CAB80-32 — Page 108

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30. While these battles were in progress, increasing pressure was being exerted on the enemy in the Halfaya Sidi Omar region; part of our forces engaging the enemy in a northerly direction and part outflanking the defences to the west, directed on Sidi Aziz, 12 miles to the south-west of Bardia.

31. Throughout these two days the R.A.F. were most active and steadily gained a degree of air superiority which by the 21st November appears to have become almost complete. A marked feature of the air operations was the excellent co-operation with the armoured formations. An example of this may be quoted when a distress call for ammunition was made at 1230 hours on the 20th November; the ammunition was picked up from Matruh and delivered to the formation concerned on the scene of battle four hours later.

Operations on the 21st November.

32. The 21st November saw a continuation of the heavy fighting. This was to be expected after the German High Command had recovered from the shock of their original surprise. By midday a strong enemy tank force was being engaged heavily by our armoured formations south of Sidi Rezegh. At the same time a defensive flank was established at El Gobi to mask the Italian Ariete Division, which had withdrawn westward after the action of the 19th November. Fighting in the Rezegh area was undoubtedly very heavy on this day and casualties to our armoured forces may have been severe. There is reason to hope, however, that the enemy force which contained the bulk of German armoured fighting vehicles remaining in Cyrenaica was very seriously depleted.

33. Meanwhile the Tobruk Garrison, which had been ordered to make a sortie at dawn, was making slow progress towards Sidi Rezegh.

Their sally had been preceded by a successful feint attack by British and Polish infantry on the western sector, intended to cover the real point of exit on the eastern perimeter. The considerable opposition from German infantry and extensive minefields met on the eastern flank were undoubtedly the main factors contributing to the slowing up of this advance, in which 1,100 prisoners, half of them German, were captured.

34. Further east, part of the force in the frontier area had advanced to Sidi Aziz, 10 miles west of Capuzzo and in rear of the German battalions in the Capuzzo Halfaya area. To the south a detachment had by-passed Sidi Omar, held by the 55th Savona Division, and was planning to attack that fort on the following morning from the north.

In the desert the force from Jarabub was also preparing to attack Jalo.

Operations on the 22nd and 23rd November.

35. Accounts of the operations up to the morning of the 23rd November are still somewhat disconnected.

It appears that on the 22nd November the majority of the enemy tanks succeeded in extricating themselves from the engagement south of Sidi Rezegh and retiring north-eastwards behind the escarpment, covered by a screen of anti- tank weapons.

Later in the day the formation holding Sidi Rezegh was attacked by a strong force of enemy tanks from the east and west and was forced to withdraw southwards. These tanks may have been partly those which had succeeded in disengaging themselves from the battle earlier in the day and partly Italian and German tanks which had been concentrated south of Tobruk

By the following morning the bulk of our armoured force and the unarmoured troops accompanying it were engaging this new enemy force south of Sidi Rezegh. The battle continued throughout the day and casualties on both sides are believed to have been heavy.

36. Few further details have been received of the sortie south-eastward from Tobruk. On the 22nd November, however, the advance was continuing slowly and steadily, and several enemy strong points had been captured.

37. Meanwhile, Capuzzo and Sidi Azeiz had been captured during the night 21st/22nd November, and part of the force operating in the frontier area had turned westward towards the main battle area south-east of Tobruk.

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