Italians assault at Bardia 9/1/41

[robot]

Bardia Libya
September 1 1941
1600 Hours

Once again we have been granted the right to assault the British thru another mine field. I am begining to think the Germans dont like us for some reason. This will be our 6th battle and I dont think our men have been doing too bad a job.

Each company will have three platoons of Engineers out in front of them plus a platoon of flame tanks along for the journey. Hope to make short work of cutting a hole thru the mines today.

A Co has been givin the task of taking the southern most objectives along the south edge of the map. B CO will travel along the road that runs slightly north of the middle. While C CO will be on there left flank traveling thru some very rough country.

Our armor has been lined up on the left flank of C to the north as there support. While the other company of tanks has been placed in between B on the Road and A in the south as support for both of them.

Even tho I think the Germans give us every stinking job they dont want to do. German high command has seen fit to assign all there artty they have standing around doing nothing. We will have a mess of artty today to help us bust the defenses of the British. We have been assigned 12 batterys of 210 plus 22 152mm and another 3 105mm to use as we see fit. They are to be on our beck and call as long as we need them today.

Before our Engineers move forward we will start out with a 20 minute bombardment of suspected mine fields. This we hope will soften up the field so that our Engineers can make short work of cutting a hole thru. If all goes well maybe we will be seen as a fighting force to be looked up too and not taken lightly any more.

HQ: I Ariete Roma Legion
Col: Anthony Cochelli Commanding

[robot]

Bardia Libya
September 1 1941
1650 Hours

A in the south having a hard time cutting a hole thru the mines. Must be at least three rows of the dam things. Fifty minutes gone by already and still not much progress thru the mines. The British have also sent at least 10 or 12 tanks to sit on the southern objectives and to harrass our Engineers as they work. We have taken out at least ten of them so far. But it has really slowed down the work of opening any kind of hole thru.

Mean while B and C up noth is fairing no better with there mine fields. Hell it took them 50 minutes to just get an Engineer unit close enough to even start work. They have been hit by very severe small arm fire and some tank fire as they tried to get close enough to even start removing any mines. I have called all morters and large guns to put every thing they have on there sector. I hope this will maybe at least slow down some of the small arm fire. They also have been coming under very heavy bombardment from 4.5mm, 75mm,25mm,and 18mm artty fire. This alone has slowed there movement down to a crawl let alone being shot at from every direction.

I am sorry to have to say this but I believe this is going to be a very long and costly day for our side. We have already lost 2 tanks plus a recon car along with at least 50 men and we are no where near forcing our way thru this dam mine field.

It is proably going to be the toughest fight of our life with alot of our friends meeting there makers today. Our counter battery fire is nill and its worhtless holding those batterys anymore. I have givin the order to all batterys to open up on ther targets in the hope of giving the Engineers some kind of break from the muderous fire they have been under ever since moving out.

Got to go must get down and see if I can stiffen up the mens morale and get them moving once again.

Tell El Duche we will give every thing we have and will not disapoint him today.

HQ: I Ariete Roma Legion
Col: Anthony Cochelli Commanding

[robot]

Bardia Lybya
September 1 1941
1730 Hours


It has taken well over an hour just to cut a tiny hole thru the mine field. A Co in the south was the first company to make any kind of hole thru. They have now got most of there CO thru with there support. Have moved forward the 400 or so yards and captured the southern objective and have it well under there control. They will now begin to move NE and try and come up on the rear of the enemy facing C Co in the middle and try and help them break thru the stiiff resistence they are encountering. B and C CO has broken thru the mines in the middle and have taken there objectives as well.

As they made there approach to the objectives they ran into at least 2 steel bunkers along with one concrete and 2 log rifle pits. These have been taken care of and have moved at least 200 yards east of there objective where they once agsin encountered stiff resistence by the enmey in the way of a slew of large tanks. At least 7 crusader type and 3 auto belindas are blocking there progress. It is here where they lost 7 AB 41 recon cars in only 10 minutes. Our guys where tore to pieces in a very short time from the very heavy fire of these armored behemoths. They ripped our recon cars apart like opening sardine cans on a sunday picnic. They had no trouble with our guys at all. We hardly even got one shot off at them before they were torn apart.

Have called for all the artty support we can get on there suspected positions. We managed to take out all three autobelindas with this barrage and trying now to locate where the tanks have moved too. Bringing up some tanks of our own from the south on the enemy tanks left flank in the hope of catching them flat footed waiting for some more of those innocent recon cars.

We have now begun to move once again and will begin the second faze of our movement to take the rear north and south objectives. The battle has now begun to have a terrible effect on our troops and we are begining to lose more then I hoped of our precious supplys and men. I believe I have done every thing I could do to protect both of them.

We are winning but at another terrible cost to our country and its people. We shall continue to plod forward and achieve our goals today. But I fear at a very huge cost to all.

HQ: I Ariete Roma Legion
Col: Anthony Cochelli Commanding

[robot]

Bardia Libya
September 1 1941
1800 Hours


For two hours we have been trying to push the British backwards. But they just will not give up ground. For the past hour we have held the north objectives. But we have made hardly any progress east of them. Have been able to push them back maybe 200 yards is all. And in the process We have lost more men then I care too plus a lot of armor has been blown to smithereens.

Once we took the objectives and began to move further east we ran into a mess. They had at least a company of tanks spread out over the landscape behind the area. Not only were we surpprised with there heavy resistence but there ferocity in defending the area took us by some surpprise. They have also managed to conceal there hiding places very well. And we have a tendancy to blunder up on them quite unexpectedly.

Our troops have all but given up on moving forward any more. There artty bombardment has not lightened up since we moved up to the mine fields. Our Engineers did an amazing job cutting a hole for us under very severe and hazardous conditions. They are to be very highly commened today and I personally am going to see some medals handed out to them.

We have lost a heck of lot of armanment today due too the heavy bombardment from there 4.5 guns. Also our losses in men is begining to mount as the battle goes on. Im sure although there has been no official count taken as yet. Our losses is well into the two hundred men killed today. No telling how many have been wounded and not of much use to us.

Over two thirds of our men are hiding as deep as they can in there holes and refuse to even get up and move. Our non coms have been running up and down our lines extolling them to pick up there rifles and move forward. Our main enemy right now is not the British but the depression our men have sunk into. It has been one of the most bloody and terrible fights our men have had to participate in so far.

HQ: I Ariete Roma Legion
Col: Anthony Cochelli Commanding

[robot]

Bardia Libya
September 1 1941
1830 Hours

This has been a very bloody fight for our side. Lucky to come out with a draw I guess. The British threw every thing they had at us to stop our assault. Our tanks are just too out dated to be of any great help in this war. the armor is weak and the guns just will not stop the heavier Britsh tanks. We did the best we could and our men tried every thing they could to stop the relentles advance of the british armor. We lost 46 pieces of armor today way too many if we expect to continue and hold our own in this terrible war.

492 of our brave men were also sent to there maker today again way too many. The enemy also paid a heavy price for the draw they managed to get. They lost 1235 men along with 26 artty and 63 of there so called invincible armor was blown to smithereens.

We managed to take all our objectives except for the rear most northern cluster. Too many strongboxes were sitting in our way. We were held up by at least 7 concrete and steel bunkers that we had no way of busting as we neared the objective. They alone accounted for at least ten of our tanks.

We will have at least a month off to recuperate and get our strength back before we once again will face them again. I guess we have one thing to be grateful for today at least we held our own against a much more and better equiped enemy and did well enough to fight them to a draw.

HQ: I Ariete Roma Legion
Col: Anthony Cochelli Commanding