is on the left of the
Great Sand Sea and
Siwa Oasis is on the right.
Barce is at the top left and
Marble Arch is on the edge of the map, to the left of
El Agheila. The LRDG area of operations between 1940 and 1943, known as the
Western Desert, stretched about south from the
Mediterranean to the
Tibesti and the
Jebel Uweinat mountains, and about from the
Nile valley in the east to the mountains of
Tunisia and
Algeria in the west. Paved roads were non-existent and only small tracks and pathways crossed the area. The daytime temperatures could reach and at night drop below freezing. The only water in the area is found in a number of small
oases, which is also where the only vegetation grows. 'T' Patrol, commanded by Captain Clayton, reconnoitred the main route between Kufra and Uweinat, then drove south to meet up with 'W' Patrol; both units returned to base, having captured two Italian trucks and official mail. The Italian response to these raids was to reduce their front line forces and increase the number of troops garrisoning the area from 2,900 men in September to 5,500 by November 1940. On 27 December 1940, 'G' and 'T' Patrols left Cairo and crossed the desert to northwest of Kufra. On arrival they met with representatives from the
Free French forces in
Chad, and on 11 January carried out a joint raid on the Italian fort at
Murzuk. After two hours' fighting the fort remained in Italian hands, but the adjoining airfield had been destroyed. The units then withdrew southwards towards the Free French post at
Zouar. On 31 January they were intercepted by the
Compagnia Autosahariana di Cufra, an Italian unit similar to the LRDG, in the
Gebel Sherif valley. The LRDG had one man killed and three men captured, including Major Clayton, and three trucks destroyed during the battle. The Italian losses were five killed and three wounded, and one truck was abandoned. Four members of the LRDG escaped by walking to safety in ten days with no food and only a two
gallon water can between them. The patrol arrived back in Egypt on 9 February; it had covered about , experiencing the loss of six trucks, four by enemy action and two by mechanical breakdowns. One vehicle with a broken rear axle had been towed about before it could be repaired. Total casualties were three dead and three captured. Major Clayton was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order. After
Operation Compass ended with the Italians forced out of
Cyrenaica it was decided to move the LRDG from Cairo to Kufra (SE Libya). At the same time the LRDG was expanded with the addition of 'Y' and 'S' Patrols. The LRDG air link was created during the occupation of Kufra by Major
Guy Lenox Prendergast. Appreciating the value of aircraft for reconnaissance, liaison, evacuating wounded and flights to GHQ Cairo, he had two
Waco aircraft fitted with long range fuel tanks. Prendergast flew one himself and
Sergeant R. F. T. Barker flew the other. When Bagnold was appointed to the
General Staff Cairo in August 1941, Prendergast was given command of the LRDG. On 24 November, in support of
Operation Crusader, the LRDG were ordered to attack Axis rear areas. Already on patrol, 'Y1' and 'Y2' Patrols attacked targets in the
Mechili,
Derna and
Gazala area. 'Y1' damaged fifteen vehicles in a transport park and 'Y2' captured a small fort and about 20 Italians. 'S2' and 'R2' Patrols attacked targets in the
Benghazi,
Barce and
Marawa area, where they ambushed nine vehicles. 'G1' and 'G2' Patrols were assigned the main road near Agedabia where 'G1' made two attacks on road traffic and shot up a few vehicles. After the Axis forces withdrew from Cyrenaica the LRDG moved to a base at
Jalo oasis, about to the south-south-east of Ajdabiya.
Road watch in 1942. The unit insignia of a Māori Hei-Tiki can just be seen on the bonnet of the lead vehicle, which carries its individual number "R4" on a dark square on the right
mudguard. When the LRDG was based at Siwa, they took part in what has since become known as the 'Road Watch' along the
Via Balbia (the
Tripoli to
Benghazi road). The site of the road watch was about from the
Marble Arch monument. The road watch patrol would park about 2 miles away from the road and the trucks would be
camouflaged using camouflage nets, any local foliage and sand. Before dawn each day two men would move into a well camouflaged position about from the road. By day they would record the details of all vehicles and troop movements, and at night they would move to about from the road and guess what type of vehicles were passing by their sound and outline. At daylight they were relieved by another pair of men who took over that day's road watch. The LRDG did not lose any men or vehicles when on the road watch, but they did have some close encounters. On 21 March 'R1' Patrol was surrounded by a convoy of 27 vehicles and about 200 men who stopped for the night between the watchers and their vehicles. The road was kept under constant observation from 2 March to 21 July 1942. After the
Battle of Gazala and the fall of
Tobruk, the LRDG were forced to withdraw from Siwa on 28 June. 'A' Squadron withdrew to Cairo to resupply and then moved back to Kufra, while 'B' Squadron moved to
Faiyum.
Barce . The vehicle is armed with two twin Browning machine guns. With the Eighth Army now holding the
El Alamein line, plans were submitted to attack the Axis supply lines and the ports of Benghazi and Tobruk. In September 1942,
British Commandos would attack Tobruk by land and sea (
Operation Agreement). The SAS would attack Benghazi (
Operation Bigamy) and the
Sudan Defence Force would capture Jalo oasis (
Operation Nicety). Official Italian figures quote 16 aircraft destroyed and seven damaged. On 30 September 1942, the LRDG ceased to be under command of the Eighth Army and came under direct command of GHQ Middle East. The final LRDG operation in North Africa was in
Tunisia during the
Mareth Offensive when they guided the 2nd New Zealand Division around the
Mareth Line in March 1943.
Post 1943 operations John Richard Easonsmith DSO MC was killed in action during the
Battle of Leros. In May 1943 the LRDG was sent to
Lebanon to retrain in mountain warfare. However, following the
Italian armistice in 1943, they were sent to
Leros, one of the
Dodecanese islands, to serve as normal infantry. They later took part in the
Battle of Leros, where the commanding officer
John Richard Easonsmith was killed and replaced by
David Lloyd Owen. After the battle the New Zealanders, consisting of two officers and approximately 46 men, were withdrawn from the LRDG and returned to their division at the request of the New Zealand Government, which was concerned about their deployment to Leros. In December 1943, the LRDG re-organised into two squadrons of eight patrols. Each patrol contained one officer and 10 other ranks. Major
Moir Stormonth Darling was given command of the British Squadron and Major
Kenneth Henry Lazarus the Rhodesian Squadron. Patrols were then parachuted north of Rome to obtain information about German troop movements, and also carried out raids on the
Dalmatian Islands and
Corfu. In August 1944, British Squadron patrols were parachuted into
Yugoslavia. One patrol destroyed two spans of a large railway bridge, which caused widespread disruption to the movement of German troops and supplies. The commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel Owen and a team of 36 men were parachuted into
Albania in September 1944. Their mission was to follow the German retreat and assist
Albanian resistance groups in attacking them. In October 1944, two British Squadron patrols were parachuted into the
Florina area of
Greece. Here they mined a road used by the retreating Germans, destroying three vehicles and blocking the road. Firing on the stranded convoy from an adjacent hillside, they directed RAF aircraft in to destroy the rest of the convoy. ==Legacy==