The diary’s and accounts of Lt Karsten, WO2 JA Dyer and Cpl Frank Wallbank.
At dawn, with only 8 tanks left in the Regiment, our lads went in to attack a concentration of mark IV’s and after knocking out 9 for the loss of 2, withdrew. The remainder we handed over to Warwickshire Yeomanry and then retired to a position 14 miles back.
The Army Commander and the Divisional Commander both personally brought their congratulations of the way the 9th Brigade had done an almost impossible task – 3 Divisions are now attacking after passing through the gap and confidence in victory if high. So far in killed and missing our casualties are 53.
“They were to push forward a further mile so as to break the enemy anti-tank and field gun positions so as to hold open the door for the 1st Armoured Division and the 10 Corps. This was pointed out by the Commanding Officer (Sir Peter Farquhar) to General Montgomery as being almost certain suicide for his unit as a whole, but the General responded by saying “It’s got to be done and, if necessary, I am prepared to accept 100% casualties in both personnel and tanks”.
This Battle was indeed the most glorious for the 3rd Hussars. In total, their losses were 47 out of 51 tanks destroyed, along with 21 Officers and 98 Other Ranks who gave their lives in this Battle.
“Just how desperate Alamein was can be shown by the number of our casualties. These included 22 officers, of whom 14 were killed and 7 wounded, with one taken prisoner. Among the men, the proportion of killed to wounded was more than three-quarters– 98 in total. There was little hope in a tank that blew up. The fact that all our tanks were fueled by high-octane petrol was absolutely criminal. Out of the 51 tanks taken into action, 47 were lost, most being blown to pieces in the dawn encounter.” – Major Richard Heseltine, ‘Pippin’s Progress’.
Moved back after sitting in a holding position all day. Still heavily shelled though more spasmodic. Had job of collating casualty figures. Very heavy. [Henrik’s diary]
The 3rd Hussars spent 3 November encamped behind the front. There were some scattered exchanges of fire, but no losses before Lieutenant General Freyberg came to congratulate Farquhar on the regiment’s brilliant effort. At the end of the visit, the energetic Freyberg jumped into his car and disappeared in a cloud of dust. This cloud of dust attracted the attention of the German artillery: A shell took one track off a Crusader tank and killed a lieutenant who happened to be walking past at the time.
As intelligence officer and assistant adjutant, Henrik was among the officers keeping the regimental war diary. On 3 November, he calculated the regimental losses under Supercharge to be 4 officers killed or missing, 2 wounded (one of them seriously), and 60 other ranks killed, missing or wounded. According to a later estimate, the losses incurred by the 3rd Hussars in the period 23 October to 3 November constituted 21 officers and 98 other ranks, that is to say, some 80% of the personnel taking part in Lightfoot and Supercharge. The numbers include killed, wounded and “missing”. The number of “missing” was on this occasion also disproportionately high.
That afternoon, the regiment was ordered to surrender its tanks to the Warwickshire Yeomanry. This was done the same evening, after which the regiment’s remaining vehicles transported the crews back to the railway station at El Alamein, whence in the course of 4-5 November they were to go further east to Bay el Arab and Sidi Bishr on the outskirts of Alexandria.
Later that evening, Lieutenant Colonel Farquhar and the brigade commander again met and agreed that the 3rd Hussars should be completely withdrawn from the campaign and regrouped as soon as fresh forces and materiel could be brought in.
