The 3rd RTR is built back up in strength

The 3rd RTR was at Bir Berraneb for two days (perhaps the 15th and 16th days of the battle). Fresh troops and tanks brought the 3rd RTR to 40 tanks. Robert Crisp now became second-in-command of C Squadron, with an experienced soldier, a former Sergeant Major who was commissioned, as the squadron commander. They were briefed on the immediate plans, which were for the 4th Armoured Brigade to assist an Indian brigade and infantry tanks in taking El Gubi and northward. The 4th Armoured Brigade was to move to a position between El Gubi and El Adem. They were to protect the infantry from attack by Axis armoured forces. While they spent the day, sitting their, C Squadron, 3rd RTR was on the northern edge. Robert took off to look around to see what might be nearby. Robert saw a large number of tanks and vehicles headed east from Sidi Rezegh. Robert contacted his CO, but was told to sit and watch. This is based on the account in Robert Crisp's book Brazen Chariots.

Chapter 23 Sidi Rezegh is Lost makes interesting reading

We are very fortunate that New Zealand has made thei official history available online. Chapter 23 "Sidi Rezegh is Lost" makes very interesting reading, because it highlights the sad state that the 8th Army was in, due to the poor performance of the army commander, the 13th and 30th Corps commanders, and General Gott, 7th Armoured Division commander. The command issues were aggrevated by difficulties in communications, partly due to inefficiencies introduced by poor cryptographic systems. This indictment from the New Zealand Official History is particularly telling: "Both Corps remained out of step with events and tended to guard against the previous rather than the current emergency".

The 15th Day: 1 December 1941

Robert Crisp says that the 15th day of the battle was 1 December 1941. This and the next day involved seemingly aimless movement which never brought them to combat. Robert says that the British soldiers became aware that they were winning the battle and that there was a future for them, rather than death and defeat. Robert realized that he wanted to survive and live, and that it was a real possibility. Robert says that Howard Kippenberger, the New Zealand officer, then a Lt-Colonel, told about being a prisoner, after the Germans reoccupied Sidi Rezegh. Later a General, Kippenberger told a story about when "a German artillery officer limped up to him in the captured dressing station in which he had been made a prisoner". The German officer told him that they Germans had lost the battle, that their "losses are too heavy". This is based on the account in Robert Crisp's book Brazen Chariots.

It is quite telling that the 4th Armoured Brigade was the last tank unit in the 7th Armoured Division by 29 November 1941

Ian Paterson's narrative about "Battles 1941" summarizes that story quite well about Operation Crusader, as well as the other battles in 1941 in the Middle Eastern theater. It says a lot about the state of the 8th Army and British leadership that by the end of 29 November 1941, they had expended all the armoured forces in the 7th Armoured Division (and 30th Corps), except Brigadier Gatehouse's 4th Armoured Brigade, which included Robert Crisp and the 3rd RTR. I place much of the blame squarely on General Gott, who squandered his division, piecemeal, by scattering them across the desert in squadron and battalion actions for the first two weeks of the Crusader Battle. By the time they were needed, there were few tanks left. The Germans concentrated and presented a major problem, because of that. Fortunately, their supply situation was bad and the RAF and SAAF had air superiority over the battlefield. Otherwise, the situation would have been even worse.

After reaching the rallying point on the 14th day of the Crusader Battle

Robert Crisp, and his friend Harry Maigraeth reached the rallying point for the 3rd RTR without incident. They kept expecting to hear about enemy tanks, but they never did. It was the New Zealand official historian and General Howard Kippenberger who later told Robert that the Germans seemed close to breaking. After the battalion had reached the rallying point, the situation was calm enough that they were able to top off with fuel. They had not fired their guns at all. They spent the rest of the day watching the air battle, where German Stukas (Ju-87s) tried to bomb, but were intercepted by British fighters. Many were shot down. After the Greek catastrophe, they enjoyed seeing the Stukas in distress. In Greece, the Germans had air superiority, and the Stukas had made their lives miserable. Robert and Harry knew that the British pilots would return to a secure place, where they had many amenities, and might taste the pleasures of urban Egypt, such as the Hotel Metropolitan or Shepheard's. In the desert, the Germans and Italians were back in possession of Sidi Rezegh. This is based on the account in Robert Crisp's book Brazen Chariots.

Wikipedia has a page on Bernard Freyberg

The legendary Bernard Freyberg commanded the New Zealand Division in Greece and North Africa. He had fought in WWI, where he won a Victoria Cross at the Battle of the Somme, in 1916. He had previously fought in the Dardenelles campaign, where he had been wounded. Robert Crisp told the story in Brazen Chariots about meeting General Freyberg. He certainly was a brave and capable man. Wikipedia has a biographical page about him. He was an adopted New Zealander, born in England, but "moved to New Zealand at the age of two". A Hungarian site has a large photo of him.

Brazen Chariots: with General Freyberg on the 14th Day

Still on the 14th day of the Crusader Battle, while shielded by a knocked out Matilda, General Freyberg conferred with his officers from the New Zealand Division. He got into a staff car, covered with men, and started to drive down the Trigh Capuzzo, headed east. From the west came a column of men, all German infantry. They looked very unkempt and appeared to be very dispirited. Robert's immediate reaction was to call for help to attack them. They were now about 500 yards from him. Robert spoke to his CO, commanding the 3rd RTR. Robert Crisp was surprised to learn that they were surrounded and would have to break out. They would meet about three miles south of Sidi Rezegh. Robert and Harry were resigned to withdrawing with the battalion. Robert thought that the German infantry did not look like he had expected they would, if they "had just won another Sidi Rezegh battle". Robert later spoke with the New Zealand war historian, and he told Robert that his impression, and that of then Lt-Colonel Kippenberger was that the Germans "morale was very near the breaking point". This is based on the account in Robert Crisp's book Brazen Chariots.

27 November 1941

Early on 27 November 1941, armoured cars from the King's Dragoon Guards were in position near the Trigh Capuzzo and saw a column driving up the road. General Gott reacted by sending the depleted 22nd Armoured Brigade and the 4th Armoured Brigade to attack. The column driving up the road was the 15th Panzer Division, heading west. When they were attacked, they immediately deployed into "battle formation", with artillery and anti-tank guns supporting the remaining tanks. The 4th Armoured Division had 77 Stuarts at the start of the day. The 22nd Armoured Brigade had 45 tanks, probably all Crusader I and II tanks. Both British armoured brigades had artillery and anti-tank guns attached. Their opponent, the 15th Panzer Division had been depleted to the point where they had under 50 tanks left of all types. The 21st Panzer Division, not involved in this action had 24 tanks while the Ariete Division, which had not been heavily engaged, still had 100 tanks, probably all M13/40s. This is based on the account in Vol.III of the Official History.

Having a lot of details about equipment for units is really useful for gamers

Before I had acquired the first four volumes of the Official History of the war in the Mediterranean and Middle East, I was reduced to making up OOBs for units, down to the regiment and battalion level. Of course, the only way to extract the really useful information is to grind through the volumes, page-by-page, taking notes. Vol.III is especially useful, for the information about what tanks and guns were assigned to units in the Crusader Battle, and Battleaxe, before that. Much of this is in notes at the bottom of the page, so a very careful examination is required to get it all. I have been sure to list what I found in the Official History volumes in this blog, so you should be able to go through the archive pages to find the data.

From the Official History: action around Sidi Rezegh

Rommel's Dash to the Wire greatly affected the British ability to move supplies forward to the New Zealand Division, which only had two brigades near Tobruk. British intelligence learned that the Ariete Division and Afrika Korps were returning to the Sidi Rezegh area. The 13th Corps commander, General Godwin-Austen, could see that the New Zealand Division and 70th Division would be fortunate to hold their positions, much less advance. General Godwin-Austen asked the 8th Army commander for reinforcements and received the 1st South African Brigade. With air operations on 27 November groudned by bad weather, protection of the New Zealand Division was left to the remnants of the 7th Armoured Division, under command of General Gott. The 7th Armoured Brigade had been so depleted, the brigade was "withdrawn to Egypt". For the time being, the Support Group operated Jock Columns, raiding as they could. This is based on the account in Vol.III of the Official History.

What forced Rommel to withdraw from the frontier

The Official History tells the story about what happened that "forced General Rommel to withdraw from the frontier". On 24 November, the Germans were moving in a southeastern direction, towards the frontier. There was a counter-movement afoot, however, in that the 13th Corps commander had sent the New Zealand division towards Tobruk. They were accompanied by 86 Infantry tanks in the 1st Army Tank Brigade. The 8th RTR had 49 Valentines and the 44th RTR had 37 Matildas. The New Zealanders had left the 5th NZ Brigade in the frontier area, but the other two headed west. The 6th NZ Brigade moved up across Sidi Rezegh, but was stopped there, and ended up in disarray, while the 4th NZ Brigade moved up to Zaafran, just east of El Duda. If the New Zealanders succeeded in taking their objectives, 70th Division "would break out and join them". By noon on 26 November, the New Zealanders were held up, so 70th Division attacked El Duda with the 32nd Army Tank Brigade, supporeted by the 1st Essex Regiment and a company of Northumberland Fusiliers. The forces succeeded in taking El Duda, Behamed, and Sidi Rezegh. This created fresh difficulties for the German forces and specifically, the DAK. This is based on the account in Vol.III of the Official History.

British artillery in 1940 and 1941, that you might need to use against tanks

In 1940 and 1941, there were still many 18pdr guns and 4.5in howitzers in service. As the war progressed, you were less likely to see these in Europe and North Africa as they were replaced by 25pdr gun-howitzers, but in more remote locales, as well as in the local defence role at home, you would still see them. The 18pdr actually could fire an AP shot, although only at about 1,625 ft/sec. With such a gun, you would be looking for side and rear shots against Pzkw III and IV tanks. You would still have a chance with armoured cars, half tracks, and Pzkw I and II tanks. I was not able to get to the actual page, but Google has a cached page with data.

Early on the 14th Day

With the sun rising on the 14th day of the Crusader Battle, Robert Crisp led his troop forward in the "protection front" role. Sidi Rezegh was still littered with knocked out vehicles, as when Robert had last seen it. Robert could still see the image of Jock Campbell and his blonde driver. Robert was surprised that Point 175 was occupied by Axis forces. He could see Germans beyond the New Zealanders who they had come to support. Robert and his troop reached the southern escarpment at about 7:30am. At 8am, they were ordered forward to connect with the New Zealanders. He was to find the NZ commander and tell him to withdraw, falling back behind the tanks. Robert got out with Harry Maegraith and looked around. He recognized Bernard Freyberg, sitting. Robert told Harry to wait, and walked across the airfield towards the New Zealand Division commander, a man who was already famous. Robert introduced himself and saluted. General Freyberg told him to get in the trench, but Robert stayed up and delivered his message. This is based on the account in Robert Crisp's book Brazen Chariots.

NZETC has a nice selection of pics from Sidi Rezegh

The NZETC site has a page of photographs and maps from the New Zealanders at Sidi Rezegh. Ian Paterson's narrative of the battle at Sidi Rezegh is still one of the best and useful that is easily accessible. The only issue that I have with it is that you have to scroll to that section, as you cannot link directly to it. On NZETC, there is a page for 21 Battalion that includes a narrative about Sidi Rezegh.

The NZ Division was in trouble at Sidi Rezegh on the 14th Day

On the 14th day of the Crusader Battle, poor generalship on the British side had left the New Zealanders at Sidi Rezegh in dire straits. What was worse, from Robert Crisp's perspective, was that the 4th Armoured Brigade had been sitting, as they had been left in a covering role, rather than moving towards Sidi Rezegh. By the time the 4th Armoured Brigade was ordered to move quickly to Sidi Rezegh "to assist the withdrawal of the New Zealanders". Robert says that he and his fellow soldiers were surprised at how grave the situation was. The 3rd RTR was stationed on the right, as they drove to Sidi Rezegh. They were already underway, as the sun rose. Soon, Robert and his troop were at the top of the Sidi Rezegh escarpment, looking over the battlefield where they had fought alongside Jock Campbell, eight days before. This is based on the account in Robert Crisp's book, Brazen Chariots.

Experience from extensive gaming of 1941 to early 1942

I have extensive experience of "gaming" the war in North Africa from 1941 to early 1942. The main experience has been that the British must rely upon their artillery to effectively fight, due to the inadequate performance of the 2pdr gun, fired AP projectiles. Since they did not use the 3.7in AA gun in the anti-tank role, you primarily needed to use the 25pdr guns in the direct fire mode. They had range and hitting power to be effective. The main issue with using them that way was that it diminished their effectiveness in the traditional artillery role, where longer range, indirect fire was the rule. You were reduced to attacking German armour with British tanks from the side and rear, and hoping for the best. You had to close the range to a dangerous degree to be effective. That is why you would form artillery barriers with a combination of 25pdr gun-howitzers and 2pdr anti-tank guns. There were still a few 18pdrs left in the field, so you could use those, as well.

Robert Crisp says that he and the other soldiers wanted the decisive battle with German armour that had been planned

The new plan for the remaining 30th Corps armour still did not forsee that there would be a decisive battle fought with the German panzer divisions. Robert Crisp says that he and the other soldiers were disappointed, as they were ready for a final battle, fought to decide the outcome of Operation Crusader, where the British would either end up "being buried in the sand" or hailed as heroes in Cairo. Instead, they would continue "their role of protection". The 13th day continued with little action. They could hear sounds of battle in the distance, but they were left uncommitted. That night, they heard that "5th Royal Tanks had had a considerable set-to with Ariete Division away on our left flank, and that Paddy Doyle's squadron of Honeys had knocked out sixteen M13s". Robert says that he still could not understand why the 4th Armoured Division was not use to attack the Ariete Division. This is based on the account in Robert Crisp's book Brazen Chariots.

The night between the 12th and 13th days of the Crusader Battle

Robert Crisp and his companions had a long drive to the leaguer area in the dark. They had headed south, with the German positions illuminated with bright lights, behind them. The soldiers in the brigade all had their radios tuned to radio stations in Europe and the Middle East. The men needed to stay awake, so staying up and listening to the radio was one way to accomplish that task during the drive. If someone fell asleep, they could take the tanks behind them off into the night, where they would be lost. After driving slowly for three hours, and covering ten miles in the process, they reached their leaguer area,. They arranged their tanks into a defensive formation and then tried to get some sleep. At midnight, the squadron commanders were summoned for a meeting with the 3rd RTR CO. He told them that the remaining tanks in 30th Corps were to be concentrated under Alec Gatehouse's command. With reinforcements, 4th Armoured Brigade strength would rise to 120 tanks, including the last 25 Crusaders from 22nd Armoured Brigade. This is based on the account in Robert Crisp's book Brazen Chariots.

Moving north on the 12th day

The 4th Armoured Brigade was ordered to push north by 2pm on the 12th day of the Crusader Battle. As they drove through an area filled with burnt and wrecked tanks, guns, and other vehicles, Robert Crisp recognized this as the site of the Totensonntag battle, about 7 days before. As the brigade drove north, the 3rd RTR was positioned on the right side. The left side of the brigade was where all the action was, as they fought tanks from the Ariete Division moving to join the Germans. Robert says that between 3 and 6pm, that the tanks were sent off north, south, and west. He says that the only reason that they were not sent east was that there was no British infantry nearby. Robert's tank never fired a shot, or even saw anything at which to shoot. At night, the brigade retired to a leaguer, after an interminably long drive. This is based on the account in Robert Crisp's book Brazen Chariots.

The close of the Crusader Battle

The Italo-German forces involved in the Crusader Battle, were apparently beaten back by the assertive use of infantry and artillery. The British tank force continued to be frittered away in small actions that never allowed the force to be concentrated to fight the Axis armoured divisions. I was amazed at the narrative in the last part of Robert Crisp's book, where he described how the 4th Armoured Brigade was still being used in small pieces, in late November 1941, on the 12th day of Crusader.