´óĎó´«Ă˝

Egypt 1942 — Across the desert to Tripoli
The 8th Army — The Queen’s Royal Regiment
1/6th Battalion Captain Ken D Kettle MC

The 131 Queens Brigade - Part of the 44th Division 1/6th Btn Lt KD Kettle (aka "KD")

The battle of Alam El Halfa Ridge on the 28th September to straighten the Alamein line in the south by the Queen’s Brigade is achieved and over. Then on October 23rd 1942 a terrific attack, involving well over a thousand sorties by bombers and fighters was made on enemy airfields, lines of communication and encampments of guns and troops in and behind enemy lines. British submarines in the Mediterranean successfully damaged and sunk enemy tender (light ships) and their air forces were swept from the skies.

The 44th Infantry Division was then badly mauled and the Queen’s Brigade suffered severe casualties on the 26th October, with the 1/6th Btn’s Commanding Officer and his HQ taken prisoner. Later on we learnt that the 131 Queen’s Bde had the honour of joining the 7th Armoured Division as their Lorried Infantry and worthy “DESERT RATES.” After 12 days of the most stubborn fighting the Battle of El Alamein had been won. Further pursuit in a spell of terrific rain, hampered progress, but after passing Mersa Matruh, the town of Sollum was captured on 11th November, and the enemy was out of Egypt.

The 131 Queen’s captures and work for a short period in the ports of Tobruk and Benghazi, whilst the Armour followed up the enemy. On the 15th December the 7th Armoured Division engage the main enemy position at El Agheila, we are called forward and staged a successful night attack and the way into Tripolitania lay open.

The Queen’s brigade moved forward to the Wadi Matralia where we spent Christmas day working on defences and bathing in the clear Mediterranean when the time allowed. A small landing beach at Ras El Ali was called into use for unloading “Lighters” (small boats) with goods supplies, and Christmas was well celebrated. We reached Tobruk and made preparations for an attack, but the enemy leaves and we spend the week unloading stores.

Benghazi, 350 miles and the next real objective, the enemy again pulled out without effective demolition, and we assist with the unloading of essential supplies at the port from 20th November until the 12th December. The 7th Armoured Division moves on and forces the Germans to continue their retreat to El Agheila, where we joined our tanks again, and the 1/6th Btn staged a successful night attack encountering mines and machine gun fire. During the rest of the day they lost 20 tanks and we took 500 Germans as prisoner. Later the German 21st Panzer tanks in the north and the 15th Panzer in the south, move across the desert.

From the 11th to the 13th January the 131st Brigade moved to concentrated areas forming a Battle Group of incredible fire power with Tripoli being the next objective. A tank battle takes place on the 14th/15th with heavy losses on both sides. The carriers of the 1/6th and 1/7th under myself (Captain Ken Kettle) patrol forward and encounter considerable anti-tank fire. At nightfall the enemy retreats and the 131st Brigade find themselves occupying the ridge and the 1/6th holding the anti tank screen with three Battle Groups.

The 1/6th successfully occupy Tarhuna which descends to the Tripoli plain and are involved with an approach march of six miles and a further eight miles at night through the hills which went well despite some vicious mortar fire causing casualties in the 1/7th Btn. Battle patrols cross large anti-tank ditches in the darkness and find the enemy still in position and the attack goes in. The city of Tripoli is encircled by the advancing troops of the 7th Armoured Division early on the morning of the 23rd January 1943. It was three months to a day since the start of the battle of El Alamein, during which time the 8th Army led by the 7th Armoured Division had advanced over 1,400 miles to Tripoli.

The 131 Brigade were given no chance of seeing the sights and enjoying the comforts of Tripoli. The 1/6th Queens Btn were ordered to continue the advance on Medenine Tunisia but on the 27th January fire from enemy rear-guards, mines and demolitions made progress slow and difficult. When the 1/7th Btn reaches Mellita just short of Zuara on the coastal road they find a strong enemy position well dug in and difficult to observe. On January 29th the official entry in the Adjutant’s daily war records reads:

===========================================
“The rest of the Brigade now closed up and the Carrier Platoon of the 1/6th under Captain Kettle (which had just taken over six Carriers from the Highland Division), with the 1/6th Battle Patrol and a Squadron of the old Valentine Tanks, made a night attack on the enemy Mellitia position, but the found it to be a fully organised position of concrete pill-boxes, protected by an anti-tank ditch and belts of wire. So it was not surprising that the attack was unsuccessful, though luckily without casualties to the Queen’s. Although only seventeen infantry had taken part, the German wireless announced that a strong attack had been repulsed.

Shelling continued throughout the next day, but during the night patrols found the enemy gone and next morning the 1/7th Battalion occupied the enemy positions, the Carriers going on to Zuara, which they found clear.”
===========================================

Lt. Col R Kaulback of 1/6th gave the order for the night attack on the enemy position and brief details were discussed with me as the Carrier Platoon Commander. The Battle Group detailed above moved off slowly in an open Formation with the Tanks at the rear. It was very dark and after midnight, making it difficult to find the right direction. But with the noise of our transport as we got nearer, the enemy outlined some of his defences with his fixed firing lines and tracers of machine gun fire across our front and a few well placed mortar bombs. It was an impressive illuminated screen but in the dark breaks we continued our approach, it was slow going. It was time for me to get up front on foot out of my Carrier to locate the forward position of the Battle Patrol and keep the pressure on the enemy to encourage them to expend their firepower and ammunition and force their capitulation and retreat.

It was rough going and suddenly I found myself face down in sand clinging to the rocks whilst trying to get as low as possible with tracer machine gun fire pouring across my back. It seemed an age but the gun suddenly jammed or needed reloading. I thankfully rolled away as more guns swept the forward area across the wire of the enemy minefield.

The battle patrol was similarly held up and by light I signalled by pistol for an orderly withdrawal that seemed the only wise decision. Although technically deemed “unsuccessful”, enemy war records announced that the strength of the attack was such that they decided to abandon Mellitia and the next day Zuara itself.

I would like to add that my brown leather Army issue leather jerkin had been scorched by a machine gun fire to such an extent that it split in two and fell from my shoulders during my dawn debriefing back at Headquarters. Quite a close shave then and as mentioned “luckily without casualties” to the Queen’s.

The extract in brackets of 29 January “Daily war records” was presented to me from the archives when I visited the Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment Museum at Clandon Park, Guildford in the 90s with one of my six fine Grandsons, Alex Nevill, who has kindly assisted with this article for the People’s War project as at my age now of 87 years I’m most grateful for all the necessary help (and of course very lucky to be mobile and still alive and cared for my wonderful wife Betty being married for 64 years).

Captain K D Kettle MC

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.