Diary of a Common Soldier: Secret Journals of a War World II Rifleman by F. R. McMillan

Author:F. R. McMillan [McMillan, F. R.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Kinsett Publishing
Published: 2012-12-18T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8: Under Fire In Libya

May 19th 1942 – June 21st 1942

May 19th 1942

Arrived at Cappuzo just before dawn and there obtained breakfast. We next boarded trucks and set off on a cross-desert run to the Battalion. The ground was fairly level but the dust was prodigious and before the first mile was covered I was well sand coated once more. The journey took nearly all day and it was very difficult to distinguish us from the desert itself by the time we arrived at our destination.

I met the C/S at Battalion and was soon back on the three tonner, where a much-needed wash and brush up and some tea, restored me to some semblance of humanity.

The evening passed in talking of the leave and comparing experiences. And so, all too soon, it seems, I am back in Libya, near El Adem, and close to where we were but a fortnight ago. No letters awaited me.

May 20th 1942

This morning after ‘break leaguer’, wash, shave, etc, a welcome breakfast was served by our cook as we now have nine in Echelon and ‘grub in’ together.

The truck got a fair amount of running about and before lunch I was well sanded up again. Nothing eventful occurred all day and we ‘closed in’, only a matter of a few yards but it means a fair amount of packing of the truck.

Late to bed tonight as the ‘colour bloke’ kept on the truck doing office returns and so stopped us bedding down. No news and no mail and so we go on.

May 22nd 1942

As storeman, which is my only occupation nowadays, I had nothing to do apart from one or two piffling two-minute jobs. I had two letters (Edith and Ida (sister)) which gave me great pleasure and I also wrote a few myself.

The Company went out, in fact the whole Battalion went out, on a scheme. Manoeuvres whilst there is supposed to be a war on! Playing at soldiers! Fancy tactics, nobody learning a thing, time and materials wasted whilst our ‘gallant allies’ on the Eastern front and in the Far East are giving their all.

Homes, lives, everything in a gigantic unparalleled effort to rid our world of this ghastly cancer that is Fascism, and we play at boy scouts! Schemes! Nero and his fiddle hadn’t got a thing on our supreme command.

May 24th 1942

This morning we were told ‘Prepare to move’ and so 1pm saw us under way. We had a breakdown with our truck and, not for the first time, looked like being stranded. Another three tonner came along and we finished our journey on the wrong end of a tow-rope, and arrived at our destination late in the evening.

We are now near El Gobi, which is a comparatively back area, although too popular with Axel’s pilots.

I have developed a chill and was glad to be abed as early as possible.

May 27th 1942

Bombing and strafing kept me up late last night and this morning news of a Jerry attack came. We are packed ready to move at short notice, and a general air of suspense is over all of us.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.