Baggush Box
| Baggush Box | |
|---|---|
| Part of Second World War | |
| Maaten Baggush Near Mersa Matruh in Egypt | |
 Men of the 20th Battalion, part of the 4th Infantry Brigade of the 2nd New Zealand Division, marching in Baggush, Egypt, September 1941. | |
| Coordinates | 31°10′21″N 27°40′10″E / 31.17250°N 27.66944°E |
The Baggush Box was a
Background
The box was built by men of the
Prelude
On 28 June,
On 26 November, O'Connor held a meeting at the Baggush Box after the completion of "Training Exercise No. 1", a rehearsal for Operation Compass, in which attacks on fortified positions had been practised, the troops not being told that the positions were replicas of the Italian camps at Nibeiwa and the Tummars. The officers with O'Connor reported that the method laid down in The Division in Attack was too slow and sacrificed surprise, leaving the attackers vulnerable to air attack. The Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Air Marshal Arthur Longmore, was being pressured from London to send formations to Greece and to provide air cover for Operation Compass, he stripped the air defences of Egypt of two squadrons and a flight, which he placed at O'Connor's disposal.[3]
Before the offensive began O'Connor vacated the Baggush Box for a forward headquarters and Lieutenant-General
Footnotes
References
- Pitt, B. (2001) [1980]. The Crucible of War: Wavell's Command. Vol. I. London: Cassell. ISBN 0-304-35950-5– via Archive Foundation.
Further reading
- Glue, W. A.; Pringle, D. J. C. (1957). "5 Battalion Area in the Baggush Box, November 1941". 20 Battalion and Armoured Regiment. The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945. Wellington, NZ: War History Branch, Dept. of Internal Affairs. p. 114. OCLC 4373441. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
- Ross, A. (1959). "7 Three Interludes: Kabrit, El Adem, Syria". 23 Battalion. The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945. Wellington, NZ: War History Branch, Dept. of Internal Affairs. pp. 132–141. OCLC 4392594. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
- Sinclair, D. W. (1954). "5 Baggush Box". 19 Battalion and Armoured Regiment. The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945. Wellington, NZ: War History Branch, Dept. of Internal Affairs. pp. 35–50. OCLC 173284782. Retrieved 7 March 2015.