Breakout from Tobruk

Hi Tom

They are from 70 Division Op Order 23 or 24. What you have from 32 Army Tank Brigade is their version of this order. Note that the infantry under command of the Brigade is a battalion, so that arrangement makes sense.

Given the different objectives, it also makes sense to leave 32 Army Tank Brigade directly under division, I guess.

Great site you linked!

All the best

Andreas

 

Andreas,

Thanks for the reference, so it seems that the Inf Bde and the Army Tk Bde had separate but interlocking objectives. OK, that seems to make sense judging by the way that the rest of Crusader was organised by the British.

Do you know if there was a separate Tobruk Fortress HQ war diary as well as the WD of 70 Inf Div?

Search for Ed Duda on google images and a couple of interesting sites appear. The photos of Ed Duda show a pretty flat landscape, nothing like I imagined!

Cheers

Tom

 

Hi Tom

The war diaries are one and the same I believe.

The landscape does have some interesting surprises! The openness of Ed Duda makes the stand of 6 New Zealand Brigade there even more astonishing.

All the best

Andreas

 

Surely the openness of Ed Duda makes the stand of the Essex (plus 2/13 Aus Bn and 19 NZ Bn) and 4 RTR even more astonishing! Are there similar photos of Belhamed? Or of the Sidi Rezegh escarpment? Hardly like the Escarpment at Halfaya!

Cheers

Tom

 

Hi Tom

Not at all like it, indeed.

http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/name-003368.html

http://www.sidirezegh.com/Menus/Platoon-Diary.php

Flat as a pancake.

all the best

Andreas

 

Andreas,

Now looking at 14 Inf Bde Op Order of 7 Nov and it states that:

Phase 1: Taking BUTCH - 14 16 Brigade with D Sqdr. 7 RTR under command
Phase 2: Taking TIGER - 32 Army Tank Brigade with 1 infantry battalion [2 BW] under command
Phase 3: 1 RTR wreaking havoc in Bologna's rear - 32 Army Tank Brigade without any infantry
Phase 4: 14 Infantry Brigade [one inf bn 1 Bedf Herts] with D Sqdr. 7 RTR under command cleans up area between TIGER and BUTCH [JACK]
Phase 5: 32 Army Tank Brigade with one infantry battalion [2 Y & L] under command takes Ed Duda

That seems to tally with narratives I've seen, how about you? I think BUTCH was captured by the 2nd Queen's?

The photos are fascinating, I'd always thought that the "escarpments" were very significant features - I guess it's a bit like the El Alamein battlefield, with the power of modern artillery even a small rise becomes a highly significant advantage to be fought over.

Regards

Tom

 

The latest email from Dr Robert Lyman covers 'The harsh realities of combat:From Afghanistan in 2008 back to the battle of Ed Duda to break the siege of Tobruk in 1941'.

He refers to two books and one is about this episode, in particular the taking of Duda Ridge.:

Link: The harsh realities of combat

This is specially for Tom O'Brien who started this thread and who has helped me on another thread.

 

I forgot this passage, it refers to ex-French Foreign legion German soldiers - hence my bold:

There is a slim: 361st Infantry Regiment (Wehrmacht) - Wikipedia and ditto slim: Afrika Regiment 361 - Feldgrau.net

A wargamer's account of the 361 meeting New Zealanders 24th Battalion @ Sidi Rezegh, for Point 175: http://www.fireandfury.com/scenarios/pt175.pdf

 

Robert Lyman's email?

I need to have a word with Robert for not receiving that.

All the best

Andreas

 

Ummm, okay... I am not sure about this. During CRUSADER the German foreign legion rejects don't seem to have done much at all. Many of them had just been flown in, they were equipped with small arms, no tents, great coats, support weapons. Pretty useless really, and were quickly overrun. They were then liberated within days when their POW camp changed hands. When they were put into the line again they performed abysmally. Totally understandable, but I am surprised to see them bigged up like that.

Batallion Kolbeck – The wrong tool for the job on Ed Duda 1/2 December 1941

All the best

Andreas

 

Additional passages from the Mcmanners book via Dr Robert Lyman; on the 1st Royal Northumberland Fusiliers fighting alongside the Australians in Tobruk, the importance of the regiment, a critique of Montgomery's approach and the Kings visit 25/6/1943.
See: Professor John McManners' 'Fusilier'

I have found a thread on the 1st RNF and posted these two posts there.