KG Griffon War Diary 14 Aug 45
The action to take the Fort & the Oasis went without a hitch. Problems mounted when we advanced to take to the bridge over the western wadi and the old fort overlooking the area. It appears that the Aussies had planned to occupy the Fort & the Oasis as well.
My forward Recce Elements ran head long into the enemy just before the bridge causing heavy loses to the ground forces. A Tornado came in hit them hard, stopping the enemy column cold. It consisted of Armoured Cars and Halftracks loaded down with infantry. They now had deployed to hold the bridge.
I ordered my KG PzAufkl Gp to advance and hold the road into the Fort while I brought several Pz Gren Zugs up with 7 of my Panthers to retake the Wadi Bridge. My Flanks Recce Elms reported seeing troop movements north & south of the area. This was confirmed by the accompanying Tornadoes and Spotter HUBZ that took fire, we lost one Spotter, but the Tornadoes hosed them down good before withdrawing to relative safety.
It now appeared I had several flanking attacks to deal with as well. I ordered a Pz Gren Kp with Panther support against each. The northern objective was the ruins and southern one was to move no further than the wadi. I was fully expecting Enemy Panzers to emerge from the gloomy dusk. I ordered my 15cm Bttys to strike behind the bridge position, as I wanted the bridge intact. The Divisional 122’s were assigned on the flanks. I ordered my Tornadoes in low to find the enemies Panzers.
Once my flank forces were rolling I turned to the Wadi Bridge problem. With a Tornado suppressing the Bridge defenders I had the armoured elements move up to take care of the halftracks and armoured cars. With the enemies support wrecked, I had my Pz Grens move up and disembark. With several Rommels & Panthers in support they started to move towards the bridge.
On the flanks, a troop of scout vehicles on each flank ran into my advancing forces and were dealt with quickly. Recce into the enemies rear area produced no panzers at all. However, a mass of infantry was advancing towards my forces. On the northern flank, I had the Pz Grens occupy the Ruins with an outpost on the high ground to the north of the Ruins. To the south I ordered just the Panthers and Rommels forward to the Wadi.
The Aussies attacked the Ruins; they used 3inch mortars to keep our heads down while trying to close on our positions. It was here that I lost several Panthers to PIAT’s. Along the Wadi between heavy ground fire and the arty, once shifted, the enemy was kept at bay and advanced no further than the Wadi.
Back at the Wadi Bridge, we had taken it intact, but at some cost in men. The enemy put up a tough fight there, counterattacking several times despite Panthers and Rommels assisting in holding the Bridge. The enemy finally broke when the units holding the far side of the Bridge called down arty on their position. This action caused the Aussies to withdraw from this action and fall back into the desert night.
As a result of this engagement I’ve requested more heavy HE support.
Division was less than impressed with our performance, never the less I was happy with it.
Obersturmbannführer PanzerBob
