The 15th Day: 1 December 1941

Robert Crisp says that the 15th day of the battle was 1 December 1941. This and the next day involved seemingly aimless movement which never brought them to combat. Robert says that the British soldiers became aware that they were winning the battle and that there was a future for them, rather than death and defeat. Robert realized that he wanted to survive and live, and that it was a real possibility. Robert says that Howard Kippenberger, the New Zealand officer, then a Lt-Colonel, told about being a prisoner, after the Germans reoccupied Sidi Rezegh. Later a General, Kippenberger told a story about when "a German artillery officer limped up to him in the captured dressing station in which he had been made a prisoner". The German officer told him that they Germans had lost the battle, that their "losses are too heavy". This is based on the account in Robert Crisp's book Brazen Chariots.