Two Australian attacks on enemy positions near Tobruk on 13-14 September 1941

On the night of 13-14 September 1941 the 24th Brigade planned to execute two raids against the enemy soldiers to the south of Tobruk. One raid was to be made by men from the 2/32nd Battalion. The other was to be made by men from the 2/28th Battalion. The 2/32nd Battalion would be supported by a patrol from the 2/43rd Battalion, which would block any involvement by troops from Bir Ghersa, to the east of Dalby Square, the name they gave the enemy position they would attack. The Dalby Square was perhaps four and a half miles south from the Tobruk Perimeter. The 2/28th Battalion would send out a raiding party to the east of Bir Ghersa. The position they would attack was called the White Cairn.
The raid on Dalby Square was commanded by a Captain. He had previously raided the position twice, so he knew the area pretty well. They had found the position was very strong. In preparation, the attackers had rehearsed the attack.
The Dalby Square raiding party consisted of 60 men, with men from two platoons. They had mortars and crew, eight stretcher bearers, and seven engineers. They left post R69 at about 9pm on 13 September. They were able to arrive near Dalby Square without having been seen, so they had the element of surprise. They formed up for the attack with the engineers in the lead. They would need to blow holes in the wire. The raid commander accompanied the engineers. A platoon followed them with sections spaced out. Another platoon followed them in similar formation. The company headquarters followed them in the rear. They would be supported by a 2in mortar positioned on the north side.
As the raiding force for Dalby Square neared the position, they took some intermittent fire. At 75 yards, the enemy opened up on them with mortars and machine guns. The noise was so load, the first platoon commander couldn't tell if the engineers had succeed in blowing holes in the wire. When they reached the wire, they found that it was still intact. They stopped while the engineers fired bangalore torpedoes to break the wire. At that point, the first platoon charged into Dalby Square. The second platoon commander was hit, so a warrant officer took command and they followed thte first platoon into the position. Responsibilities were allocated by section. They attempted to do their tasks, but they only had limited success. About one-third of the raiding force were wounded. They were taking fire from some enemy posts, so the raiders collected their wounded and pulled out.The raiders had two men killed and five missing. They brought out two prisoners and thought that they had killed some twenty enemy soldiers. This is based on the account in Vol.III of the Australian Official History.