Friday, March 23, 2007

A small armoured car at Sidi Rezegh

On the 19th day of the battle, Robert Crisp was sent off to watch for the supply column coming to replenish the 3rd RTR. He went up to his favorite spot on the Sidi Rezegh escarpment and immediately saw a small vehicle coming from the northern side of the airfield. The vehicle looked like a very small armoured car and Robert had his gunner load the 37mm gun. Robert radioed the HQ and they told him that anything on the field might be enemy. He still felt uneasy and finally could see two men, one of whom "wore a peaked cap, a sheepskin jerkin and a coloured scarf". Robert recognized him as a "Desert Army officer". He told his gunner to unload the weapon. The officer in the car identified himself as General Norrie, the 30th Corps commander. General Norrie informed Robert that they would be moving from the immediate area, as the "corridor's open to Tobruk", and "had been since yesterday evening". General Norrie shook Robert's "hand again and drove off to the southeast". This is based on the account in Robert Crisp's book Brazen Chariots.

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