Long Range Desert Group Read online

  Then the lagging cars came up and hell broke loose. At twenty-five yards range, with every gun they had, the patrol opened fire on the men and vehicles. On the outskirts the parashots hurried from truck to truck, dropping into them their sticky bombs and dragging the bewildered drivers out of their cabs to give them a coup de grace. After a quarter of an hour of this “reinforcements seemed to be arriving,” as Morris wrote afterwards, “and we moved out, my truck now leading with headlights full on, followed by the Lancia.”

  They still had ten miles to go before they could leave the causeway and get away southwards round the salt marshes, and behind them at Marsa Brega the enemy seemed to be organising some sort of pursuit. Garven in the last truck dealt with this. He quickly laid a few mines in the road and before they were out of earshot had counted seven explosions. By dawn they were well camouflaged twenty-five miles south of the road watching the aircraft which all that day searched the countryside without success.

  But it was different next time.

  T2 patrol had little rest. On Boxing Day they were off from Jalo again “to convey,” as the Operation Order said, “a party of parachutists to attack MARBLE ARCH and NOFILIA landing grounds.”

  On the 27th Fraser and four men were dropped five miles from the Marble Arch and the next day Lewis and the remainder near Nofilia.

  Let Morris tell the rest of the tale :

  “29.12.41. This day we remained in hiding.

  “30.12.41. About 18.00 hours we picked up Lt. Lewis and his party at the spot where we had left them on the 28th. He mentioned the fact that he had seen three trucks on our tracks earlier in the day, one of them being covered.

  “31.12.41. This morning we proceeded back to Marble Arch to pick up Lt. Fraser’s party. During the past three days many enemy planes were sighted flying up and down the coast road. About 10.00 hours in open country we were sighted by a Messerschmidt who immediately attacked us with M.G. fire from a height of about 60 feet. We dispersed as quickly as possible. After using up all his ammunition the plane returned to the nearby aerodrome, but shortly afterwards two Stukas and a recce plane came over, bombing and machine-gunning from a low altitude. Incendiary bullets were used and also cannons. By this time we had hidden our cars and camouflaged them as well as possible, but the planes flew low and followed our tracks. My own truck was the first to go, catching fire. Hand grenades, belts of ammunition and petrol then blew up, completely wrecking the vehicle. Another truck was destroyed by a bomb shortly afterwards. From where I was at this time I could see two large columns of smoke from my own and the bombed truck and after a second bomb had been dropped a third lot of smoke was seen in the direction a truck had taken when disappearing. Although I did not actually see the third truck destroyed some of the men on that side of the area reported that this happened. The vehicle unaccounted for, on which were Cpl. Garven, Tpr. Brown and Gnr. Stutterd, may have escaped to the south-west and if so should return. Later two Stukas searched the area, in which there was little cover of any description, using machine-guns and 20 mm. cannon over a wide area. At dusk the remaining truck, T10, was heard to move and we found it. We searched the area for eight miles, calling loudly and flashing lights but could find no one. Lt. Lewis was killed by machine-gun fire in the second attack. Finally we made away to the south as ground patrols could again be heard in the vicinity and there was no cover for many miles in this direction. We, the remainder, which included the four parachutists, travelled in the one surviving truck all this night, crossing the Marada road at 05.00 hours next morning.

  “1.1.42. Reached Jalo at 17.00 hours.”

  Morris had written this when he arrived at Jalo. From Jalo to the place where T2 had been shot up was at least 200 miles so unless another truck had escaped destruction the chances of seeing the patrol again seemed slight. However, we remembered Moore’s March. And so it happened. On the morning of January 9th an Arab from Augila came into Jalo. There were, he said, some “Inglizi” who had arrived on foot from the west. They were very tired and wanted food and help.

  This is the story of the ten previous days as Stutterd1 wrote it afterwards :

  “About mid-morning we were halted in air formation when we were sighted by a German plane. After circling us once he opened fire and machine-gunned for twenty minutes. Luckily my truck, T6,2 was not hit and after scattering we stopped in a shallow wadi and waited till the plane ran out of ammunition and left. We moved north at first, gradually working east till we sighted a salt marsh. Turning south, we ran down the marsh for about ten miles when we saw another car following us. We waited and it turned out to be T7. After another mile or so T9 also caught us up. By this time we were running south-west, skirting the marsh and ahead about three miles to the west sighted the only cover for miles so headed for it with the almost certain knowledge that we would be chased. On arrival at the cover, which proved to be only low rolling hills, we hid the cars as well as we could. Brown and I started to get the camouflage net out and our truck covered up while Garven went on look-out. Immediately he told us that there were two aircraft circling our tracks a couple of miles away. They were Stukas and wasted no time in ‘giving us the works.’

  “Machine-gunned, T6 burst into flames, then T7, then T9. The Stukas left after having a lash at us on the ground. Five miles away they met two other Stukas heading for us, and these drove us to cover again, if lying on the bare gravel under a bush 18 inches high is cover.

  “When they had gone we got together and had a short conference, deciding that the best thing we could do would be to make for Augila, the nearest British-occupied oasis. Our rations consisted of three gallons of water, salvaged by Bassett in a four-gallon tin, one packet of nine biscuits and a tin of emergency chocolate ration, also produced by Bassett. The party consisted of eight N. Zedders, one Englishman and an English parachutist.

  “There was no possible hope of approaching the vehicles as they were blazing fiercely and ammunition, bombs and Bofors shells were exploding incessantly. So reluctantly at 12.40 we turned our steps and hopes to the east and set off. We had travelled about half a mile in two parties of five, carrying the water by twos for a period of twelve minutes, when Martin on looking back saw a large aeroplane circling very low over the trucks. We flattened to the ground and a few minutes later the plane went off. We continued our march for some miles and saw two more Stukas approaching. Down again behind bushes not big enough to cover a scorpion and spent a very unpleasant time there while the aircraft circled around.

  “About five o’clock we set off, in one party again, hoping to cross the Marada-’Agheila road before daylight. We travelled in spells of an hour with quarter-hour rests. At midnight we celebrated the New Year with our first ration of water, a quarter of a pint, and a half-hour spell, to the accompaniment of dropping flares and ack-ack fire in the direction of Agheila. The R.A.F. were on the job. We marched on until the sun rose and decided to have a break in a wadi. The weather was bitterly cold and I climbed to the top of the ridge to look for signs of the road. Three-quarters of the way up I heard aircraft again so went to ground. Two Stukas approached from the direction of Marada and flew north across our tracks of the previous night. Ten minutes later they flew south on the east side of us. These were the last aircraft to worry us. It was impossible to sleep owing to the cold and about 2 p.m. we moved off.

  “Carrying on in spells we crossed the Marada road about 11 p.m. at night, after deploying to stalk what we took to be a camel but proved to be a road sign which was unreadable. Travelling what we thought to be about fifteen miles we holed up for a rest in the sun. The weather was still very cold and sleep was out of the question. My great-coat had by this time been cut up for moccasins, because our sandals had given up the ghost the first night. Only the collar and the pockets and a small part of the front being left, I noticed the difference. However, it put me on a level with every one else.

  “Between the Marada road and our halting place that morning some of the boys sampled the des
ert snails. I made a half-hearted suck at one in the shell which turned out to be more obstinate than my hunger and so I desisted. In the mid-afternoon we decided to get going again. Here White, the parachutist, left us. He had had the long march to the landing ground at Nofilia and back and his feet were almost raw. He said he would go towards Marada and try to seize a truck and get home that way. Actually we thought he meant to give himself up so as not to hinder the rest of the party. We gave him some water and did not see him again. We pushed on all through the night. Our halts were more frequent now and we were getting very tired. Bassett about this time found us a piece of chewing gum each. This did not prove very successful and after a short time it turned to powder in my mouth. Tobacco was also finished : a good job too really, as it only tended to increase our thirst.

  “At dawn the next morning we sighted a fire which seemed to be about seven or eight miles away. We reasoned that where there was fire there were Arabs and where there were Arabs there was water and perhaps food. By this time our water ration had been reduced to three-eighths of a pint per day. After a short conference we decided to head for the light of the fire which we took to be at Ma’aten Barbar, a spring on the southern side of a salt marsh, but after marching several hours towards this place it appeared to be no nearer. Five of the party lay down to rest and Garven, Martin, Brown and I set out to locate the fire. We marched for an hour or so and came to some very moist ground in the marsh. Our thirst by this time was getting very bad and we dug a small well, hoping for water. Brown carried on towards the fire, saying that he Would fire a shot if he found anything. After a while we struck water at about three feet, but it was far too salt to drink. We baled it out for a while with a tin hat, trying to clear it up, but it was no good. Then I thought I heard a shot and we headed for the sound. After an hour’s walking we found Brown with four Arabs and it was not long before we were gargling the small drop of water they had with them and eating a few dates. One of the Arabs told us there was a spring three kilometres away and we were all impatience to get to it, so he offered to show us the way. The three kilometres turned out to be about six miles, but on arrival the Arabs who were camped there could not do enough for us. We had been there about an hour when the rest of the party arrived.

  “We spent the night there under one or two Arab blankets which, however, were useless to keep out the cold, and most of us sat around a large fire all night. In the morning we walked on another mile to the spring and proceeded to soak our insides with very brackish water. From here Garven and Brown moved on about three miles to a knoll to watch for any of our patrols which might be about, having seen two vehicles the day before, identified later by the Arabs as British. The remainder of the party followed at midday with a full can of water. This proved to be too heavy for us in our weakened condition and we had another drink, reducing the water and now carrying it in relays of four for six minutes each.

  “We moved off about 3.30 and at dark, the cold being so intense, gathering a little scrub we boiled some water and made chocolate from the emergency ration. This seemed to put new life into all of us for that night we estimated that we walked forty miles. About 6.30 in the morning we were very tired and dug holes in the sand to try and rest out of the wind. But the cold was still against us and we had to tramp on. We were making fairly slow progress now, being very tired. The weather also was very threatening. About 3.30 it began to rain, and judging our distance from Augila to be about twenty-five miles, we decided to drink as much as we could, leave the water and make all speed for the oasis. We moved off but after a couple of hours had to stop for a rest : sleep was overpowering.

  “Bassett, who throughout the trip had been wearing boots, was having trouble with his legs, which were aching terribly. At about 3.45 a.m. we were ‘all in’ and decided to dig a hole in the sand and try to rest, though Brown and Martin determined to go on as it was so cold. We were at that time following tracks which exactly coincided with our compass bearing. At about 7.30 a.m. we got ready to move but after a short spell Bassett said he would stop and have some rest while we pushed on. A dust storm was blowing up and after an hour it got so violent that we had to lie down and take turns at sheltering each other. We stayed put for about two hours and then pushed on into a very strong head wind. At 3 p.m. we saw in the distance a row of posts and on getting there found it to be the Italian track from Agedabia to Jalo. We travelled another couple of hours and dug a large hole and stayed there all night. It was freezing cold and we were most uncomfortable.

  “The next morning spirits were getting fairly low. Thirst was troubling us badly and our feet were getting almost unbearably sore. Our marching spells were cut to a fraction and every one was getting very tired. About 11 a.m. we sighted a wadi to the left of the road and as the sun was the warmest we had felt it for the whole journey we got down for a two hours’ sleep. After five minutes travelling, on moving off again, I saw what I thought were palm trees but hesitated to say anything about it. Our eyes were sore and by this time we were seeing things. However, they became so distinct that I mentioned it and we decided that they were palm trees. We headed off the road for the oasis which was about five miles away at that stage. We could only go about half a mile at a time though here Sanders decided to have a go at it—non-stop. We made the place, which proved to be Augila, at dusk, and Garven, Walsh, Fair and I found an empty Arab garden and a hut which we appropriated for the night. We lit a good fire, boiled some turnips and onions and had a glorious drink out of the well. After the most comfortable night since December 30th (it was now January 8th) we cooked more turnips and onions, made some date tea and set off for the fort. On the way we met two Arab policemen who took charge of us and led us to their barracks. Too much praise cannot be given to those Arabs for the way they treated us. On arrival we found Brown, Martin and Sanders. Bassett had come in to another part of the oasis about the same time as we did. The night after he left us he had spent inside a 44-gallon drum!

  “At about 10.30 Major Steele arrived from Jalo and our troubles were over. Never have I enjoyed the spund of a motor more than the one that took us back to Jalo and safety.”

  In the second volume of Scott’s Last Expedition, the official account of his explorations in the Antarctic before the Great War, there is a photograph of Wilson, Bowers and Cherry Garrard taken a few minutes after they had arrived back from their winter journey to Cape Crozier. Cherry Garrard wrote a book about it afterwards—The Worst Journey in the World. It was twenty years since I had read Scott’s book but I had never forgotten the look in the eyes of those three men in the photograph.

  I saw the T2 men the day after they reached Jalo. I remembered where I had seen that look before.

  Thus the T2 men got back to Jalo but “circumstances over which they had no control” prevented them from picking up Fraser who was waiting at the rendezvous south of Nofilia. He stayed for three days in vain and then started home. For a week the small party of five moved eastwards, walking by night, often up to their knees in salt marsh, and hiding by day. Soon water became a problem for they had little with them at the outset and the pools were too salt to drink. A home-made condenser produced a little—two water-bottles with a piece of rubber tube between and a fire of desert scrub under one of them—but it took two hours boiling to fill a bottle. Then they got tired of walking and started to hold up cars. Two Italian trucks provided some food and rusty water from the radiators and a German car carried them for twenty-five miles and then, turning off the road for a halt, was bogged beyond extraction. So they walked on again and after eight days reached the British lines.

  While all these operations were going on Group H.Q. was still at Siwa, but it soon became clear that we were getting too far behind the front line. Benghazi had been captured for the second time and the Eighth Army was pushing Rommel back towards Agheila. So by January 10 the whole L.R.D.G. had moved to Jalo.

  Jalo is just the opposite of the conventional idea of a Saharan oasis. Here are no babbling rills
, no luscious fruits, no mysterious village with labyrinthine streets from whose windows dark-eyed beauties look lovingly down on to the passing sheikhs. A month in Jalo would be a very good astringent for those novelists who specialise in oasis scenery. (Actually it would be quite the reverse, for the water, which is almost undrinkable, is charged with Epsom or some other equally revolting salts.)

  To the east is the Sand Sea, to the north an area of scrub and brackish wells, to the west an uninteresting gravel plain and to the south the vast Serir of Kalansho (a name whose origin I have never been able to trace) which must be one of the few places in the world where one could drive a car for 200 miles on a given bearing without ever being compelled by the nature of the country to deviate by half a degree from one’s course. A hole in the desert with a few thousand palms and two mud-built villages comprises the oasis. Every day the sand blows; the houses in El Ergh are gradually being overwhelmed by it and round their miserable gardens the Arabs build ineffective fences of palm fronds to keep the sand off their meagre crops. If you want drinkable water you must go out to Bettafal, twenty miles away. Jalo is not a pleasant spot.

  It is an interesting speculation—a suitable problem for a Staff College study circle—what might have been achieved by our having in Jalo a force of all arms, say, ten times the size of L.R.D.G., together with fighter aircraft, at certain periods of the war in Libya—during, for example, Rommel’s advance from Agheila in 1942 or his retreat from ’Alamein. Generals are properly cautious about their flanks and their lines of communications and from Jalo to the coast road at Agedabia is only about 150 miles. The difficulties of supplying such a force at Jalo, either from the Nile by way of Kufra or through Jaghbub, would have been very great and might have proved unsurmountable, but it would have been a very sharp thorn in the enemy’s side.

  To me personally Jalo was full of interest. For in the past Jalo had been a great place and it was the Majabra who made it so.