Kelvin Crombie: El Alamein stopped Middle East Holocaust

In his latest book Kelvin Crombie tells the story of El Alamein and how this victory prevented Nazi-Muslim plans for destroying the Jewish communities of the Middle East from being fulfilled.

Captain Charles Upham VC & Bar won the bar to his VC through his courage and bravery during this battle.

The Jewish leadership of Eretz Israel presented to General Montgomery after the victory at El Alamein a bible. Accompanying this beautifully ornate Bible were these words:

Field Marshall Viscount Montgomery, the gallant leader of the victorious British forces by whose hand God has placed salvation in Zion in the days of El Alamein.

Most of those gallant soldiers at El Alamein and other battles which fought the Axis (German and Italian) forces in the region were Gentiles– whose very presence hindered the penetration of the Holocaust into the Middle East.

Here is an excerpt from the book:

The 27th June 1942 became one of the most significant days in New Zealand’s military history, as it’s only Division fought for its very survival. One man though seemed oblivious to the situation. Charles Upham kept encouraging his men and taking extraordinary risks upon himself.

Despite their gallant stand against overwhelming odds during the day, it was clear that with the Axis forces encircling them (except the western side which led towards Libya) and with their ammunition running down, there was no chance that the New Zealanders would survive. Blyth wrote:

Without ammunition it is absolutely certain the Division would not have survived another day, and that it faced extinction, a disaster that could not be contemplated for people in a small country like New Zealand.

Freyberg took the decision to break-out during the night, but then he was wounded, and could not implement the decision. His deputy, General Inglis now took over. One brigade would approach the German line to the east, and when detected ‘would charge ahead with bullet and bayonet.’ Their task was to open up a gap in the enemy line, and then the remainder of the division, who would already be in the transports, would then break through the gap. The 4th Brigade comprising the 19th, 20th and Maori battalions would lead the break-out.

When the time came, at 1.45 am, the section leaders assembled their men, and they began walking forward. Sandford writes, ‘There was bright moonlight over the field, but the night seemed dark. It was all silence, just the rhythmic chuffing of men’s boots against the sand and the stones, rifles held high, men walking forward with fear and hope in their hearts, wondering when the earth in front of them would awake and blaze. They were walking towards the enemy to punch the hole through the line…’

After close to a kilometre of walking a shot came, then another and soon the line was hot. One New Zealander recalled afterwards that ‘To a man the whole brigade charged forward. No orders were given; no urging forward by officers and N.C.O.’s. With shouting, cheering, and war-cries every man broke into a run as if he knew exactly what was expected of him.’

Every one of these men knew what was required, and what the consequences would be if they never broke through. It was absolute mayhem with hand to hand fighting, bombing, throwing of grenades, German trucks and vehicles going up in flames. As could be expected Charles Upham was in the midst of it all, urging his men of C Company forward, hurling grenades endlessly in total disregard for his own safety.

When the Brigade finally made it through the German lines, the flare went up to signal to the rest of the division that the way through was clear. The firing and confusion continued unabated, and Rommel himself wrote:

A wild melee ensued, in which my own headquarters, which lay south of the fortress, became involved… The firing between my forces and the New Zealanders grew to an extraordinary pitch of violence and my headquarters was soon ringed by burning vehicles, making it the target for continuous enemy fire. I soon had enough of this and the headquarters ordered the staff to withdraw to the south-east. One can scarcely conceive the confusion which reigned that night. It was pitch-dark and impossible to see one’s hand before one’s face. The R.A.F. bombed their own troops, and, with tracer flying in all directions, German units fired on each other.

The New Zealanders managed to extricate themselves from the web. Although an act of supreme heroism, it was nothing short of a miracle that they suffered so few casualties compared to the Germans. Upham summed it up, ‘This show tonight will make bloody history.’

This withdrawal was one of the truly great Allied escapades of the War, and Freyberg received the following words from Churchill,

‘Deeply moved to hear of your new wound and new glory. Trust that your injury is not serious and that you will soon be back commanding your splendid division. All good wishes to you and to them.’

Hear Kelvin talk about this historic battle and the Holocaust that was averted by this victory.

Although tickets will be available through EventFinder, door sales will be available.  Seating is limited so we suggest you purchase in advance to be sure of getting a seat.

If you’re in New Zealand:  You can buy the book here.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Kelvin Crombie is a writer, researcher and lecturer.  He has spent over 25 years in the Middle East, researching the history of the British Empire and the ANZAC forces and their actions in North Africa and the Palestine since 1798.