The Action At Point 171
They moved back into the operational area on the 10th May 1942, attached to the 7th Armoured Division. They were moved up to just south west of Bir Hakeim on the evening of the 25th May, arriving around Point 171. Among the featureless terrain Point 171 was a hump with the usual desert scrub covering it.
On the morning of the 26th the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade took a box position in the flat open landscape. On the 26th May 1942 Rommel launched his offensive. There had been no time to lay a mine field, and the brigades anti-tank battery arrived late on the 26th and did not have time to dig in properly. The cavalry units of the brigade were still not fully equipped for field service. The brigade was supposed to have two squadrons of Valentines to cover the eastern flank but they never turned up.
The 3rd Indian Motor Brigade were facing the best part of two axis armoured divisions. At 2045 hours on the 26th brigade headquarters reported that the enemy had been seen advancing to the west. At 0630 hours the brigadier signaled: The whole bloody Afrika Korps is drawn up in front of us like a bloody review. By 8 am of the 27th the German and Italian forces had surrounded the position and by 9 am the position was overrun and resistance ceased. Some 17 officers and 670 Viceroy's Commissioned Officers and Indian other ranks were taken prisoner.
Even so it was estimated that the brigade accounted for over fifty Axis tanks – most of whom fell to the guns of the 2 Field Regiment, Indian Artillery. What is known is that all the VCO's & men were released after 2 days and sent to Bir Hakim from where they were evacuated from in a convoy on the 31st May. Why this happened is unclear. There were apparently practical considerations - the because of a shortage of water (the Italians were short supplied), with Bir Hakim still holding out no transport or supplies could be brought up.
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