scrub were good cover and the infantry, some of whom had been in the desert since 1940, dug in deep. 27 October Morning When dawn broke the battalion found that it was in scrubby desert, deployed in a north-east to south-west oval, about long and wide. As movement was seen in the German laager, the gun-crews in the north-west face of Outpost Snipe prepared to receive an attack but the German tanks moved westwards, away from the front line, which exposed them broadside to the British guns. The gunners opened fire and for thirty minutes the north end of the outpost disappeared in smoke, flying sand and explosions as Axis artillery and tanks replied to the anti-tank fire, until the tanks were out of range. Part of had spent the night in a dip, reappeared to the south-west of Snipe and also moved with their sides exposed to the British 6-pounders. The gunners claimed six German, eight Italian tanks and two self-propelled guns destroyed and two tanks damaged, for the loss of three anti-tank guns knocked out and one sunk into the sand. Axis return fire caused several casualties and daylight showed that some of the guns were too exposed and needed to be re-sited. The armoured brigades had been intended to join the parties at Snipe and Woodcock but the failure at Woodcock caused confusion and hesitation among the British tank units. The 47th Royal Tank Regiment (47th RTR) of the 24th Armoured Brigade, was under command of the 10th Armoured Division and drove over a ridge at saw a post surrounded by German tanks beyond, assumed it was a German laager and opened fire. Turner sent an officer back in a Bren Gun Carrier, who managed to get the most advanced tanks to stop after thirty minutes but the rest kept firing. As the British tanks moved forward, the Rifle Brigade gunners at the south end of Snipe saw about tanks with long-barrelled guns (Panzer III or Panzer IV Specials), heading behind a ridge away to ambush the British tanks. The German tanks were broadside on again and the British gunners immediately hit and set three more on fire; the 47th RTR machine-gunned the crews as they tried to escape. By the 47th RTR had arrived at Snipe, which attracted a storm of artillery-fire and the outpost disappeared again in smoke, fire, explosions and flying sand. German tanks