The Second Battle of Mechili (Part 3: The British Breakout)

The British Plan

The British escape plan was similar to the one agreed by Gambier-Parry and his officers around midnight on 7th April, 1941. An Advance Guard of 2 Squadrons, led by Captain Barlow's A Squadron of the 18th Cavalry (King Edwards Own), the available armour (a Cruiser and a Dingo Armoured Car) and a couple of Portees, would sally forth at dawn and secure the ridge to the East of Mechili overlooking their intended escape route. The Main Body, comprising 4 further Squadrons, Portees and command elements, would follow immediately behind, with the Portees screening the column from a small ridge to the North of the track. A Rear Guard, commanded by Major Rajendrasinhji and comprising the remaining 2 Squadrons, dismounted anti-tank guns and the few available support weapons, would secure the main routes through the Wadi and take their chances once the Brigade was largely away. These dispositions are shown in the Orders Map below. The secret LRDG location was in the Wadi Al Rahmid to the North of the fort.

 

The British Escape Plan (Key: RG =Rear Guard, AG =Advance Guard, MB = Main Body, MBS =Main Body Support)

The Axis Plan

Rommel couldn't resist the opportunity to lead from the front and he commandeered a staff car to ride with the most powerful Axis battlegroup, KG Streich, much to the chagrin of the eponymous officer, who knew he was in for an earful. The Axis plan involved the 3 most powerful battlegroups of Streich, Fabris and Montemurro converging on the fort along the obvious escape routes to the South and East, with a blocking force of KG Schwerin approaching from the West. Rommel attached some armour to Colonna Montemurro to assist its assault on the obvious defensive feature in its way, the Wadi Al Rahmid. The Axis dispositions are shown below.

The Axis Battle Plan

The British Breakout

The first piece of good fortune falling the way of the British was to win first mover advantage, despite the bonus points available to the Axis with Rommel leading the charge. The clank of tank tracks through the Wadi signalled the appearance of the Advance Guard in the open desert to the East of the fort. 

The British Advance Guard Led by the Garrison's Only Tank

Meanwhile a long column of trucks and support vehicles backed up through the Wadi, whose defenders waited for the inevitable Axis attack.

Infantry and Support Weapons from 3rd Indian in the Wadi Al Rahmid while Portees and Trucks Sally Forth

A Lone Bofors Gun in the Wadi Al Rahmid as Trucks Laden with Infantry Exit the Perimeter

The Axis Attack

Reality soon dawned on the British as they rumbled into the open desert. The unmistakable dust from columns of enemy vehicles was clearly visible on the horizon. Battle was surely imminent. KG Streich, led by its reconnaissance unit, advanced down the North East track, its supporting gun batteries pealing off to set up on the high ground and cover offered beside the track. Rommel fumed impatiently in his Kubelwagen in the middle of the column while Generalmajor Streich peered through his binoculars at the emerging British advance guard from his armoured half track. 

KG Streich Advances to Mechili from the North East

The Bersaglieri motorcycle battalion of Colonna Fabris sped over the stony ground of the Easterly desert track, as yet unaware that they were heading straight for what might be charitably described as the British armoured spearhead. 

Colonna Fabris Riding Headlong towards the British Advance Guard

Further South, Colonel Ugo Montemurro, with his customary chutzpah, lit a thin cigar in his staff car as he admired the German armour leading his column towards the fort. He had a nasty surprise in store. 

Colonna Montemurro Approaches Mechilli from the South

To the far West, the somewhat hotchpotch collection of units comprising KG Schwerin rumbled down the Westerly track towards the fort, led by a unit of L3/33 tankettes. Oberst Graf Von Schwerin had to remind himself that, while these little Italian vehicles were, let's face it, pretty crappy, at least they had turned up, unlike the majority of the German armour, which was not yet equipped with desert engine filters.

KG Schwerin Advances to Mechili from the West, with Supporting Gun Batteries Deploying to Higher Ground

As the British Advance Guard trundled forward, the scene was therefore set for a sharp clash with the motorcycle Bersaglieri of Colonna Fabris. Meanwhile, further North, Rommel jumped up and down in his Kubelwagen pointing at the British column heading East away from Mechili. Generalmajor Streich was already on the radio to his leading reconnaissance units with orders to change course and cut off the British escape.

Four Axis Battlegroups Converge on Mechili as the British Emerge from the Wadi Al Rahmid

Shoot!

No plan survives contact with the enemy, a military maxim drummed into every officer. And so it was in this Second Battle of Mechili. Decisions were taken in the heat of battle, some right, some wrong, always so much clearer in hindsight. 

With Generalmajor Streich's new orders ringing in their headsets, the leading reconnaissance units of KG Streich swung off the North Eastern track straight for the British column emerging from the Wadi. The supporting Portees of the British Main Body had by then broken off to take up flank covering positions. An exchange of long range fire caught the leading German armoured car flush in its weaker side armour, smoke and flame billowing out of the engine compartment; not before its canon had raked the Portees, however, putting one temporarily out of action, white smoke pouring from the engine.

The Lead Armoured Car of KG Streich Brews Up as the Battlegroup Swings Off the North East Track

The leading Bersaglieri motorcycle units of Colonna Fabris swung off the Eastern Track as the British Cruiser tank clanked towards them. This merely exposed the column following behind them to the armoured beast, its Besa machine gun chattering incessantly. Chaos ensued as the Bersaglieri frantically tried to redeploy. A wiser move might have been to ditch their bikes instantly and seek cover as conventional infantry. The Advance Guard infantry, realising that now was their chance to inflict maximum damage, jumped out of their trucks and deployed. 

Colonna Fabris Attempts to Sidestep the British Advance Guard, whose Infantry have Debussed

Meanwhile, the German armoured car leading Colonna Montemurro nosed cautiously into the Wadi Al Rahmid. Halfway into the Wadi all hell broke loose as 3 platoons of infantry, 2 batteries of anti-tank guns, the Vickers section and the garrison's only Bofors gun opened fire on the column from cover. In a matter of seconds the armoured spearhead of the column and several trucks were blazing. The Bersaglieri scrambled out of their trucks and prepared to assault the Wadi.

Ambush! All Hell Breaks Loose at the Wadi

The sound of combat drifted Westwards to Oberst Graf Von Schwerin's column, which proceeded serenely towards the fort. He checked North to see his support guns deploying on a rise overlooking the fort as he scanned for defenders. Nothing!

KG Schwerin Nears Mechili from the West as the Battle Rages Across the Wadi

Round 1 had gone to the British, no question. They had two slices of luck; first, their Advance Guard ran into one of the weaker Axis columns and second, Colonel Montemurro's attack plan was definitely undercooked. With the benefit of hindsight he should have dismounted his infantry earlier and infiltrated the Wadi from the South, with his guns and armour in supporting positions. But the real crisis was yet to come, as the mailed fist of the Axis force, KG Streich, deployed to attack the British column now streaming out of Mechili and, stretched out on an open desert track, acutely vulnerable.

The Battle for the Pimple

As Rommel and Streich surveyed the battlefield in front of them, one thing was clear. If their Panzers could get amongst the British soft skinned transport, the battle was as good as won. Between Streich's column and the British lay a small pimple of high ground, one of those little ridges which, in the otherwise flat desert landscape, assumed an importance out of all proportion to their height. It fell to Lieutenant Colonel Munro of the 2/3 Anti Tank Regiment, with his 37mm Portees, to repel the ravening wolves of Streich's Panzers from the ridge. Throwing caution to the wind, Munro charged forwards and brought his remaining guns to bear on the flanks of the Panzers as they crested the ridge. 

Streich and his Panzers in Battle Formation

Support Units of KG Streich Deploy behind the Panzers, with Munro's Portees Dimly Visible in the Distance