Thought members might be interested in 3 R.T.R.'s war diary of the day. http://rommelsriposte.com/2014/09/25/totensonntagthe-experience-of-3-r-t-r/ All the best Andreas
That's a very readable account, isn't it. I'm intrigued by 'Grade iii petrol'. Anyone know what it was graded by? Contamination? Original octane/quality? ?
Vp Most American Tanks would splutter on British petrol as their gradings were different and so they had to be accommodated etc - the other nasty thing was that many were propelled by Aero Engines and after a prolonged wait with the engine off - had to be wound up - from the outside - few volunteered for that task Andreas - there is a better account of Tottensonntag in Barrie Pitt's original "Crucible of War " Cheers
Hi Tom Thanks for the pointer about the need for aero fuel. Regarding the account, I know there are numerous better overall accounts. This was just meant to be a micro-perspective of this crucial day from the perspective of one battalion, and it's a way to make unit records more accessible to the wider public By the way, thanks to Tom O'Brien for getting this for me!. All the best Andreas
Andreas, No problem, I picked up a couple more today - will sort out and then be in touch. Tom, Barrie Pitt's account is undoubtedly vivid, but in such a broad (and now somewhat dated) account he necessarily focusses on certain events. His account was also based on secondary sources (not his fault of course, as the war diaries weren't released to the public when he was writing). For example, he hardly mentions the Tobruk breakout after day one, whereas even a cursory reading of the war diaries of the units of TOBFORCE show both that they were determined to record their activities (detailed accounts, copies of op orders, great maps, etc) and that they went through a hell of a battle. Regards Tom
