[Image] Stuka attack on the 2/24th.

30th April, 1941. Tobruk, Libya.

Stuka's bomb the 2/24th in the Red Line.

This amazing photo was taken from within a Carrier of the 2/48th Infantry Battalion as they approached the Red Line to offer assistance to the entrenched 2/24th. This attack was the second major thrust made by Rommel during the Siege and was heavily supported by artillery, tanks and infantry. The ever present Luftwaffe added the icing to the cake presented to the Diggers by their relentless dive bombing of the Red Line positions.

The Luftwaffe's aerial bombing was an attempt to demoralise the Australians and more importantly keep them underground in their Red Line posts whilst tanks and supporting infantry moved up to favourable positions in front of the anti-tank ditch.

This battle signalled the beginning of a period of bloody fighting that developed into the Battle of the Salient. This was one of the most trying and costly actions of the entire defense of Tobruk, for both sides.

The Carrier in the above photo has a Boys Anti-Tank Gun mounted in the forward gun position, the barrel of which can be seen protruding from the front of the photo. Also other tracks can be seen in the desert surface in front of the Carrier's direction of travel. These are most likely tracks from other Australian Carriers as opposed to Axis Tank tracks. The Axis tanks were a this stage of the battle concentrated to the front of the Red Line and not further back where this photo was taken.

No men were killed by the Stuka's bombs this day but on the day after this photo was taken 32 men from the 2/24th Infantry Battalion were killed in action in the Red Line.

image 128989 Australian War Memorial.

[Image] 9th Div Salvage Unit under fire

5th October, 1942. El Alamein, Egypt.

9th Div Salvage Unit under fire.

Being shot at is all in a days work for members of the 9th Division Salvage Unit in the desert at Alamein. These men were working to recover a disabled Bren Carrier in the forward line areas when a German shell landed dangerously close.

Whilst some men have wisely gone to ground, some merely crouch. The Salvage Unit often worked extremely close to enemy lines and were often shelled or fired upon whilst conducting their vital work. With limited access to rapid resupply of lost heavy vehicles it was often in the best interests of the 9th Division to salvage what they could and repair it for further use. Anything that could be salvaged was, even enemy equipment and hardware was pressed into service against the Axis forces at Alamein.

image 013351 Australian War Memorial.

[Image] Bren Carriers at Tel el Eisa

Tel el Eisa, Egypt. 1st August, 1942.

Bren Carriers advance in support of 9th Division troops.

These Bren Gun Carriers are photographed at Tel el Eisa in support of an infantry advance by the 9th Division. The lead carrier seems to be mounting a Boys Anti-Tank Rifle in it's forward hardpoint whilst the unmistakable silhouette of the Bren Gun and bipod is visible out of the open topped carrier at the left.

image 041966 Australian War Memorial.

[Image] The faces of the 2/32nd at Alamein

El Alamein, Egypt.

Men of the 2/32nd Battalion and their Bren Carrier

Three unidentified members of the 2/32nd Infantry Battalion pose alongside their Bren Gun Carrier at Alamein. They wear three different types of headgear from left to right: slouch hat, woollen beanie and tin hat.

The soldier on the right carries a trophy of war, a German Mauser Kar98 Rifle while the man in the middle wields a machete, a rather unusual choice given the desert location and in all likelihood this was not standard issue equipment for the Western Desert. He also appears to wear some kind of tinted goggles or sunglasses, a rather rare commodity at Alamein.

image p02522.005 Australian War Memorial.