It is a bit of a long shot but I am trying to find when the 4/16th Punjab Regiment left garrisoning Khartoum (there on 1 January 1941) and moved back to join 7th Indian Brigade for the advance on Massawa. 7th Indian Brigade, the nucleus of Brigg's Force, was ordered to advance south along the Red Sea on February 5th, 1941 to relieve the pressure on Keren. The force began operations during the first week of February 1941 and I assume that the 4/16th Punjab had joined the force by this time. WO 169/2846, the war diary for the 4/16th Punjab Regiment for January to April 1941, would probably clear this up as would WO 169/2799, the war diary for the 7th Indian Brigade for the same period. If anyone has these and is willing to share, that would be great. I have the 4th Indian Division history, the 16th Punjab Regiment history, the Indian Official history as well as the British Official history. None of these seem to help much. Thanks for any help in advance. Basically, I am looking for the date of the move of the 4/16th Punjab Regiment from Khartoum to rejoin the 7th Indian Brigade for operations.
David, I checked Veteran Campaigners: A History of the Punjab Regiment, 1759-1981 by S. Haider Abbas Rizvi. While a very thick book it is not terribly detailed and unfortunately did not include any additional information on this.
Wilhar, Thanks for taking the time to check. I also have a copy of this book and I agree with your assessment of the quality of details. I purchased it for details on the 15th Punjab Regiment originally since there is no regimental history for that regiment. Definitely a bit of a disappointment. I did not mention it in my references above since few own a copy.
