The Italians are sat in Sidi Barrani, Egypt and they vastly outnumber the British.
This is a problem that the Long Range Desert Group has tried to overcome in the last few
months. They’ve done well so far, and as a reward they’ve just been granted permission
to double their ranks. But then at the same moment, New Zealand General Freyberg orders
all his men back from the British unit, causing a manpower shortage. Then at the worst possible
moment, the Long Range Desert Group suffers catastrophe!
Intro -
Bagnold wants to mount an attack against Murzuk - a heavily defended Italian fort, which has
its own airfield. The problem - it’s 1,000 miles from Cairo - and far outside the normal
range limit of the Long Range Desert Group. Bagnold’s solution to this problem is to
get supplies off the French in Chad. But then the problem with that solution is that nobody
knows whose side the French in Chad are on. Whilst some French colonies have announced
their support of or against Vichy France, French Chad has remained silent.
The British hope that getting the French in Chad under their wing would influence those
in Niger Province to swap sides from Vichy to theirs. It’s also hoped that a victory
at Murzuk against the Italians would persuade the local Fezzan Libyans - those in the south
- to take up arms against the Italians.
So in November 1940, Bagnold flies to Chad and meets the commander of the French troops
there. Colonel d’Ornano demands to know Bagnold’s reasons for being in French territory.
Bagnold tells him that he wants petrol, rations and water for his attack on the Italians.
Colonel d’Ornano... agrees to help the British… on one condition. He wants to go to Murzuk
and fly the French flag alongside the British one. Bagnold… agrees. And the invitation
to support a daring attack on the Italians has brought the French onto their side.
However, there is another issue. The Long Range Desert Group has just been given permission
by Wavell to double in size. Not only does Bagnold have to recruit more men than he currently
has, but he has to replace the New Zealanders he’d recruited previously. New Zealand General
Freyberg demands all his men come back to his unit. Wavell disagrees, and a compromise
is reached. The New Zealanders will go back to the 2nd New Zealand Division, but only
once they’d been replaced by British personnel. But that doesn’t really help Bagnold, who
will somehow have to replace the New Zealanders soon.
Starting this replacement process, ‘W’ Patrol disbands. The men are moved to ‘R’
and ‘T’ Patrols. And a new ‘G’ Patrol is established. 36 men from the 3rd Battalion
Coldstream Guards and 2nd Battalion the Scots Guards - all British - are now lead by Captain
Crichton-Stuart.
But then, on December 9th events in the north cause a crisis for the Long Range Desert Group.
General O’Connor leads his attack on Sidi Barrani and wipes out the Italian Divisions
there. Operation Compass begins. O’Connor’s Western Desert Force advances to Bardia where
they mount a siege.
This offensive calls for the Long Range Desert Group to change their plans. No longer are
they to mount an attack on Murzuk. Instead they’re to strike behind the Italian lines
and cut communications to the front. Luckily, to the relief of many in the Group, this operation
is cancelled. The crisis is over. And they can finally focus on Murzuk once more.
The Operation against Murzuk begins on the 27th of December. T and G Patrols move from
Cairo and reach Tazerbo, near Kufra on the 4th of January 1941. They have 76 men on 23
vehicles. Crichton-Stuart and his Patrol have three days rest as Clayton goes south to meet
up with the French. They return with supplies and the French. Colonel d’Ornano, Captain
Massu and eight others joined their ranks. On the 9th, they approached Murzuk, reaching
the road running to Sebha in the north on the 11th. Passing a well, they came across
a cyclist with a bag of mail, and happily take him, his bike and the bag of post for
the ride.
Then they advance. As they approach the fort of Murzuk, some Italians come out to greet
them - and are sent back under a hail of fire.
At this point, the two Patrols split up. Clayton’s T Patrol head to the airstrip where they use
the many dips and rises in the terrain to weave around and destroy the various enemy
positions. Three light bombers are destroyed and the hangar set aflame. Clayton circles
the hangar, and stares point-blank into a machine gun post. A burst of bullets hits
various parts of the vehicle - and Colonel d’Ornano dies instantly. Another round hits
French Captain Massu, who burns his skin with a cigarette to seal the wound. Clayton’s
machine gun is jammed, but luckily the Italians choose this moment to surrender.
At the fort, the garrison is under a hail of machine gun and mortar fire from G Patrol.
It’s then that the garrison commander returns from lunch in his staff car and is caught
out in the open. His car is destroyed by a shell from a Bofors gun. After two hours fighting,
the Italians raise a white flag and come out with their hands up. It’s then that the
Long Range Desert Group discover that the garrison commander’s wife and two children
were also in his staff car. Two Italians are taken with the Long Range Desert Group, but
the rest can’t come with them because there isn’t enough food or transport, so they’re
set free… despite protests from the French. After this victory, the Long Range Desert
Group withdraw back into the desert.
Away from the fort, they bury d’Ornano and the one other casualty Sergeant Hewson before
heading towards the Tibesti Mountains. At the town of Traghen they came across two Libyan
policemen on camels and send them back into town to tell the small fort at the centre
to surrender… or else. A short time later, a crowd leave the western gate, flying banners
and beating drums. The mayor and the town elders came out to surrender in the traditional
Fezzan manner. Two machine guns, rifles and documents are captured.
Moving twenty miles north east, they came across the village and fort of Umm el Araneb.
Clayton sends the captured postmaster from Murzuk towards the village to demand their
surrender… but he quickly turns around when Italian machine guns opened fire. Clayton
decides not to risk fighting the alert garrison of a large fort and so turns south. Bagnold
arrives by aircraft on the 20th of January and drives with the rest of the Long Range
Desert Group to Faya, which they reach on the 24th of January and drop off the French
soldiers.
With the death of d’Ornano, Colonel Leclerc takes command of the French military units
in Chad. At Fort Lamy, Bagnold and Leclerc discuss the possibility of initiating a joint
operation against Kufra, and after some negotiation, Bagnold agrees that Clayton’s two Patrols
should come under Leclerc and be the vanguard of the French column in their attack on Kufra.
Clayton leaves Faya on the 26th of January and arrives at the Jebel Sherif area - sixty
miles south of Kufra, on the 31st of January. They’re spotted by enemy aircraft, who lead
an Italian motor unit to Clayton’s position. The unit is part of the Italian Auto-Saharan
Company - which is similar in concept to the British Long Range Desert Group. They were
formed in 1923 with the purpose of patrolling Libya but without the intent of venturing
beyond the borders. They have similar numbers of men and vehicles, but their vehicles are
armed with 20mm Breda guns and they’re also able to bring three aircraft to the fight.
At 2pm, the Italians attack and quickly gain fire superiority over the British.
New Zealander Rex Breech, fires his Vickers, even after his vehicle is hit and abandoned
by the others. He gives his comrades time to escape though, continuing to fire until
he is finally cut down.
Another truck, commanded by New Zealander Ronald Moore, is hit and knocked out.
Clayton orders his men to withdraw and heads south. However, being the last truck, he’s
swarmed by the Italian aircraft and brought to a halt. Blood pours from Clayton’s head
as he and another comrade attempt to repair the vehicle. A third comrade keeps their Vickers
firing, scoring hits on the Italian planes. Moving another few kilometers with the Italian
aircraft shattering their vehicle, they realise it’s time to give up when two Italian trucks
appear through the dust.
The now-famous Captain Clayton falls into Italian hands.
The remaining patrol withdraws to Sarra and then back to Chad. Leclerc knows that with
such loss, he can no longer take Kufra in the way they’d planned. Therefore he releases
the patrols and allows them to travel home. They reach Cairo on the 9th of February 1941,
having covered 4,500 miles in 45 days.
But there’s one more thing to mention about the battle at Jebel Sherif. The Italians are
so delighted to capture Clayton, that they fail to capture Moore and his four comrades.
Back at his dead truck, Moore yells to the others and asks “Shall we go or surrender?”
to which his men reply, “No surrender.” The four men flee to the nearby hills, where
they’re faced with a dilemma.
Without food and little water, they can either walk 70 miles to Kufra and surrender to the
Italians. Or head south and hope to find either the Long Range Desert Group or the Free French.
If they did that though and failed to find any allied unit, they’d perish in the desert.
Moore and his men choose to head south. We’ll find out what happens to them next time. Thanks
for watching, bye for now.