Wie ein Weihnacht's Stern DTO (id:#62598)

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SW of Benghazi, Libya 1941-12-24 (3 others)

Overview:

As 1941 came to an end, Erwin Rommel’s vaunted Afrika Korps was on the retreat for the first time in the Desert War. As the last German forces evacuated from Benghazi, Rommel, as was his habit, had taken to the air in his personal Fiesler-Storch to recon suitable positions for a new mine belt. As the sun began to set, on this fateful Christmas Eve, Rommel’s plane began to have mechanical problems. Seeing a hard sandy area to his left, Rommel and his radioman set the plane down. Once on the ground, Rommel radioed nearby German forces for assistance. But there was a problem, Rommel had inadvertently landed inside an area surrounded by dunes and deep, soft sand. Vehicles would be hard pressed to reach the General. So a unit of Brandenbergers, equipped with camels volunteered to undertake the rescue mission. With the camels, the rescue should be a relatively easy and routine mission. But unbeknownst to the Germans, advance recon units of the SAS had intercepted the open channel distress call from Rommel. The SAS set off in the direction of Rommel’s call...perhaps Christmas would see a German General under the tree.

Defender: German (Brandenberger Halbkompanie)  

Errata (source)