204982 Eric John Barker from:Harwich, Essex C.I.Horse and the enemy slogged out a battle over heads (kept well down) and though an enemy mine field. this party carried a director and two hurricane lamps two 4_gal petrol tins with one side cut out and a tape, fortunately the guards were throwing a lot of grenades around and shooting up the old sentries and distracting attention. we got to within about 500 yds of the gun position were we could see both our own o.p and the guns.we set up sub tense bases using our hurricane lamp inside the petrol tin and the o.p. director with a light though its optics (try finding a star with a blindfold) From then on it was a piece of cake. prearranged signals enabled us to range sniping that seriously depleted our et out idne range and a/s was computed from our guns to the enemy guns (75mm self-propelled) I cannot remember the outcome of this piece of nonsense. I dare say the enemy just withdrew to fight another day we now lead into the action at Alam Hamsa (we called it Cazalla) east of Tobruk. On the 13th or 14th December the 25 field had got into trouble with tanks and we were called upon and did some long range sniping that seriously depleted our anticipated. On the 14th the Germans had set up a strong defence line at Gazalla attacking a point known as pt.207, discovered that this position was undefended and ordered Brig. Russell to penetrate as far as possible. That evening we received our first issue of fresh rations (meat ant veg) but were unable to use them as it was vital to get though the gap at 207. This was done but in the morning of the 15th we came up against a strong mobile force with we believe were late in plugging up 207. we were in a very bad situation. the battlefield was completely flat and there was no cover of any sort absolutely ideal for tanks s.p.guns and lorried infantry. Of which the enemy seemed to have an unlimited supply. Our guns were limbered up travelling rapid support well in advance of the infantry and I tanks, far enough forward to be out of touch. On making contact the guns dropped trails and started to shoot by direct observation from troop positions. Slit tranches were dug whilst guns were in action there was no hope of digging the guns in or even putting up parapets. Our command post was just a slit trench about 5 ft long and some 3ft deep with scrub bushes scattered about the edges. The command post consisted of one telephone (remote) and we were linked only to battery r. In the command post was the g.p.o.a., g.p.o and two signallers. The weight of metal coming into the guns and battery position was phenomenal. I lost all count of time the guns soon started to run out of ammunition. The gads and other vehicles were trying to bring up fresh supplies but were being knocked out as fast as they approached, everybody joined in carrying ammunition from place to place and from gun to gun as each gun was knocked out. Then after what seemed to be two or three hours the German lorried infantry with heavy machine guns come around our right flank the hail of bullets is impossible to describe except that the scrub bushes around the command post were cut down to or three inches high. The I tanks brought up some ammunition but this was solid shot and of no use against infantry. Gradually the guns were silenced until only the one gun on the left flank was firing over on it's back we had lost all contact with the r.o.g.t. and the last message we received was that the Colonel had managed to escape in an I tank and to destroy all equipment, one of the signallers from the g.p. had gone back to try to get the command post p.o. vehicle at fifteen out to bring up supplies but he must have failed no vehicle could survive that barrage of shell and small arms fire the Germans finally over ran the gun positions and mopped up the gunners and infantry but we three in the command post evaded capture. The german commander in a tracked vehicle had passed right over the g.p.o myself and the signaller we crouched in the bottom of the trench at this point the Germans received reports from his junior commanders and apparently made the decision that force had been so seriously depleted by the action of the guns that he was no longer able to carry out his appointed task he moved off. His prisoners were lined up ready to march off and the mopping up was complete. We thought we had got away with it and were planning how to get back to our own people, at which point a German infantryman decided he needed to pee and thought our trench just the place. I don't know who was the most frightened him or us certainly he nearly shot us we only had one revolver between us. Any way we too ended up in the bag the German Commander was evidently a man of honour after the usual "for you the war is over" he paid us the high compliment that the Battery had fought a most gallant action and admitted that his group was now forced to retire. Unfortunately for us, we had pushed forward so far that no relieving force could catch up with us although one or two shells landed in the position so ended the battle of Alam Hamza, the complete destruction of a regiment of artillery and company of infantry and support troups of r.c.s., a.a. and r.i.a.s.c. I don't know what gains were made by the sacrifice my friend from the 25th Field was capture in the exact spot some time later when the "crusader" was in retreat back to El Alamein.
This is part of a diary left to me by my grandfather Eric John Barker it is the only piece I have as he died not long after my father was born in 1948 as a result of torture administered during his time in a P.O.W. camp. He managed to get home then died of a blood clot in the brain.
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