Sidi Nsir - 155th Battery/172 Field Regiment RA

Hi Everyone, I've nearly completed my Dad's memoirs of the battle and his escape from an Italian POW camp. I also include an overview of the action from his memoirs and Troop photos plus picture of a painting with the permission of the RAI.

74 years ago on the 26th February 1943, in the foothills of Tunisia, near the village of Sidi Nsir a battle took place between a small British force of Infantry with their Artillery support and an overwhelming German force of 40 tanks, 10 of which were Tiger 1’s, an Infantry Division and a squadron of Messerschmitts.

Following Rommel’s retreat towards Tunisia the German High Command decided it was necessary that an all-out offensive against the British First Army in Tunisia was required to break through to Algiers. The decision for this course of action was the demise of the American Forces at Kasserine. The German offensive consisted of three groups – one group to move west to Medjiz el Bab, a second to advance southwest from Mateur to Beja and the third to advance some 25 miles south of Medjez.

The following information is a precise from my father’s memoirs, a 1st Lieutenant at the time and “E” Troops Gun Position Officer, stationed in the Command Post, 50 yards from his guns.

Sidi Nsir was a forward patrol base, it was some 12 miles north of the main 128th Infantry Brigade stationed at Hunts Gap. The small British force, at Sidi Nsir were all Territorial soldiers, the 5th Hampshires and their artillery support 155th Battery of the 172 Field Regiment RA. Their orders were to hold any German attack in order that, the main force at Hunts Gap could prepare defensive positions. “E” Troop positioned their four 25 pounders in the valley, in a field ploughed a year before, to the right of a road while “F” Troop positioned themselves on the left of the road, on a rise some 300 yards in front.

At 0630 hours on the morning of Friday 26th February 1943 this small British force came under heavy mortar fire. Initially, the Battery’s Observation Post reported they had seen eight tanks and three of them had a large gun – the Tiger. “F” Troop opened fired through open sights with “E” Troop following with “indirect fire” following co-ordinates from “F” Troop Observation Post as a hill prevented “E” Troop from seeing the targets, at ranges between 2000 to 3000 yards. This first attack lasted some 3 hours and when the Germans realized it had failed they retired leaving one tank burning and two more disabled. More ammunition for the guns arrived during the morning and all spare men were employed to manhandle it from “E” Troop’s position to “F” Troop’s guns all of which was carried out under German mortar fire. Just before midday the Germans put in their first air attack with Messerschmitts which only set a Bren Gun carrier on fire.

Owing to the lack of success in the morning the Germans stood off their tanks and tried shooting it out with “F” Troop from “Hull down” positions. In this situation “F” Troop were getting the worst of the exchange and causalities were mounting. While this was going on German Infantry which initially were kept to the rear were brought forward and deployed on “E” Troop’s right flank. “E” Troop’s targets were becoming far to numerous – tanks, targets reported by Regimental HQ OP, “F” Troop OP and the Company Commanders of the 5th Hampshires all desperately wanting fire power. The German Infantry with their heavy machine guns became very active as they commenced firing on “E” Troop’s rear which started to neutralise the guns by causing causalities among the gun crews. By careful watching “E” Troop were able to spot the position of the machine guns and Right section (2 guns) were able to engage them over “open sights”. After half-an-hour these machine guns were silenced. During this action, “F” Troop OP reported German reinforcements being brought up in lorries so Left section of 2 guns engaged them. After ten minutes the lorries withdrew.

At around 1500 hours “F” Troop reported that tanks were forming up and they were about to be attacked. This was the last message from “F” Troop. Immediately all four guns of “E” Troop concentrated fire on the forming up area. The exchange of fire from “F” Troop became less and less, eventually it ceased and it was realized their position had been overrun.

“E” Troop was now engaging tanks under 1000 yards with “Indirect” fire as they still could not see the enemy due to the crest of the hill, which had protected them from previous tank fire – something “F” Troop had missed and had paid the penalty.

“F” Troop’s OP provided “E” Troop with the enemy’s movements throughout the day. As the tanks drew closer so the gun ranges decreased until the guns shot could not clear the hill’s crest. All guns fell silent. “E” Troop with loaded guns now waited for the tanks to appear over the crest. After a period of time “F” Troop OP was on the telephone reporting that the tanks were forming up and started to count their number “There are fifteen – twenty – thirty – forty-two of them. They’re coming in with a right flanking movement. Good luck, old boy. I’m afraid it’s up to you, now”

At just after 1700 hours the first of the tanks came over the crest and opened fired on the gun positions. The four 25 pounders replied, the battle was on. The distance from the tanks to the guns decreased slowly to the point when 25 yards became the normal range. Eventually, at around 1830, all guns fell silent and the Gunners surrendered.

Out of 130 Gunners (Officers and men) only 9 made it back to the Allied Lines, the rest were either dead or prisoners. It is reputed that each of the 8 guns fired some 1800 rounds during the action. The 155 battery had completed their task in delaying the German advance for 24 hours to Hunts Gap, where they suffered heavy losses and were stopped from reaching Beja.

My Father was one of the lucky ones together with five other Officers, who were interned in an Italian POW camp at Fontanellato (Campo 49), nr. Parma, Northern Italy. However, they made their escape following the Italian Armistice and spent 34 days on the run from the Germans who were recapturing POW’s. The party of three covered 450 miles which ended in the mountains near the town of Roccamorice where they were saved from death, following a snow storm, by an Italian farmer and his family, but that is another story from his memoirs.

 

John.

Great story. Sir Keith Joseph, the former Minister in the Conservative Governments of McMillan, Heath and Thatcher was an officer in 172 Regt RA.

Regards

Frank

 

Thanks Frank,
I have some News Paper articles too. Where would appropriate to post them.

John

 

John.

If they are relevant to 172 Regt RA, I suggest that you post them on this thread.

Regards

Frank

 

Thanks Frank.
25th Anniversary Dinner Menu and news paper article of the day. Mum kept everything!

Regards
John

 

Hi all
Anybody recognise these guys, my grandfather is one of them and survived sidi nisr.
Regards
Darrell

 

Hello John Gelly,
My father, Norman Lovelock, was a Lance Bombardier crewing a 25 Pounder in the Sidi Nsir battle. I have his war diaries from the time he began training on the South coast of England until he returned home after escaping from the POW camp in Austria. Unfortunately, very little of the battle was diarised, no doubt because he was 'a little busy' at the time. He was wounded in the very last stages of the action and was subsequently hospitalised before being released to an Italian holding camp.

 

Dear John Gelly,
My great uncle Frank Read (married my granddad’s sister Emily Adlam) was a gunner in the signals and was at the battle at Beja with the 155th Field Battery in the 172 Field Regiment on 26th February 1943. I have a photocopy of the actual drawing you have posted from the RAI. He has marked his gun which is located on the distant right of that picture next to a plume of smoke - I have attached his annotated picture. Uncle Frank was taken prisoner of war and held in a camp in Italy. Later in the war as described some prisoners ‘escaped’ but he told us that when the Germans took over the camps they were marched across the Brennan Pass to Austria and on to Liepzig where he was held in Gaschwitz, Dresden. He spent starving months there rebuilding railways after the Allies bombed them. Finally being repatriated on 12th May 1945. He was full of stories which he told us as children although some pretty scary for our young age in the 1960s. He was wonderful man who died aged 97 on 1st Nov 2013. He told me someone had once interviewed him for a book about the regiment and I am desperate to find it if anyone can help?

 

Veronica,

Someone may know about the book and enlighten you & us. Meantime if you search with "sidi nsir" + "ww2talk.com" on Google, or another search engine, you will discover there are several threads here which may have the answer.

Adding "book" found this 2011 post:

It was possibly published in 1998, in paperback and originally in 1992.

 

Many thanks David for the info on the book which I’ll look up using your tips.
Kind regards V

 

I was at Sidi Nsir a few weeks ago walking the ground. I'll post some photos and videos shortly. #Tunisia80

 

Looking for something else I found the German operation was 'Ochsenkopf. See: Operation Ochsenkopf - Wikipedia

 

Veronica #8 said:
He told me someone had once interviewed him for a book about the regiment and I am desperate to find it if anyone can help?

The Plain Cook and the Great Showman covers the story well.
It was first published in 1977 written by Gregory Blaxland using all sources available, including accounts given privately by participants.
He served in Tunisia as an infantry officer in The Buffs later diverted to the 46th Division.

Possibility?

 

I have located a copy of Brian Perret's book "Last Stand- Famous Battles Against the Odds"
When I receive it I'll post any information that's relevant to this thread.