Reading this by James Holland. Lots of good stuff about the desert but an extraordinary amount of time apparently playing cricket.
This raises questions:
1. Did the Yeomanry realise that the it was a world war not a cricket tournament? (It's an easy mistake to make).
2. Did we invite the Germans to play?
3. Should Pendraken release figures for 'Yeomanry playing cricket' alongside the 8th Army tanks?
4. Whatever possessed the Germans to spend 1920-1938 training when they could have been playing cricket?
1. They knew it was a war: but when you have British, Kiwis, Aussies, Saffers and Indians together nature will take its course.
2. Obviously not: The Afrika Corps were a pretty decent for Bosche, but you still wouldn't trust them on a dodgy one-short call.
3. I think that would be an excellent idea - others may differ.
4. The Civilising effect of cricket may have kept the Austrian painter well away from the reins of power. It would have been a good thing.
I remember reading somewhere that both sides called a halt to proceedings come evening each day. A new arrival (German I think) wasn't aware of this and ordered an artillery strike, only to be reprimanded that wasn't what was done on that part of the front.
I recall a similar story about a 'new boy' capturing a supply truck late in the day
He was ordered to return it and apologise
Knew a guy who'd been an Intelligence officer in North Africa. On a recce he and his batman came over a rise to find a platoon of Germans bivouacked.
Armed with no more than a swagger stick, his batman's pistol and quick wits he told the German officer that he was surrounded and could either order his men to stack their weapons and then lead them off towards the British lines or his men would attack and wipe them out. To the German officer's retort that this was a bluff, he replied,"A British officer is a gentleman and would never stoop so low."
Then the German asked how he could be sure he and his men would not be gunned down the moment they disarmed. So he graciously agreed to get his men to move back so there would be no trigger-happy incidents.
He walked back over the rise, shouted orders to "his men" to fall back and allow the Germans to pass unmolested and returned to his waiting (and terrified, apparently) batman.
Impressed by this gentlemanly behavior the Germans marched away and our hero and his batman collected as many weapons as possible, slung them in the jeep and hightailed it back to Allied lines.
Absolutely right. Bluff can get you a 500 yard advance. Professionalism gets you the next 500 miles.
and did the Germans still favour the swagger stick as an instrument of war?
When was it trialled against the MG 42?