Wednesday, November 29, 2006

The end of Robert Crisp's second day of the Crusader Battle

While the mechanics worked loudly on Robert Crisp's Stuart, he tried to sleep. They were not able to finish the repair to his tank, so he and his crew had to transfer to a new tank. This would not be the last time that this happened. Randolph Churchill had gotten wind of Robert Crisp's exploits, and put out a dispatch that said that "Bob Crisp, the South African fast bowler, had got the first hat trick of the Crusader campaign by knocking out three enemy tanks with three shots." Robert seems to have been mildly amused by the exaggeration. He had gotten one tank and two armoured cars, but that was close enough. The diary of the German 3rd Reconnaissance Unit recorded that they had encountered very fast British tanks, and had to retreat at high speed to escape, while they were still under fire. The British had "forced the unitl farther north over the Trigh Capuzzo and the first escarpment". This is based on the account in Robert Crisp's book Brazen Chariots.

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