Show I I I A DRINK DUINK THAT MADE l I Tho British did not stop the German advance In Africa at El EI as most of the world believes says Major Peter W. W Rainier recently retired from fromI the tho Royal Engineers In an article In the I January Readers Reader's Digest Rommel smash smash- smashed ed the tho British center and had bad covered I halt half the tho 50 miles mUes between El and Alexandria before he was defeated by a fantastic drama of thirst that altered the course of the war war I uIn In this sector the enemy had about the same strength as we writes Major Rainier Their tanks had also been re- re reduced reduced I to about 50 and they had an equal number of men some somo The only was In tho tire fire power I we had bad nothing to match the German I All through tho morning of July 3 3 1942 the oPPosing forces pounded at each other Men on both sides were so close to exhaustion they could hardly to aim throUgh the sweat packed sand sana Caking their bloodshot eyes As all ae the tho grIm to will had been drained to the last Jart drop one or the theother theother other army would collapse Just as a breaking poInt was reached and tho Nazi tanks tanka started slowly to lumber back Major RaInier says an astounding Incredible thing happened Eleven hundred men of the Light Panzer Division tHe elite of the tho Afrika Al rika Korps across the barren sand with their hands In the air With cracked and black tongues protruding from their mouthS they had but one thought to grab the water vater bottles from the tho British men and pour water between their parched Ups lips The article relates the story behind this near miracle Upon breaking through nt at El the tho day before the Nazis had already been 24 hours without water and when they discovered In the British defenses a sIx inch water pipe line running above aboveground aboveground ground for two miles they shot holes Into It at various pointy points and immediate immediate- immediately ly started to drink About a thousand 1 Germans had taken great gulps of the tho water before they discovered It was salt Major Rainier spoke to some or of tho Germans who had surrendered and heard of the tho unspeakable agonies suffered by those who had swallowed the salt water Only the prospect of 01 reaching AlexandrIa the next day But Dut when In the battle that ensued the Nazi tanks turned tall the infantrymen could bear their agony no longer In a amass amass mass they surrendered to the British British- and for fresh water Explaining the tho presence of the tho salt saltwater water Major Rainier wrItes In his article that the pIpe line at El EI had bad been Just newly constructed under hIS supervision as It was wass his responsibility to supply the Eighth Army with water Careful never to waste fresh water Ma- Ma MaJor Major Jor Rainier was havIng the pipe line tested with salt water on the day the Nazis broke through The day before that pipe line lIno would have been empty ho he wrItes Two days later it would have havo I been full of fresh water As It happened I the Nazis got salt water and they didn't I detect the salt at once onte because their sense of taste had bad already been by the brackish water they had bad been used to and by thirst |