Before the attack started, two officers from the 2/32nd Battalion were wounded, one mortally. The barrage started at 10pm. Two companies stepped off at 10:10pm. There was no opposition, so the companies had caught up with the barrage. Their objective was the rail line. They had taken some 175 prisoners, almost all were German from the 1/361st Battalion. They had paused on reaching the rail line. They then moved forward, but started to incur casualties.
Once they had reached their objective, they had two companies covering the road. They had cover by being on a reverse slope. Two other companies moved into an area "south of the railway facing west". The engineers were busy clearing mines from tracks that could be used to move forward. The companies were facing west. The engineers had started work to break down the "12-foot railway embankments". The important truck carrying their essential equipment did not arrive, so they were left to improvise. German medical officers and personnel were in a blockhouse used as a medical station. Rommel always tried to treat wounded carefully and follow the "rules of war". The Germans treated everyone brought in, German or Australian. The Germans were joined by the Australian medical personnel.
The 2/48th Battalion, 2/24th Battalion, and the 2/3rd Pioneer Battalion had set out from Trig 29 at: "10:30, 10:40, and 11:00pm". They were following the 2/32nd Battalion. They had met some opposition and fought their own actions. The three battalions then dug-in "near the 2/32nd". Some of the pioneers went to help the engineers working on the railroad embankment. One pioneer platoon and a 2/32nd Battalion company attacked troublesome positions and eventually subdued them. This is based on the account in Vol.III of the Australian Official History.
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