, N.Z.E.F.) CAIRO, July 20. Again yesterday the New Zealanders on Ruweisat Ridge were not involved in any heavy fighting. Their main concern has been protecting themselves from the vicious efforts of enemy dive-bombers. Raids have been fairly frequent, but they have not caused heavy casualties. In three days, New Zealand ack-ack gunners accounted for seven Stukas. While the planes are overhead and even while they are dropping their vicious loads, the ack-ack gunners are at their post, firing continuously. They have done, and keep on doing, a magnificent job.