occupying a narrow salient, isolated on the coast road. The 21st Panzer Division was away, hard pressed by the 2nd New Zealand Division and the 15th Panzer Division and Italian XX Corps were blocked by the 1st Armoured Division. The opportunity was not perceived, as the chief concern in the mind of the corps commander was getting his forces out intact. He relayed his intention to the Eighth Army, planning to take up a second delaying position at Fuka, some east of Matruh. At 21:20 hours on 27 June, Auchinleck ordered the Eighth Army to fall back to Fuka. By this point, 2nd New Zealand Division commander General Bernard Freyberg had been wounded in the neck from shrapnel. He passed command to Brigadier Lindsay Inglis the commander of the 4th NZ Brigade. Inglis chose to use his brigade to fight their way through to the east, to be followed by the divisional headquarters and the 5th NZ Brigade. There was to be no preliminary bombardment, as that would alert the Germans. The start of the attack was delayed until 02:00 by the late arrival of the Maori battalion. Once formed up the three battalions set off down the escarpment. With fixed bayonets, the 4th NZ Brigade drove down the track directly upon the positions of a battalion of the 21st Panzer Division. The German defenders were unaware of the New Zealand advance until they were nearly upon them and the New Zealanders drove their way through the defensive positions of 21st Panzer Division. The fighting was fierce, confused, at times hand to hand and some German wounded were bayoneted by the New Zealanders as they worked their way through, for which the command issued a formal complaint. Reaching the other side of the position, 4th NZ Brigade regrouped and made good their escape to the east. While this attack was underway Inglis grew concerned over the delay and the approaching dawn, deciding to take the rest of the division by a different route. Overloading what transport was available he led the Divisional Headquarters, the Reserve Group and the 5th NZ Brigade away to the south and ran into the positions of a panzer battalion of the 21st Panzer Division. In the confused firing that followed a number of trucks and ambulance vehicles were set on fire but the bulk of the force managed to scramble away. Orders had been issued