Events at El Alamein from 27 October 1942

As part of Rommel's attempt to regain ground, he sent "at least a company of infantry" with some fifteen tanks against the 2/13th Battalion. They called in artillery fire in support. That fire and an "infantry fire-curtain" was sufficient to stop the attack. The enemy tried a second attack which was also stopped. After that, a patrol was sent out some 400 yards further. They had a private with a wire and phone go out and look at the defended front. The private was hiding in a knocked out tank for cover. He called in information about "enemy salvage parties" as well as the location of an 88mm gun. Once fired on, the gun was pulled back. After he saw some enemy troops near Kidney Ridge, he went there and met a carrier from the 7th Motor Brigade. They took a group of 30 prisoners with them.

By the afternoon on 27 October, four enemy tanks checked out the Australian Trig 29 position. The situation became more critical as a large group of enemy vehicles gathered "near the Sidi Rahman Mosque". This was reported and the request resulted in British bombers bombing the area. The result was columns of black smoke from burning enemy vehicles. After a further two hours had passed, the enemy moved troop carriers about 1,400 yards from the Australian front. Artillery fire was called in on the vehicles. After another thirty minutes, they could see enemy forces, about a battalion, that were moving forward towards the Australian positions. The three regiments of field artillery opened fire on the enemy. The 2/48th Battalion also fired "mortars, machine guns, and rifles". The area around Trig 29 was hit by enemy artillery fire coming in to support the infantry attack. The British mortars and artillery were told to "cease firing" so that the machine guns could see the enemy. The enemy troops pulled back and started to dig in about 800 yards back from the Australian positions. The personnel losses had been heavy and they could hear the wounded. Australian patrols found the area in front filled with "enemy dead". This is based on the account in Vol.III of the Australian Official History.