The Second Battle of Mechili (Part 4: Fix Bayonets!)

The Battle for the Wadi Al Rahmid

We left the battle delicately poised at the end of the last post, with Lieutenant Colonel Munro desperately fighting off Streich's Panzers on the Pimple, Captain Barlow's 18th Cavalry Squadron dismounting to do battle with Colonna Fabris, Colonel Montemurro's Bersaglieri battalion forming up to attack the Wadi and Oberst Schwerin wondering where the enemy had gone. The battlefield positions of the various units are shown below.

The Battle Approaching Crisis Point

Major Rajendrasinhji, commanding the 2 Squadrons of the 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) forming the Rear Guard, now made a fateful and, as it turned out, brilliant decision. Realising that the weight of the assault on the Wadi would fall on his Southern flank, and that KG Schwerin had swerved off to attack the British escape column, presenting no immediate threat to his Northern flank, he ordered the Squadron deployed there to reinforce the hard pressed platoons now facing the Bersaglieri assault. At the same time, British infantry fire from both flanks caught Colonel Montemurro's support column of field and anti tank guns in the open. 

Whistles signalled the Bersaglieri attack on the Wadi, supported by heavy machine guns and a self propelled flak gun. The British had run out of ammunition for their Vickers and Bofors guns, leaving them with regular small arms: Lee Enfields, Brens, Revolvers, Grenades and a few Thomsons. Major Rajendrasinhji ordered the men to fix bayonets. In a desperate and often close quarter struggle, the Bersaglieri were thrown back. Montemurro's column was now in tatters, morale wavered and then broke. Infantry staggered back to the trucks that were still running and reversed down the track. Colonel Montemurro, surveying the failed assault from cover, ground his cigar into the dirt with a highly polished boot.

Montemurro's Support Weapons are Caught in Crossfire as Bersaglieri Form up to Assault the Wadi

Caught in the Open; the British Escape Column

Meanwhile, an even more important struggle was developing around the British escape column, on whose outcome the battle would ultimately be decided. Munro's Portees attacked Streich's Panzers flank on, hitting all three tanks but failing to knock any of them out. Meanwhile, Streich's 105mm Field Gun battery had deployed on the hill behind them and a lucky shot blew a portee to pieces. The other was soon disabled by a Panzer. The time bought by Munro's action, however, although measured in seconds and minutes, proved crucial.

The Struggle for the Pimple; 2 of Munro's Portees are Knocked Out but the Panzers are Briefly Checked

Streich's 105mm Gun Battery Proved Deadly Accurate

Bersaglieri vs 18th Cavalry

As Munro battled with the Panzers on the Pimple, the 18th Cavalry with its supporting armour charged the Bersaglieri as they shed their two wheeled mounts, attempting to form up as regular infantry. The attached armour proved decisive and the British overran several Fabris platoons with bayonet, Bren and Besa. Just as the triumphant Cruiser tank ploughed through the wrecked motorcycles littering the track, however, the inevitable happened. The Fabris anti-tank gun line, hidden in a depression beside the track, opened fire with all guns and the Cruiser shuddered to a halt, fire and smoke belching from its belly. The infantry of A Squadron formed up to charge the gun line, which had no infantry protection. After a short exchange of fire, the gunners fled. Suddenly the track East had opened up for the British.

British Armour Overruns the Dismounted Infantry of Colonna Fabris

The ATG Gun Line of Colonna Fabris Knocks Out the British Cruiser Tank

Captain Barlow Forms Up the 18th Cavalry to Assault the Fabris Gun Line

Perhaps more by luck than judgement, the British had now won a small window of opportunity. Colonel Montemurro's assault on the Wadi had been decisively repulsed, with heavy casualties, Colonna Fabris was broken and KG Streich had been checked, albeit briefly, on the pimple. If the British were going to escape, it had to be now, but it wasn't that simple. 

The British escape route was still threatened by two forces. First, KG Streich, with its Panzers now back in the fight, was deploying to assault the British column with a company of assault engineers, 2 self propelled 20mm anti-aircraft guns (deadly against infantry and trucks), several batteries of guns, the remains of its reconnaissance unit and, egged on by Rommel in his Kubelwagen, Streich himself in his armoured half track. 

Streich's Assault Engineers and Support Units Form Up to Assault the British Column

Second, while the battle raged East of the Wadi Al Rahmid, Oberst Schwerin's column had smashed through the gates of Mechili to find an empty fort. It would not, however, take them long to man the ramparts, with clear fields of fire over the Wadi, where the victorious Major Rajendrasinhji, fresh from the chaos of battle, was struggling to get his Rear Guard saddled up. 

Oberst Schwerin Steps from his Staff Car to Find an Empty Fort

Time was not on the side of the British and one last, magnificent stand was required to enable the Brigade's escape. That honour fell to Captain Barlow's 18th Cavalry Squadron, King Edward's Own.

The Battlefield Following the Rout of Colonnas Montemurro and Fabris; KG Schwerin has Occupied the Fort