DESERT RAT 1940-43 British and Commonwealth troops in North Africa ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR TIM MOREMAN is a freelance writer and academic. For several years he lectured in the Department of War Studies at King's College London, from where he obtained his PhD. He also held a six-month appointment as Resident Historian at the Army Staff College at Camberley. His primary interests include the British-Indian Army during the 19th and 20th centuries, counter-insurgency, and the British and Commonwealth armies during World War II. In addition to a significant number of articles and papers, Tim has written two major books: a study of the Indian Army on the North-West Frontier 1849-1947, and a book on the war in Burma and Malaya 1941 -45. In recent years he has also worked for the new Dictionary of Notional Biography and the Australian War Memorial, as well as acting as a historical adviser for the BBC and Carlton Television. He is based in Somerset, UK. STEVE NOON was born in Kent, UK, and attended art college in Cornwall. He's had a life-long passion for illustration, and since 1985 has worked as a professional artist. He has provided award-winning illustrations for the publishers Dorling Kindersley, where his interest in historical illustration began. Steve has illustrated over 20 books for Osprey. WARRIOR • 160 DESERT RAT 1940-43 British and Commonwealth troops in North Africa TIM MOREMAN ILLUSTRATED BY STEVE NOON Series editor Marcus Cowper First published in Great Britain in 2011 by Osprey Publishing ARTIST'S NOTE Midland House, West Way, Botley, Oxford 0X2 OPH, UK 44-02 23rd St, Suite 219, Long Island City, NY 11101, USA Readers may care to note that the original paintings from which E-mail: [email protected] the colour plates in this book were prepared are available for private sale. All reproduction copyright whatsoever is retained by the Publishers. OSPREY PUBLISHING IS PART OF THE OSPREY GROUP. All enquiries should be addressed to: © 2011 Osprey Publishing Ltd. Steve Noon, 50 Colchester Avenue, All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private Penylan, study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Cardiff, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, no part of this publication may be CF23 9BP, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form UK or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission The Publishers regret that they can enter into no correspondence of the copyright owner. Inquiries should be addressed to the Publishers. upon this matter. Every attempt has been made by the Publisher to secure the appropriate permissions for material reproduced in this book. If there has been any BACK-COVER PHOTOGRAPHS oversight we will be happy to rectify the situation and written submission Imperial War Museum, E6377 and CBM1358. should be made to the Publishers. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. THE WOODLAND TRUST ISBN: 978 1 84908 501 4 Osprey Publishing are supporting the Woodland Trust, the UK's leading PDF e-book ISBN: 978 1 84908 502 1 woodland conservation charity, by funding the dedication of trees. EPUB e-book ISBN: 978 1 84908 905 0 THE IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM Editorial by llios Publishing Ltd, Oxford, UK (www.iliospublishing.com) COLLECTIONS Page layout by: Mark Holt Index by Sandra Shotter The photos in this book come from the Imperial War Museum's huge Typeset in Sabon and Myriad Pro collections, which cover all aspects of conflict involving Britain and the Originated by Blenheim Colour Commonwealth since the start of the 20th century. These rich resources are Printed in China through Worldprint Ltd available online to search, browse and buy at www.iwmcollections.org.uk. In addition to Collections Online, you can visit the Visitor Rooms where you 11 12 13 14 15 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 can explore over 8 million photographs, thousands of hours of moving www.ospreypublishing.com images, the largest sound archive of its kind in the world, thousands of diaries and letters written by people in wartime, and a huge reference library. To make an appointment, call (020) 7416 5320, or e-mail [email protected]. Imperial War Museum www.iwm.org.uk MEASUREMENT CONVERSIONS Imperial measurements are used almost exclusively throughout this book. The exception is weapon calibers, which are given in their official designation, whether metric or imperial. The following data will help in converting the imperial measurements to metric. 1 mile = 1.6km 1 lb = 0.45kg 1oz = 28g 1 yard = 0.9m 1 ft = 0.3m 1 in. = 2.54cm/25.4mm 1 gal = 4.5 litres 1 pt = 0.47 litres 1 ton (US) = 0.9 tonnes Ihp = 0.745kW CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 4 CHRONOLOGY 5 RECRUITING THE DESERT RATS 7 FIGHTING METHODS, DOCTRINE AND TRAINING 13 BELIEF AND BELONGING 23 APPEARANCE AND EQUIPMENT 27 Uniform and equipment - Weaponry . Tanks LIFE ON CAMPAIGN IN THE WESTERN DESERT 3 7 EXPERIENCE OF BATTLE 45 The battle of the Omars, November 1941 . The 150th Infantry Brigade at Gazala, May 1942 AFTERMATH 58 MUSEUMS AND COLLECTIONS 62 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 63 INDEX 64 DESERT RAT 1940-43 INTRODUCTION The iconic nickname of the 'Desert Rats' was initially proudly borne by the officers, NCOs and men of the 7th Armoured Division, who played a central role in winning the high-intensity war of manoeuvre that raged back and forth across the vast, scorching hot and empty deserts of North Africa from its outset until May 1943. This famous formation was formed on 16 February 1940 from units of the Mobile Division (later renamed the 7th Armoured Division) on garrison duty in Egypt. It initially distinguished itself during the defeat of the ill-fated Italian 10th Army at Beda Fomm in what was dubbed the Western Desert and went on to fight in most of the major battles of the North African campaign. Its nickname originated from the emblem proudly displayed on the divisional commander's flag, vehicles and topee flashes depicting a rampant jerboa (a small, fast-moving and hardy desert rodent) on a circular white background atop a red square. This patch was originally designed by the wife of Major-General Michael O'Moore Creagh, the divisional commander, who had sketched a jerboa in Cairo zoo and whose design was finalized by Trooper Ken Hill of the 5th Royal Tank Regiment. A shoulder flash for all members of the division bearing this modified insignia was produced in mid-1943. The absence of cover in the flat and open desert made it of vital tactical importance. The protection and concealment offered by the slightest undulation in the ground could save a man's life. Destroyed vehicles and patches of rock and scrub could also provide a place of relative safety. (El 6691) 4 The use of the 'Desert Rats' nickname was quickly and quite inaccurately widened, with the British press and public applying it to all British Commonwealth troops who fought as part of Western Desert Force (WDF) and later as Eighth Army. This disparate desert army shared a common experience of fighting in this remote and exotic theatre of war, which for a long time was the only place where British forces could strike back against the Axis powers on land. Indeed, the nickname has become part of the distinctive corporate identity of Eighth Army. This book adopts the wider definition of the name by viewing the Desert Rats as, in Churchill's words, 'all those who marched and fought in the Desert Army'. CHRONOLOGY 1940 10 June Italy declares war on France and Great Britain. 24 June France signs armistice with Italy. 28 June Rudolfo Graziani appointed as Italian commander in Libya. 13 September Italians invade Egypt, capturing Solium. 16 September Italians occupy Sidi Barrani. 8 December Operation Compass begins. 10 December Sidi Barrani recaptured. 12 December The 7th Armoured Division arrives at Buq Buq. 17 December Solium reoccupied. 24 December Bardia invested. 1941 3-5 January The 6th Australian Division captures Bardia; 40,000 prisoners of war are captured. 21-22 January The 6th Australian Division captures Tobruk. 5 February The 7th Armoured Division establishes a roadblock at Beda Fomm. 7 February The Italian 10th Army surrenders. 12 February Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel lands at Tripoli. 20 February British and German patrols make contact. 5 5 March First British troops sail for Greece. 30-31 March German offensive in Cyrenaica begins. 10 April Advance elements of Afrika Korps besiege Tobruk. 27 April Halfaya Pass occupied and British retire into Egypt. 15-17 May Operation Brevity on the Libyan-Egyptian frontier. 15 June Operation Battleaxe launched to relieve Tobruk. 5 July General Sir Claude Auchinleck replaces Wavell as Commander-in-Chief, Middle East. 18 November Operation Crusader begins, intended to defeat Axis forces in Cyrenaica and relieve Tobruk. 23 November Auchinleck takes direct control of Eighth Army. 8 December Rommel decides to withdraw from the Crusader battle in order to avoid destruction. 10 December Tobruk is relieved. 28-30 December German counter-attack inflicts rebuff on British vanguard. 1942 21 January German second offensive at El Agheila begins and achieves immediate success. 7 February Axis advance halted at the Gazala Line. 26 May Germans attack the Gazala Line, which is quickly outflanked. 30 May German armour withdraws into the Cauldron. 5 June Eighth Army launches attack on the Cauldron. 13 June British withdraw from Gazala defences. 20 June Germans launch attack on Tobruk. Tobruk garrison surrenders; 30,000 prisoners of war are taken 21 June along with vast dumps of supplies. Lieutenant-General Ritchie is relieved of his command by 25 June Auchinleck, who takes direct control of the battle. Germans capture Mersa Matruh. 28 June ljuly Eighth Army makes a stand at El Alamein (first battle of El Alamein). 22 July German forces break off the battle. 13 August Lieutenant-General Bernard Law Montgomery assumes command of Eighth Army and General Alexander becomes Commander-in-Chief, Middle East. 30 August Axis forces make last attempt to break through at Alam Haifa. 6 September Germans retire to start line. 23 October Second battle of El Alamein begins and rapidly becomes an attritional struggle. 1-2 November Eighth Army begins Operation Supercharge and overwhelms the German defences. 8 November Operation Torch begins in North Africa. 11 November British units reach the Libyan border. 13 November Rommel withdraws from El Agheila. 25 December Eighth Army occupies Sirte. 1943 23 January Eighth Army enters Tripoli. 4 February Advance units of Eighth Army cross into Tunisia. 20 March Eighth Army assaults the Mareth Line. 5-6 April Battle of Wadi Akarit. 12-13 May Axis forces in North Africa surrender. RECRUITING THE DESERT RATS Those troops who fought under British Command in North Africa came from all over the far-flung British Empire. Indeed, it was a tribute to pre-war planning that troops from such different backgrounds fought successfully alongside each other with minimal difficulty. These men were joined by various smaller Allied contingents - Free French, Polish and Greek - that had escaped the wreck of earlier defeats. From a small beginning the overall size of the British contingent in North Africa steadily increased as the North African campaign progressed, with the make-up of the army constantly changing as a result of battle casualties, large-scale surrender and transfers of formations to other theatres of war. The polyglot nature of the WDF and Eighth Army was apparent from the beginning of the North African campaign, with troops drawn from all over the far-flung British Empire. In this image Australian and South African troops wearing distinctive headgear play a game of cards. (El 4671) nT'^, The mainstay of the army from the outset were British Army units and formations, with representatives of nearly all of its disparate regiments, corps and services participating in the North African campaign. Apart from armoured-car regiments, it enjoyed a virtual monopoly on armoured units that bore the brunt of the North African campaign, with its tanks in either the Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) or former cavalry regiments. The senior command and staff were dominated by British service officers, although a growing number of Indian Army officers also served, particularly following the appointment of General Sir Claude Auchinleck as Commander-in-Chief, Middle East, in July 1941. The initial quality of British forces in the Western Desert was high. The 'original' British Desert Rats were the men of the 7th Armoured Division, all highly trained long-service pre-war British regulars, most of whom had been on garrison duty in Egypt before World War II began. Although its strength had been augmented by June 1940 by a leavening of individual replacements or reservists from the UK, it was arguably the mostly highly trained formation at the disposal of the British high command after Dunkirk. These hard-bitten British troops performed extremely well during the initial North African campaigns. Unfortunately, the overall quality of British Army units changed materially for the worse as it underwent massive expansion from its small pre-war size, with a corresponding short-term fall in its quality and overall combat effectiveness. As a result, the ordinary British Desert Rat by mid-1941 was very different from those that had fought in 1940, with the vast majority 8